FAQ – Educators

History Day is a flexible program that can be incorporated into the classroom, offered as a special project or enrichment opportunity, or as an after-school program.   The Annual Themes are flexible in order to allow the program work with any type of curriculum, since students can explore any type of history (state, national, international). 

All aspects of projects must be created by the students associated with it.  Like other school projects, teachers play an important role in providing guidance and feedback to their students.  In circumstances where power tools or other dangerous materials need to be used, adult assistance is absolutely fine.  Do keep in mind that for the  Adults may help carry staging items for performances or exhibit boards  into the room, but the student needs to set up any props or exhibits. 

If you are offering History Day as part of the classroom curriculum, you may want to give your students' parameters in their choice of topic.  For instance if you were teaching  U.S. History class, limiting your students' to American topics within the time period covered in your class. 

Students in different grades can partner on a project, but the students must be in the same age division.  So, an 8th grader could not partner with a 10th grader, but the same student COULD partner with a 7th grader. 

History Day projects need to be able to show historical context.  There is no hard and fast rule about how old a topic needs to be, but make sure it is old enough that you can show the impact of your topic on today's world.  

Towns are assigned to one of Connecticut's five  regions: Fairfield, Mansfield/Storrs, New Haven, Norwich, and Torrington.  Please check out the Regional Contest page to figure out the contest you attend.  If you have a genuine schedule conflict, accommodations can sometimes be made. Please contact the State Coordinator to discuss.

Every effort should be made to attend the Regional and State Contests. History Day staff will work with you to accommodate specific schedule needs. However, if one of your group members is unable to attend a contest, your group is still eligible to participate. Please contact the State Coordinator to let her know the name of the student who is unable to attend the contest and the reason why. 

Absolutely! We encourage students to use the constructive feedback that they receive at the Regional Contest to improve their project before the State Contest.

All judges receive the exact same type of training using a judging rubric from the State Coordinator or the History Day Assistant. However, the project is being reviewed by an entirely different set of people at each contest. The judging at the State Contest is more critical since judges are reviewing top finishers from the Regional Contest.