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Maine National History Day Prizes & Awards

Prizes and other recognition for Maine National History Day include cash, gift certificates, and publicity. All entrants receive a certificate acknowledging participation. The top two winners in each category qualify to participate in the National History Day finals in June at the University of Maryland. Each Division (Junior, grades 6-8; Senior, grades 9-12) offers eight contest categories:

Category	Individual	Group
Research Paper	X	No
Exhibit	X	X
Performance	X	X
Media Documentary	X	X
Web Site	One prize for a combined individual and group category

 

Special prizes will be awarded in each Division (Junior and Senior) for the best entries on certain topics.

Examples:

Maine National History Day 2009
Judges Guidelines for Special Awards

In addition to History Day category awards, several special awards cross categories. While preference should be given to winners of History Day categories, others are eligible for the special awards but should have received at least an Overall Rating of “Excellent” or “ Superior.” You may have none that meet the criteria or none that merit an award.

Relevance for Today: One $50 award to each division: Junior and Senior. Winners should make a specific reference to the relevance of their product to current affairs, including analysis and arguments to support their contention. Just stating that the relevance is obvious is not sufficient. If you make a nomination, please note how the “relevance” was demonstrated. Nominate no more than one candidate from the category you are judging.

Maine Related: One plaque given to each division, Junior and Senior, for best entry. Presented in memory of Mrs. Ethel “Billie” Gammon, Maine 's history storyteller, 1916-2009.

New England Related: One plaque given to each division, Junior and Senior. Presented by the New England History Teachers Association.

In-depth and Innovative Research: “Alnobak” Native American book presented by the Androscoggin Historical Society. Best individual or group in each division, Junior and Senior. If a group wins, each student will receive a book.

Premise of this award:

Many students go to easily-obtained sources for information. It's similar to our high school reports that basically came from encyclopedia articles by "experts." Today we are asking students to evaluate and to do so one needs to look wide and deep. The excellent projects I've seen are based on sources that speak about the focus person in a positive way, but looking at what competitors and "enemies" said about the person. George Washington had detractors and so did Abraham Lincoln; their writings give clues to the focus person.

- W. Dennis Stires

Best Use of Primary Sources: Certificate from National Archives and Records Administration Northeast Region Office. One for every Category/Division.

 

 

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