Each year more than half a million students participate in National History Day. Students begin by choosing a historical topic related to the annual theme. This year's theme is Debate and Diplomacy in History. Once students have chosen a topic they conduct primary and secondary research. They look through libraries, archives and museums, conduct oral history interviews, and visit historic sites. After they analyze and interpret sources, and draw a conclusion about the significance of their topic, they then present their work in one of five ways: as a paper, an exhibit, a performance, a documentary, or a website.
The students who participate in the Sarasota County History Day Contest first enter their projects at their schools. The best projects are then chosen to represent their schools at the county level where they are judged by professional educators, historians, and members of the community. Many of the 1st and 2nd place winners will then move on to represent Sarasota County at the Florida History Day Contest, May 1 – May 3. First and second place winners at the state contest are eligible to attend the National History Day Contest in June.
Virtual Contest will be held February 17-25, 2022.
Entries Due: 02-11-2022 All final projects must be uploaded by students in the Sarasota County History Day Registration System in the appropriate format. Multiple documents must be saved as a single PDF and uploaded to be eligible for the competition. No further editing allowed for websites after this date!
For more information regarding contest date/time, deadlines & account help please contact your county coordinators.
Dr. Bernadette Bennett, High School Entries - Bernadette.Bennett@sarasotacountyschools.net
Tracy Prince, Middle School Entries - Tracy.Prince@sarasotacountyschools.net
Category Specific Instructions:
Website entries: should be built through the National History Day web editor, accessible via www.nhd.org//nhdwebcentral. While completing the online registration for the state contest, you will be asked to provide the URL for your website. Be sure to double-check that you have submitted the correct URL free of typos and in the correct format. The URL you submit will be used by the judges to access the website.
Websites are reviewed in advance of the state contest. Websites will be locked for judging on February 11th. After the lockout date you will no longer be able to make changes to your website, so be sure to have made all final edits prior to the lockout deadline.
Please review the National History Day Rule Book for further information about category requirements.
NHDRuleBook2021Digital_0.pdf
Group Documentary
Please be sure to upload your video to online storage and include your link in your student account.
Group Performance
Please be sure to provide a link for your project.
Group Website
Please provide the entire website URL and Website Site Key when registering.
Individual Documentary
Please be sure to upload your video to online storage and include your link in your student account.
Individual Performance
Please be sure to provide a link for your project.
Individual Website
Please provide the entire website URL and Website Site Key when registering.
Paper
Please be sure to upload your title page, process paper and annotated bibliography with your paper.
NEW Contest Rule Book | Released: June 22, 2020
Summary of Significant Rules Changes
The NHD Rule Book details the rules and guidelines student entries are required to follow.
National History Day has revised the Contest Rule Book, effective with the beginning of the 2020-2021 contest year. Changes to the rules impact student participation at each level of the competition. While the NHD contest is not focused solely on rules, the Contest Rule Book sets forth the foundation for the entire program and establishes a consistent and fair footing for the contest cycle, from school level to the National Contest. NHD strongly recommends that teachers review the entire Contest Rule Book, available at nhd.org, and share it with students.
There are many changes; this summary explains the most significant changes and clarifications. Italicized red text indicates new language. Refer to the Contest Rule Book for exact wording, full explanations, and examples of these changes.
SIGNIFICANT CHANGES
Evaluation Form (p. 13)
The evaluation form has been changed substantially. It is now a rubric with two evaluative sections:
Historical Quality (80%) and Clarity of Presentation (20%). The new evaluation forms for each category are available at nhd.org/categories.
Rule 8 | English and Translations (p. 16)
Added: All entries for competition must be submitted in English unless otherwise approved by your
Contest Coordinator. Other languages may be used, if translations in English are provided. When
considering translated text for the purposes of word count, judges will count only the English translation.
Rule 13 | Prohibited Materials (p. 17)
Added: Toy and replica weapons are now prohibited from NHD competitions, as well as anything that could cause damage to the competition venue.
Rule 15 | Written Materials (p. 18)
Modified: Process papers are now required in all categories, including papers.
Rule 17 | Title Page (pp. 18-19)
Added: Because the paper category now requires a process paper, the title page for papers must list the number of words in the process paper, in addition to the number of words in the paper itself.
