Getting Ready

Holding Local Fairs: Each school in Region VIII, which includes the parishes of Livingston, St. Helena, St. Tammany, Tangipahoa, and Washington, is encouraged to hold a local Social Studies Fair to select winners who will enter the Region VIII Social Studies Fair. In schools where a local fair is not held, selection of entrants for the Region VIII Social Studies Fair may be made by a committee of teachers. Limitations and Classification. Please note the limits on entries to the Region VIII Social Studies Fair given under “Organization.” Please be sure that all projects are placed in the proper Discipline as described .

Judges. Please note that the Region VIII Social Studies Fair is unable to provide judges for local fairs.

If this is your first time participating in your local fair, you may want to review A Guide to Social Studies Projects.

1. Originality is very often the most important feature separating winning projects from others. Certain topics–for example, flags of Louisiana, the Statue of Liberty–have been used so often that it is difficult to come up with anything new. Projects which show evidence of creativity and use of sources other than encyclopedias, school textbooks and the internet are much more likely to gain the favorable attention of the Judges.
2. A good oral presentation is vital to the success of a project. This should be about three (3) minutes long in order to allow time for Judges’ questions. This presentation allows judges to see that it was the student who completed the project being presented, not a parent, teacher, or someone else. Make sure you know your topic thoroughly in order to answer any judge’s questions.
3. While participants are not being judged, strictly speaking, on looks or manners, a neat appearance and a polished, dignified delivery is certain to make a favorable impression on the Judges.
4. Make sure your display board is creative. Don’t just use photocopies. Use a variety of materials to make up your display board.
5. Make sure your research paper includes all of the necessary components
   1. Title Page
   2. Table of Contents Page
   3. An Abstract
   4. the Research Paper
   5. Conclusion Page
   6. Bibliography Page
   7. Footnotes/Endnotes only for Division III

Participants, parents, and teachers frequently express concern about the number of times that a project has been judged. In the past there have been complaints that some students have been “judged” once, while others have been “judged” several times. In fact a project may be examined only once by the judges, or it may be viewed several times by the Judges where there is difficulty in making decisions about winners. But the fact that judges look at some projects more times than others does not indicate any discrimination. It merely reflects the judges’ need to obtain more information for some entries. Complaints should not be made in such cases. Complaints should be made at the Information Tables only if an entry has not been judged at all by the end of the judging period, that is, by 11:30am. Their decisions are final.

Sample Judging Form