National History Day at CMHS

What is the National History Day Contest, you ask? Each year more than half a million

students across the country and in international schools across the world participate. There is an annual theme. Students in high school and junior high school carefully select historical topics related to the annual theme and then conduct primary and secondary research and final products based on this research. Students can work in groups or as individuals, and they can choose to present their research as papers (individual only), documentaries, live performances, exhibits, or web sites.

Students look for rich and diverse sources from libraries, online databases, print, audio, and visual media, archives and museums, conduct oral history interviews if applicable, and visit historical sites if applicable.

What makes the NHD program unique and worth a student and teacher’s time?

  • It teaches students how to conduct proper research and how to carefully analyze and interpret their sources.
  • It’s not your average research project. You can work in a group or by yourself, and you can choose how your present your research. Last year, we had two students who even created a puppet show to present their work!
  • Competing at the regional level introduces students to the fantastic Louisiana State Exhibit Museum here in Shreveport and community members who judge their work. Presenting your work to judges provides valuable experience for college and the work place.
  • If you advance to state, you get to spend the day at the incredible National WWII Museum in New Orleans and you qualify for additional awards when you advance to nationals or not. This year, Magnet had a student get a scholarship to the museum’s Normandy Academy summer program. Laura Giacalone (class of 2015) participated in an immersive study of the D-Day invasion that included actually visiting Normandy! This opportunity wouldn’t have been available to her had it not been for her participation in the NHD program.
  • Students who do advance to nationals (top two finishers in each category) get substantial scholarships to offset the cost of travel and room and board at the University of Maryland in June, as well as additional college scholarships or academic awards.
  • Participating in this esteemed program will look great on an academic resume!

The 2015-16 annual theme is Exploration, Encounter, Exchangein History. You can access the theme book and sample topic lists and many more helpful resources at the NHD site. You can also visit the Louisiana History Day site. Regional contests are usually help in early to mid-March. Our state contest is held in mid-to-late April, and the national contest is in early-to-mid June each year. If you’d like to pursue the NHD program prior to embarking on your journey, please visit with Magnet’s school NHD coordinators: Mrs. Dionne Procell-Brown in E206 () and Mrs. Karen Soileau in C-5 (). Any Magnet student can participate in the program with prior approval from one of the above teachers even if your social studies teacher does not incorporate the NHD project into his/her curriculum.