Described is History Day, a national program that encourages middle and secondary students to research a subject of interest to them. Students acquire research skills and a knowledge of history as they prepare papers, projects, and performances for competition. How one Georgia high school participated in the program is discussed. (RM)

Describes how the author's opinion of contests for students changed from generally negative to overwhelmingly positive after he had experience with them. Recounts his experiences with the contests and describes the projects entered by his history students. Concludes that contests can work well in motivating students to write research papers. (AEM)