It's not just a day, it's an experience! New Jersey History Day is an affiliate of National History Day (NHD), an exciting education program that welcomes students into the world of historical research and interpretation. Individually or in a group, students are inspired by an annual theme to create original historical research projects in the form of a performance, exhibit, documentary, website, or paper. These projects are then presented at local, regional, and state competitions, with qualifying entries moving on to culminate in a national contest in June at the University of Maryland, College Park. The History Day program is open to all students in grades 6-12. All types of students participate in History Day - public, private, parochial, and homeschool students; urban, suburban and rural students; gifted students and students with special needs. National History Day's combination of creativity, personal relevance, and scholarship comes together to create a leading model of project-based learning and performance-based evaluation. For more than thirty years the National History Day program has promoted systemic educational reform related to the teaching and learning of history in America's schools. National History Day supports classroom teaching by fueling student interest in developing research skills, and rewarding students of all abilities for their scholarship, individual initiative, and cooperative learning. A national evaluation of the NHD program found that participants: Outperform non-NHD peers on standardized tests Are better writers, able to use evidence to support their point of view Become critical thinkers who can analyze and evaluate information Learn 21st-century college and career ready skills
