Sample Projects

We are very proud of the many projects produced by our outstanding Maryland students. Here are just a few samples of winning projects from our state. There are many ways to create a great History Day project, but always keep in mind the criteria used by judges

• Historical Quality (60%) - project provides analysis and interpretation, shows understanding of historical context, demonstrates wide research using strong primary and secondary sources, gives balanced presentation.
• Relation to Theme (20%) - project demonstrates why topic is important and topic's significance in history in relation to the theme.
• Clarity of Presentation (20%) - project is well organized and creative, and written material does not have errors in grammar and spelling

Check out the following sample projects in each category:

• Research Papers
• Exhibits
• Documentaries
• Performances
• Web Sites

Additional samples can be found on the National History Day website under each category on the NHD website.

PAPER CATEGORY

Noah Pritt

Homeschool, Frederick County
Teacher: Christine Pritt

Noah Pritt’s paper “Descartes’ Analytic Geometry: Plotting the Future of Mathematics” won second place at the 2010 Maryland History Day state competition and advanced to National History Day, where Noah won a bronze medal, placing third in the nation in the Junior Paper category.

Click here to read Noah's paper.

Michael Keen

Homeschool, Montgomery County
Teacher: Christine Keen

Michael's paper "Lost Opportunities for Peace: Vietnam, 1945-1950" won first place at the 2011 state contest and third place at the 2011 National History Day competition. He also won the Michael E. Patten Memorial History Award for Best Use of Primary Sources at the state contest.

Click here to read Michael's paper.

Eric Keen

Homeschool, Montgomery County
Teacher: Christine Keen

Eric Keen's paper "Feeding the World: The Haber-Bosch Process" won second place at the 2010 Maryland History Day state competition and advanced to National History Day, where Eric won a bronze medal, placing third in the nation in the Senior Paper category.

Click here to read Eric's paper.

EXHIBIT CATEGORY

Ethan McComb

Plum Point Middle School, Calvert County
Teacher: Merry Ellen Fallica

Ethan McComb's exhibit "The Marshall Plan: America's Soft Power Diplomacy Saves Europe from Economic and Political Chaos Following World War II" won first place at the 2011 Maryland History Day state competition for Junior Individual Exhibit and advanced to National History Day, where he took home the first-ever gold medal for Maryland.

Click here to read Ethan's process paper and bibliography.

Rebecca Pannone

Fort Hill High School, Allegany County
Teacher: Todd Eirich

Rebecca Pannone's exhibit "Radar: Technology That Impacted World War II" won the Barry A. Lanman Award for Oral History at the 2010 Maryland History Day state competition and competed in National History Day.

Click here to read Rebecca's process paper.

Click here to read Rebecca's annotated bibliography. 

DOCUMENTARY CATEGORY

Ryan Burton

Milton Somers Middle School, Charles County
Teacher: Allen Hopkins

Ryan Burton’s documentary “The Color of America: Debating Racial Classification in the US Census” won second place at the 2011 Maryland History Day state competition. At the 2009 National History Day competition, Ryan placed fifth in the nation in the Junior Individual Documentary category and he received the 2009 Junior Division Outstanding State Entry for Maryland.

Watch Ryan's documentary here.

Andre Burton

La Plata High School, Charles County
Teacher: Michele Bingham

Andre Burton's documentary "Prosthetic Innovation: War Changes Everything" won first place at the 2010 Maryland History Day state competition and advanced to National History Day. The project also won the Military History Award at the state competition.

Watch Andre's documentary here.

Additional History Day documentary samples can be found with our YouTube clips.

PERFORMANCE CATEGORY

Joanna Guy

Southern Garrett High School, Garrett County
Teacher: David Bender

Joanna Guy's performance "Militant Quaker: Alice Paul and the Final Campaign for Women's Suffrage" won first place at the 2009 Maryland History Day state competition and advanced to National History Day. The performance was also featured at the Maryland Humanities Council's 2009 summer Chautauqua at Garrett College.

Watch Joanna's performance here.

Katie Marshall, Rebecca Mitchell, and Rachel Petro

Urbana High School, Frederick County
Teacher: Susan Levin

Katie Marshall, Rebecca Mitchell, and Rachel Petro's performance "Women in Space? Preposterous! Innovation of WISP" won first place at the 2010 Maryland History Day state competition and advanced to National History Day. The performance also won the Special Prize in Women's History at the state contest.

Watch Katie, Rebecca and Rachel's performance here.

WEB SITE CATEGORY

Christopher Crunkleton

Northern Middle School, Calvert County
Teacher: Carli Griffin

Christopher Crunkleton's web site "The Interstate Highway System: Impact on Economies and Americans' Quality of Life" won first place at the 2010 Maryland History Day state competition and was a finalist at the National History Day contest.

Click here to see Christopher's web site.

Camila Uechi

Bullis School, Montgomery County
Teacher: Sara Romeyn

Camila Uechi's web site "The Bay of Pigs: A Diplomatic Turning Point" won first place at the 2011 Maryland History Day state competition as well as the Barry A. Lanman Award for Oral History. Camila won a scholarship to Chaminade University in Honolulu at the National History Day competition for her work.

Click here to see Camila's web site.

Click here to see more sample web sites from National History Day.