The Elementary Poster Contest is a scaled-down version of the standard National History Day exhibit category. The contest is open to 4th and 5th grades. Posters must focus on topics in Montana history and relate to the 2026 NHD Theme, "Revolution, Reaction, Reform in History."

Completing a poster allows students to research topics in Montana history that interest them, learn how to write thesis statements and support claims with evidence, and then demonstrate their topic’s significance in history.

Students accomplish this by investigating primary sources of various formats (e.g. photos, interviews, newspaper articles, maps, quotations, etc.) and secondary sources. Ultimately, when students construct their final posters, they should incorporate their evidence into their own words, using meaningful quotations and other primary source texts to support their thesis statement. For more information, complete the teacher interest form.

For samples, visit the gallery of classroom winners from 2024-2025.

Elementary posters do not compete at the in-person National History Day contests for grades 6-12. Students complete posters in class and compete in class or school contests. Teachers should select their top two posters from each classroom and send pictures and project paperwork to NHD MT by June 30, 2026. Over the summer, the Montana Historical Society Staff will select winning posters to be exhibited at the Montana History Conference, the last weekend of September 2026. A grand champion will be announced at the conference.