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a history education

program for grades 6-12

Student Outcomes

Increased engagement

with history

Enhanced Research Skills

Improved Literacy

High Academic Standards The National History Day in Maine program

adheres closely to social studies standards in the

areas of historical skills, literacy, and in-depth

research in the following ways:

Posing questions about topics in history

Building a strong thesis statement

Locating primary and secondary sources

Using sources to draw conclusions

Presenting the findings

An Academic Challenge Students may choose to enter their projects in

the History Day competition. This three-level

competition includes classroom evaluation, the

state competition, and a national event. Students

compete in either the junior (grades 6-8) or

senior (grades 9-12) division.

Projects are evaluated against three standards:

Historical quality

Relation to theme

Clarity of presentation

Annual Theme A new theme is chosen every year by the

National History Day organization. Past themes

included:

Leadership & Legacy in History

Conflict & Compromise in History

Rights & Responsibilities in History

Debate & Diplomacy in History

National History Day in Maine is a co-curricular academic program that

fosters in-depth research and critical analysis skills for students in

grades 6-12 Students select a topic relating to a national

theme. Using primary and secondary resources,

they research their topic and present their

conclusions in one of the following ways:

Research Paper: Traditional academic paper,

complete with citations

Exhibit: Museum-style exhibit using images,

text, and supporting resources

Documentary: 10-minute video combining

images and analytical narration

Performance: 10-minute live performance

using actual or composite characters

Website: Web-based collection of interactive

pages

Contact Us

John Taylor

Margaret Chase Smith Library

56 Norridgewock Avenue

Skowhegan, ME 04976

(207) 474-7133

john.m.taylor@maine.edu

www.umaine.edu/history/national-history-day/