Rule 18 | Process Paper (p. 19)
Modified: The questions to be addressed in the process paper have been updated, including a requirement to provide your historical argument.
Added: Your process paper must not include quotes, images, or captions.
Rule 19 | Annotated Bibliography (pp. 19-20)
Modified: You must list all sources that you consulted during the development of your entry.
Added: Each annotation must be no more than two or three sentences.
PAPER RULE CHANGES
- Paper Word Count (A2, p. 23) – Captions and words in footnotes/endnotes other than the citation now count toward the paper word limit, in addition to student-composed words and quoted material.
- Process Paper (A4, p. 23) – A process paper is now required for papers. The Title Page must list both the process paper word count as well as the word count for the paper itself (See Rule 17, pp. 18-19).
PERFORMANCE RULE CHANGES
- Interaction (B5, p. 26) – During your performance, you may not interact with or require participation by the audience.
EXHIBIT RULE CHANGES
- Exhibit Media Time Limit (D4, p. 31) – If used, media devices or electronics in an exhibit must no run for more than a total of two minutes and must not loop.
- No Links to External Content (D4, p. 31) – Links to external content, such as QR codes, are prohibited.
WEBSITE RULE CHANGES
- NHD Website Editor (E2, p. 33) – Although the content of this rule is the same, the platform for building an NHD website has changed. NHDWebCentral™ is the only option to build an NHD website.
- Home Page Requirements (E4, p. 34) – In addition to the previous requirements, the home page must now include the total length of multimedia and the total number of all visible student composed words.
- Website Media Time Limit (E5, p. 34) – The website may contain multimedia clips that total no more than three minutes. The time limit includes both audio and video clips (including music).
- Avoid External Hyperlinks (E6, p. 35) – To comply with the rule prohibiting links to external content (E5), you must remove the hyperlink from all URLs listed in on-screen source credits. The only external links allowed are those that direct the viewer to an internet site where they can download a free, secure, and legal download of software needed to view the site (e.g., Flash, QuickTime, and RealPlayer).
- Required Written Materials (E7, p. 35) – Your annotated bibliography and process paper mus appear on the site in PDF format.
SIGNIFICANT CLARIFICATIONS
Submission Requirements (All Categories)
Modified: Due to the diverse needs and logistics of regional and affiliate competitions, submission requirements vary for required written materials. Paper students are generally required to submit several copies of the title page, process paper, paper, and annotated bibliography prior to the competition by the registration deadline. Most competitions still require exhibit, documentary, and performance students to bring multiple copies of the title page, process paper, and annotated bibliography to the competition. However, rules may vary by region or affiliate. Please consult your Contest Coordinator for submission requirements in your area. You may wish to bring an extra copy of your written materials to the competition just in case.
Preparing Your Entry (pp. 7-13)
Expanded: This section offers more detail about the characteristics of good NHD topics and lays out expanded definitions of key NHD concepts. You will notice greater detail about using primary and secondary sources in the Research section.
Interviewing Historians (p. 10)
Emphasis Added: The language discouraging students from interviewing historians has been strengthened. Oral history interviews, on the other hand, are encouraged.
Student Voice, Academic Integrity, and Rules Compliance (p. 12)
Emphasis Added: This new section highlights the importance of students using their own words to analyze their research and draw original conclusions. This section also clarifies the distinction between less serious rule infractions, which may factor into the judges’ final rankings but would not eliminate an entry, and more serious misconduct that would be grounds for disqualification.
Word Count Clarification (p. 21)
Modified: The table showing how to count words in NHD projects has been updated to show specific examples.
Rule 3 | Individual or Group Entries (p. 14)
Added: Changing categories or topics is not permitted after entering the first level of NHD competition beyond the school. Narrowing and refining topics is permitted and encouraged.
Rule 5 | Plagiarism (p. 15)
Clarification: Although NHD’s policies regarding plagiarism have not changed substantively, the text of this rule has been updated, including the addition of specific examples of plagiarism.
Rule 10 | Reasonable Help (p. 16)
Modified: Now a separate rule, Reasonable Help provides multiple examples that distinguish between reasonable help and tasks that you must complete on your own.
Performance and Documentary Rule Clarifications
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Time Requirements (B2, p. 25, and C2, p. 27) – The five minutes following the performance includes both removal of props and the interview.