Oral History Project

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Oral History Project

• Student Guide to Success

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Tasks

• Create an oral history project
• Interview a person who participated or witnessed
  an event or era in American history
• Create and use a list of interview questions
• Have a partner help you to create and edit the
  questions (required as part of your grade)
• Use the information to create a product to
  demonstrate your understanding of that persons
  experience

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Step 1 Pick an event or era from before 2000
(possible overall topics)

• 1940s (and associated events)
• 1950s (and associated events)
• 1960s (and associated events)
• 1970s (and associated events)
• 1980s (and associated events)
• 1990s (and associated events)
• FDRs presidency (and associated events)
• Trumans presidency (and associated events)
• Eisenhowers presidency ( associated events)
• JFKs presidency ( associated events)
• LBJs presidency ( associated events)
• Nixons Presidency (and associated events)
• Fords presidency (and associated events)
• Carters presidency (and associated events)
• Reagans presidency (and associated events)
• George H.W. Bushs presidency (and associated
  events)
• Clintons presidency (and associated events)

• Great Depression
• World War II
• Early Cold War (other than Vietnam War)
• Conformity Non-conformity (50s 60s)
• Korean War
• Civil Rights Movement
• Vietnam War
• End of the Cold War ( associated events)
• Economic Crises of 1970s
• Womens Liberation Movement
• Rise of Conservatism
• U.S. military actions since Vietnam

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Step 2 Pick a person to interview

• Make sure
• It is someone you know.
• Relative
• Family friend
• Neighbor
• The person is over 18.
• They have participated in or witnessed an event
  or era that you want to research.
• You complete the parental permission form

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Step 4 Develop 15 questions for your interview.

• Your questions should
• Demonstrate a clear understanding of the time
  period.
• Show evidence that you researched the time period
• Probe the interviewee to give responses that
  require elaboration
• Stay away from questions that result in yes or
  no responses.

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Design questions around some of these categories

• Entertainment/Media
• Employment/Occupations
• Community Life
• Family Life
• Accomplishments
• Event/eras impact on community
• Event/eras impact on the interviewees life
• Event/eras impact on the nation

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Step 5 The interview

• Listen to the persons responses.
• Ask appropriate follow-up questions.
• Keep a record of your persons responses.
• Detailed notes or
• A sound recording

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Step 6 Create a final product

• Shows understanding of the interviewees
  experience in historical context
• (In other words, use your interviewees story to
  show me your knowledge)
• Options for your final product
• A PowerPoint presentation
• A narrative of the persons life

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Products should

• Demonstrate an understanding of the historical
  event or era
• Incorporate specific information from the
  interview
• Place the interviewees experiences in historical
  context
• Be interesting and engaging to the audience
• Demonstrate effort and quality work

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Powerpoint template suggestions
(Slide 1 of 4)
A historical subtopic from class
Compare to your own knowledge of the subject in
as much detail as possible (similar to or
different than?)
Your interviewees experiene(s) with that topic.
(from interview, in as much detail as possible)
A picture related to that topic
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Possible Biography Outline

• I. Introduction (give background info of the time
  period Cold War, WWII, 1950s culture, Vietnam,
  etc.)
• Body Explain that persons experiences related
  to your time period in detail (include at least 4
  points that relate to this course)
• Comparison Section Compare this information
  to your own knowledge of the time period,
  including as much historical detail as possible.
• Conclusion Summarize the effect that the time
  period/era had on your interviewees life.