Oral+History+Overview

=** TURNING POINTS - ORAL HISTORY ** = Without oral history, we would not be able to appreciate and understand the events of the past and the impact the events have on the present. While it is often difficult for young historians to find suitable subjects for oral history on historical topics, that challenge becomes much easier the closer we come to the 21st century. In Unit 8, all students will be conducting some sort of oral history interview concerning an event, era, idea, or issue from our final unit. ** Instructions **
 * You may collaborate with one or more individuals on this assignment, as long as everyone does the work. Your partners do NOT need to be in your history class for oral history.
 * ** Find a person to interview and a topic of discussion from the time period of Unit 8 ** - pretty much anything after World War II. Talk to your families, friends, and teachers for ideas. The person should be someone you know or have a connection to, but you do not need to be related to them. More than one subject on the same topic would be awesome!
 * ** Research and write a brief summary of the topic of discussion ** (the historical event, issue, or idea). The topic can be specific (the Detroit Riot of 1967) or general (memories of the Civil Rights Movement). You obviously need to have background information. Your research must include at least __two cited sources__. The historical New York Times, the archives of Time Magazine, and ABC-CLIO are great resources!
 * ** Develop 7-10 interview questions for the subject **. Don't ask just what happened, but find out their reactions, memories, etc.
 * ** Conduct the interview. Post the typed questions and interview responses on your Unit 8 notebook. **If possible, record the interview (audio or video). You can embed it on your online notebook. It's not necessary, but very cool ...
 * On your online notebook, ** discuss your reaction to the interview **, and include any relevant pictures, artifacts, and links.
 * Want an idea of the expectations? Here are some of my favorite examples from the past few years -
 * Franny, Caroline - Mr. K, Vietnam - Vietnam War Interview
 * Gabby, Jessica - Gabby's Dad, Tom - Oral History Questions
 * Jack - Kevin Hermening, Iran Hostage - Oral History Questions
 * Victoria, Erika - Victoria's grandparents - Oral history Interview

Start thinking about this assignment VERY SOON by choosing partners (if you want) and talking to your parents about who you can interview. Your parents might even make great subjects - fun at the dinner table!