Alabama History Day is the state affiliate contest of National History Day, a history competition that engages students (grades 6-12) in robust and creative historical research. Our next Alabama History Day is April 8, 2022!
Register for 2022!
Alabama History Day fosters interdisciplinary historical research, interpretation, and creative expression. Each year, National History Day announces an annual theme to which students respond by investigating primary and secondary historical sources relating to a topic of their choice. They then synthesize their findings and present them in one of five categories: Paper, Documentary, Website, Performance, or Exhibit. Students work individually or in groups of up to five. By participating in Alabama History Day, students become writers, filmmakers, web designers, playwrights and artists as they create unique contemporary expressions of history.
Students compete in our state competition, traditionally held in April. Winning competitors are eligible to move on to National History Day in Washington, D. C., each June.
Note: We aim to return Alabama History Day to an in-person format for 2022. As the pandemic evolves, we’ll continue to monitor guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Alabama Department of Public Health. We’ll keep all AHD participants informed about any format changes and/or health and safety requirements from our host venue.
The Alabama History Day staff invites you to get creative and demonstrate your critical thinking skills in our annual competition. The best thing about this competition is that YOU select the topic and the presentation format! We have a ton of guides and other resources to help you along the way, whether you build a website, create an exhibit, write a paper, prepare a live performance or film a documentary.
You may work solo or in groups of up to five students. Also, groups can be made up of students in different grade levels, as long as you are in the same division.
If group projects are your thing, start texting your friends and classmates and get to work!
First things first! Review the National History Day rule book with your teacher and family. This will be your guide to a successful project. You can find the rule book HERE. The Spanish version of the rule book can be found HERE.
Before you select a topic, you want to find inspiration in the national theme. The 2022 theme is Debate & Diplomacy in History: Successes, Failures, Consequences. You can find the annual theme book HERE and the theme video HERE.
Begin by thinking about a time in history or individuals or events that are interesting to you. Start a list of ideas.
Now, go back through your ideas and circle those that you can easily connect with the theme. From the ideas that you circled, select one to begin your research.
After identifying a topic, you must explain its significance in history. Develop an argument for the historical impact of the person, event, pattern or idea being studied.
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From citations to word count, it's important to review the submission requirements for formatting. You must provide the proper documentation and be prepared to answer judges' questions about your research and presentation.
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Each year a variety of Special Awards are offered during the Alabama History Day contest to recognize student achievement in particular topic areas. Many of the awards come with cash prizes from our partners.
Learn MoreThe National History Day affiliate coordinator for Alabama is Rachel Hartsell, program coordinator at the Alabama Humanities Alliance. For more information, contact Rachel at 205.558.3996 or rhartsell@alabamahumanities.org.