Steps to Ohio History Day

Find more information about the state contest on our website: http://www.ohiohistory.org/education/national-history-day-in-ohio/contest-information/state-history-day

1.   Arrive at the Ohio Union and proceed to the 2^nd floor to register.
           Exhibit drop off is at the 12^th Ave. entrance. Look for 2 History Day volunteers to tell you your table number.  
    
2. Registration- there will be a line for each category (Paper, Website, Exhibit, Documentary, Performance). Tell them your last name and they will check you in.
   
   
          NOTE- exhibit students- please drop your exhibit off at your table in the ballroom before coming to registration.
                      - Groups- only one person needs to register. In order to avoid congestion at the registration table, please send one representative and other group members should wait away from the registration area  
   
   
3. Time to be judged! Your project will be viewed and you will be interviewed by the judges at your assigned time.      
                Exhibits- the hall is closed to the public during judging. You will be allowed in 15 minutes before your scheduled time. After your judging time, you must leave the exhibit hall                   Documentary and Performances- these rooms will be open to the public. Feel free to go in and watch other projects.
                 Websites and Papers- these categories are closed to the public for the whole day. It will just be you and the judges (possibly another judge team in the room) and that is all. 
   
   
4. Now what? Once you are finished judging you are free to do what you want. Tour OSU, grab food, etc. The exhibit hall will be open to the public from 12:15- 1:15 (times subject to change)
   
   
5. But wait! If you are in any documentary category or the junior group performance category, there will be a second round. This will be announced at 12:40 outside the Archie Griffin Ballroom. You must be present for the 2^nd round to be eligible for nationals.
6.     Time for the 2^nd round. Documentary and junior group performances will have second rounds that students need to be present for. These are also open to the public.
            Papers, Websites, and Exhibits all have second rounds as well but are not announced and the students do not have to be there. Exhibits must be left up until 3pm!
7. It’s awards time! Proceed to the Archie Griffin Ballroom, east end at 3:30 to grab seat for the awards ceremony which will begin at 4pm.

Thanks for participating in the 2013 Ohio History Day contest!

 

Getting your Annotated Bibliography in Tip Top Shape

A couple of weeks ago I posted some helpful hints to consider before moving on to states. One of my suggestions was to go back for more research. I said to not be afraid to beef-up your annotated bibliography because that’s truly the heart of your research and it is one of the main things the judges will be looking at.

            This week, I’d like to say a little more about that.

            After looking through some of the annotated bibliographies at the District 6 competition, there are a few things I think you should consider before bringing your bibliography to states.

1. Format. Your annotated bibliography should follow a very specific format. Look at this example from Montana State University as a guideline.

·         It is divided into Primary and Secondary Sources.

·         Each citation follows either MLA or Turabian style. (Use the same style in your entire bibliography).

·         The sources are alphabetized.

2. Content. You should include 1-3 sentences describing how you used a particular source and how it helped you understand your topic. This is also the time and place to defend why you categorized it as a primary source or a secondary source if you think there will be some confusion. Make sure the content under each entry is substantial. You shouldn’t just have one sentence for every source.

3. Visual Materials and Interviews. These must be included in your annotated bibliography if you used them. Even if you conducted the interview yourself, it is still a source that needs to be cited.

4. Tertiary Sources. These SHOULD NOT be included in your bibliography. You can use sources like dictionaries and encyclopedias to get an idea of where to look first, but you shouldn’t be citing them in your annotated bibliography.
• Quote websites like “Brainy Quotes” should not be included in your bibliography. Find a more reliable source for that quotation.
• Wikipedia should not be included in your bibliography. It is an online encyclopedia and may have been useful for you to find preliminary ideas of where to search next, but shouldn’t have been used beyond that.

Once again, don’t be afraid to make changes. That’s why you have time between Districts and States—to go back over what you’ve done and figure out ways to improve.

Good luck!

Successful History Day Interviews

So, you’re headed to your district or state competition and you’re starting to get nervous about the judges’ interview. Sure, you know your project is great. Your annotated bibliography is stellar. But you forgot about the interview!

Never fear!

Here are some quick tips for how to have a successful interview as well as some sample questions to prepare for.

Quick Tips:

1. Think about it beforehand. Ask yourself how the primary sources helped you understand your topic, how the topic impacted history and what most surprised you. Just taking the time to consider these questions and how you might answer them will help you prepare for the interview.
2. Ask a family member or trusted friend to ask you some questions about your process. You can give them the list of questions below to read off of, but also let them ask questions they are curious to know the answers to!
3. Look over your annotated bibliography again. The focus of history day is on the historical quality and research component of your project. You should be able to speak in an educated way about your sources.
4. Be calm, cool, and collected. Remember, the judges are people too. They’re not there to make you nervous. They don’t want to throw you off-track with their questions so don’t stress too much about the interview. They want you to succeed.

Sample Questions:

• Why did you choose this topic?
• What was your most valuable source and why?
• What would you have done differently if you could do your project again?
• Did your opinion of your topic change after doing research?
• Why is this topic significant in history?
• What most surprised you?
• How did you divide up the work if you were in a group?
• How did you organize your project?
• Exhibits: your board organization
• Performances: your props, costumes, set
• Documentaries: photographs, video clips, order
• Websites: pages and layout of information