View or download the current NHD Rule Book here.
N.C. History Day's Western Region
National History Day is a yearlong academic program that engages students grades 6th through 12th in the hands-on discovery of history. N.C. History Day is an affiliate of the National History Day program.
NHD students choose historical topics related to an annual theme; conduct extensive primary and secondary research; analyze and interpret their sources; draw conclusions about their topics’ significance in history; and present their work in one of five categories: historical papers, websites, exhibits, performances, or documentaries. These projects then go through a series of competitions, culminating in the national contest held each June. Students are encouraged to improve their projects at each stage of the competition to inspire continuous research and learning.
North Carolina is divided into eight NHD regions including the Western Region. The Western Region is managed by the Western Office of the N.C. Office of Archives & History. The Western Region is comprised of the following counties: Buncombe, Cherokee, Clay, Graham, Haywood, Henderson, Jackson, McDowell, Macon, Madison, Mitchell, Polk, Rutherford, Swain, Transylvania, and Yancey.
N.C. students must compete at their assigned regional contest before qualifying for the state level contest. The top two entries in each category at the state level contest qualify to participate in the national contest. Approximately 5,000 students compete at the regional level in N.C.
Group Documentary
One group member needs to upload a single PDF of your group's written materials (title page, process paper, and annotated bibliography) and insert the shareable link to your .MP4 file of your FINAL Documentary on a Google Drive, OneDrive, or Dropbox by the registration deadline. Your group will need to plan to bring 2 printed copies of your written materials to the contest.
Group Exhibit
One group member needs to upload a single PDF of your project's written materials (title page, process paper, annotated bibliography) by the registration deadline. Your group will need to plan to bring your exhibit and 2 paper copies of your written materials to the contest with you. No link is needed to be provided for this category.
Group Performance
One group member needs to upload a single PDF of your group's written materials (title page, process paper, annotated bibliography) by the registration deadline. Your group will need to plan to perform your project live and bring 2 paper copies of your written materials and any costumes or props to the contest with you. No link is needed to be provided for this category.
Group Website
Type in your NHDWebCentral Site Key by the registration deadline. This is the 8-digit code that is in your website’s URL. It can also be found by logging into your NHDWebCentral account. Your website will freeze at midnight following the registration deadline.
Individual Documentary
Upload a single PDF of your written materials (title page, process paper, and annotated bibliography) and insert the shareable link to your .MP4 file of your FINAL Documentary on a Google Drive, OneDrive, or Dropbox by the registration deadline. You will need to plan to bring 2 printed copies of your written materials to the contest.
Individual Exhibit
Upload a single PDF of your project's written materials (title page, process paper, annotated bibliography) by the registration deadline. You will need to plan to bring your exhibit and 2 paper copies of your written materials to the contest with you. No link is needed to be provided for this category.
Individual Performance
Upload a single PDF of your written materials (title page, process paper, annotated bibliography) by the registration deadline. You will need to plan to perform your project live and bring 2 paper copies of your written materials and any costumes or props to the contest with you. No link is needed to be provided for this category.
Individual Website
Type in your NHDWebCentral Site Key by the registration deadline. This is the 8-digit code that is in your website’s URL. It can also be found by logging into your NHDWebCentral account. Your website will freeze at midnight following the registration deadline.
Paper
Upload a single PDF of your Paper (title page, process paper, your final paper, and annotated bibliography) by the registration deadline. You may want to plan to bring 1 print copy of your paper with you to the contest so that you can reference it if needed during your judge interview. No link is needed to be provided for this category.
Judges will use NHD Evaluation Forms to evaluate each entry. The evaluation form has two sections: Historical Quality (80%) and Clarity of Presentation (20%). The evaluation of Historical Quality is the same for all categories. This section focuses on the strengths of a project's historical argument, research, and relationship to the theme. Clarity of Presentation is different for each entry category. It evaluates how well a project communicates a student or group's argument using the tools in their category. You can view the evaluation form for each category by clicking the links below: