UNDERSTANDING ORAL HISTORIES

MATERIALS NEEDED: Oral history question worksheet (print one for each student).

INSTRUCTIONS: Ask students to conduct an interview with a relative, neighbor or teacher. Students should conduct an interview with that person, asking him or her to relate a story from childhood. Students should take notes or use a tape recorder during the interview to make sure they retain details from the oral history. (Remind your students to ask permission to record their conversation.) After students have completed an interview, they should, at home, or in the classroom, if time permits use a piece of poster board and make a "storyboard" of the life story from their interview. Suggest students plot events on a time line or make "cartoon" frames and draw their interview in the boxes. Students can even tape/glue photographs, magazine clippings, instead of only drawing pictures. Each student should be prepared to share his or her storyboards with the class.

ALTERNATIVE ACTIVITY: If students do not have access to someone to interview, have them research a person of their choice from a book in the media center. Students should attempt to answer the same questions about the person and create a storyboard just as suggested above.