Planning Your School Event
The specific organization and details of a school event can
be determined by the needs of your classroom and school. The
following materials are intended to help familiarize you with
the judging process and planning a History Day event.
Getting Started
- Select a date and time that won’t rush your regional
finalists
Ideally, your school event should take place two weeks or
more before the regional registration deadline. Papers and
web sites must be sent to regional coordinators by the registration
deadline so judges can view them in advance, and regional
finalists in those categories should be allowed time to improve
their projects after they get feedback from the school judges.
Some teachers prefer to have their events during a school
day, while others organize evening or weekend events so that
families can attend more easily and students don’t miss
class.
- Select a location
This could be several classrooms, a library media center,
a gym, or any other area with sufficient space to accommodate
all projects. Exhibits will need table or floor space, typically
three feet wide and 2 feet deep. Performances will need a
stage area. Documentaries will need TVs, VCRs, or other hook-ups.
Papers (and web sites, if you are participating in Wisconsin’s
trial category) will need a room or area for private interviews.
Judges will need a place for their training session before
their interviews with students, then for discussing and ranking
entries afterward.
- Recruit judges early
Start recruiting volunteers to judge projects a couple of
months before your event. At regional, state, and national
competitions, three judges are assigned to each panel. You
might reduce this number if necessary. To recruit, send out
a letter describing the program and detailing volunteer responsibilities
and time commitments. Good candidates for judges are current
or retired teachers, administrators, local museum or historical
society staff, library media specialists, and journalists.
- Block out the schedule well in advance
Judges will need 15-20 minutes to judge each project and interview
the student(s). Make sure to schedule time for judges to participate
in a training session and to rank entries and write comments
after interviews. The more time judges have, the more thorough
their comments can be.
- Paper and web site judges should get projects in advance
Judges will have a difficult time reading papers or viewing
web sites at the event. Judges in these categories should
receive the entries at least a few days in advance. (The earlier,
the better!)
- Think about community resources
Many teachers approach their parent-teacher organizations,
local grocery stores or restaurants to donate refreshments
or lunch for volunteers. Your local newspaper might also be
interested in doing a feature story on your students’
work.
Event Planning
and Logistics
Based upon our regional and state “to-do” lists,
we have created a checklist of some things you might want to
keep in mind as you prepare for your school event.
Judge Recruitment
- Where should I look for potential judges?
Good candidates for judges are current or retired teachers,
administrators, local museum or historical society staff,
library media specialists, and journalists. Try contacting
a nearby university’s history or education department.
You may also consider asking your local Rotary or other similar
organizations for volunteers.
The Judging Process
- Let your judges know what to expect
Your judges may not be familiar with NHD or know what role
they will play in the history day event. Sending additional
information to your confirmed judges is a great way for them
to get ready for the event. At the regional and state levels,
judges receive a mailing about two weeks before the event,
which includes a letter and itinerary for the day, the two
page theme sheet, and the specific judging instructions for
the category they will be judging (e.g. exhibits, documentaries,
etc.).
- Paper and web site judges
At the regional and state levels, paper and web site judges
receive and view their entries before the event. Judges in
these categories often find it difficult to view entries,
interview students, and write comments all on the day of the
competition. Giving them the entries a week in advance gives
them time to review the material and write quality comments
about the entries.
- Judges’ training and time for questions
Holding a judges’ training session helps your event
run smoothly, gives your judges a chance to ask questions,
and ensures a positive experience for your students.
- The interview
Judges may only have 15-20 minutes to view the exhibit, jot
down notes about it and interview the student. Usually judges
take a few minutes to look at the exhibit and then ask the
student to come in for the interview. Judges might also want
to save a few minutes at the after the interview to talk to
the other judges and make notes for the comments they will
write later.
- Ranking and comment sheets
Designate a person or a place, usually in the judges’
room, for judges to turn in their comment sheets and entry
rankings.
Final Round
- Do I need to hold a final round?
If you have more than one panel judging any one category (e.g.
there are two panels both judging junior individual exhibits)
you should hold a final round in order to determine who will
move on to the regional competition.
- Who should judge the final round?
Any of your judges can judge the final round except for judges
who already have seen entries in that category and group size.
Keep in mind that final round judges will have more comment
sheets to write so it is best to ask them in advance if they
will have time.
- How does a final round work?
The biggest difference between a preliminary round and a final
round is that there are no interviews in the final round.
For exhibits, papers, and web sites, students do not need
to be present for final rounds. Judges should view the projects
and then work together to make their final decisions. For
documentaries and performances, final round students should
be notified and present their entry again.
- Should the judges write comment sheets?
Final round judges should also write comment sheets. At the
state level, final round judges only write one comment sheet
per entry and usually don’t use the checkboxes. Since
the students will also be getting feedback from their first
round judges, final round comment sheets do not have to be
exhaustive. Rather, they should offer an explanation of why
certain entries progressed and improvements that could be
made.
Judging Materials
Other Resources
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