ORAL HISTORY LESSON PLAN

III. Oral History Assignment

Due dates:     
Recorded interview due (  )  Transcripts due (one week later)
First Draft of Final Oral Histories due (two weeks after that)
Final Oral Histories Due (one week later)

Overview: In class, we’ve been studying (  ).   Now, you will talk to (a family member, friend or community member) to record and write, for an audience of your peers, one person’s story of (  ).

Outcomes: You will demonstrate your knowledge of the issues we studied in class, your ability to ask relevant questions, and transcribe and edit your interview into an oral history.

Standards:

Assignment

This assignment has four major parts:

1. Interview

You will prepare for and conduct an interview with someone in your (family, school or community).  If this person does not speak English, you will be given credit for translating the interview into English.

You must:

• set up a time and place to conduct the interview
• write at least 20 questions
• record your interview (I’ll provide materials)
• arrange with your classmates how you’ll share materials

 

2. Transcript

You will type and save every word of your interview in a transcript, like this:


Example
Lisa Morehouse:  What memories do you have of Vietnam?

Viet Nguyen: Umm, (coughs) I don’t have many clear memories of Vietnam, mostly of school.

LM:  What do you remember about school?

VN: Well, before the, my dad had been working against the Communists before the war, they had a house, land.  And so after the war I went to a Communist school, learned speeches and stuff, so that it appeared that our family was compliant, going along, and I remember thinking, “Why do I have to wear this uniform, learn these songs?”

3. Oral History Narrative

You’ll create an oral history by picking the best parts of your interview and deleting the parts you don’t think are interesting.  You’ll have to decide how you think the oral history should look: how the transcript should be broken into paragraphs, how each idea should be broken into sentences. You’ll pick the best stories your interviewee told, eliminate your questions, and cut and paste on the computer.  I will show you how to do this in the computer lab.

You’ll also write a description of your interviewee, and pick a golden line from your interview to use as a title.  Again, I’ll help you with this before you have to turn it in.

4. Oral History Final Draft

Even after you think your oral history is perfect, you’ll get it edited for a final draft.  There’s always something you’ll miss!  You’ll get an adult to edit your work, and you’ll do final, final changes on your oral history before we create a class book.