Student Worksheet

Lesson Plan Eight: Oral Histories

11th & 12th Grade

2 class periods and 2 homework assignments

Standards Compliance Introduction.

Basing a monologue or short play on oral history interviews can produce CA History Standard 11.5.7 writing that is both accurate and educational. A skilled interviewer can guide Discuss the rise of mass the subject to tell important stories about their life and the world that they production techniques, the grew up in, stories that can be turned into compelling monologues or growth of cities, the impact of dialogues. new technologies (e.g., the automobile, electricity), and the resulting prosperity and effect on the American landscape. Objective.

Students will investigate interviewing techniques, learning how best to draw CA History Standard 11.8.7 stories out of a subject. They will learn about the kinds of questions to ask Describe the effects on society and how to recognize the parts of answers that will make an interesting story. and the economy of By interviewing a family member as a homework assignment, they will also technological developments discover part of their own history. since 1945, including the computer revolution, changes in communication, advances in medicine, and improvements in Tools Required: Computer, Internet access, printer. agricultural technology.

(Note: You can discuss both of these standards through the Vocabulary. stories of your own family, a small microcosm of society!) Oral history is the systematic collection of living people’s testimony about their own experiences. Historians have finally recognized that the everyday memories of everyday people, not just the rich and famous, have historical CA Chronological Thinking importance. If we do not collect and preserve those memories, those stories, Standard 1 Students compare then one day they will disappear forever. Your stories and the stories of the the present with the past, people around you are unique, valuable treasures for your family and your evaluating the consequences of community. You and your family members can preserve unwritten family past events and decisions and history using oral history techniques (adapted from Do History’s website). determining the lessons that were learned. http://dohistory.org/on_your_own/toolkit/oralHistory.html Page 2

Oral Histories: Day One. Introductory Activity 5-10 minutes Pose the following question to your students: “Name television programs or films you like that are set in a past time, whether it is a few years ago or hundreds. Why do viewers like these types of programs? Why might it be interesting to see how people lived in a different time?” Have students write a response for five minutes, then discuss. Record their responses on a blackboard or large piece of chart paper in two columns – Title and Why Liked - and then compare their answers. Mini Lesson 10 minutes Ask the students how much they know about their family history. Who tells them the things they know? Do they think that the lives of their parents, aunts, uncles and grandparents have been completely different to theirs, or in many ways the same? Do they imagine one day telling their stories to their children, nieces and nephews, etc.? Explain that when a person talks about their life this is called an oral history, and that in writing scripts for historical films and TV programs, oral histories are often used. Explain that there is a skill to interviewing, and that your style of interviewing and the kinds of questions you ask affect the answers you get. Also point out that writers often use real things from a character’s life, such as letters they wrote, to make a script more authentic.

Explain that they are about to listen to and watch an MP4 file with clips from oral history interviews and then see how they were used in a play and film about a labor leader called Harry Bridges. They will also see how a real letter is used to reveal something about Harry Bridges’ character. Individual Research 30 minutes

Now have the students download the MP4 file at: http://theharrybridgesproject.org/lesson8.html Have them watch the footage and/or listen to the voices. Print and hand out Student Worksheet: Oral History (page 3) for students to use in their Individual Research, instructing them to consider the questions using the indicated websites and to make notes that they will use in their homework assignment. Conclusion 5 minutes Have the students come back together as a group. Ask them what they learned about oral histories – what they are and how they can be used. Explain that tomorrow night they are going to interview an older person and that they should make the arrangements with the person tonight. Ask them to spend the evening brainstorming ten questions to ask this person. Pass out Student Homework: 10 Core Questions (page 4). Page 3

Name: ______Date: ______

Student Worksheet: Oral History

For each question, find an answer by visiting the recommended websites; or better yet, find your own websites and share them. Write 3-4 sentences answering each question based off what you read on those sites.

 What exactly is an oral history? What is Oral History Oral History ______

 Read or listen to three oral history interviews online and make notes about what you like and don’t like about them. Linda Adams Hoyle interview Kristallnacht interviews ______

 What are some good techniques for interviewing a person to learn about their life history? Consider the setting, how to relax the subject, how to record or take notes, letting the subject wander in their stories, etc. Get Nosy with Aunt Rosie How to Interview a Relative How to Collect your own Family Folklore Oral History Primer ______

 Make a list of 10 questions that you might ask in an interview. If you don’t have room, continue on the back of this sheet. 50 Questions for Family Interviews Writing Good Questions ______

If you have time, check out other pages on these sites or find your own sites as well. If you discover websites that helped in your research, send them to us at [email protected] and say “Lesson Plan Sites” in the subject line. Also let us know if any of the sites that we have supplied have shut down. Include your name and your school’s name and we will add your information to the Education Project!

Name: ______Date: ______Student Homework: Ten Core Questions Tomorrow, you will sit down with a relative or neighbor and ask them about their life. You want to choose good questions that will give you something to work with. Don’t ask yes or no questions; ask question that will require long, detailed answers and will give you lots of information. For your homework, come up with ten core questions that will form the basis of your interview.

Question 1: ______Question 2: ______Question 3: ______Question 4: ______Question 5: ______Question 6: ______Question 7: ______Question 8: ______Question 9: ______Question 10: ______Page 5

Oral Histories: Day Two. Introductory Activity 5 minutes Have students discuss their homework with one another. See if they can agree on good core questions for them all to use in their interviews, and tell them to pay particular attention to the wording of the question; how they word the questions will influence the type of answers they get. Explain that today the students are going to break into groups of two and practice interviewing each other. Group Activity 20 minutes Have students break into groups of two. Each student will ask the other student their ten questions and record their answers as completely as possible. Ask students to give longer answers so that they can have the experience of taking detailed notes rapidly. If the interviewee doesn’t give a long answer, encourage the interviewer to ask a follow-up question to get more information. This is something that they may need to do in their interview later today.

Teacher Led Discussion 15-20 minutes Make a list on a blackboard or large piece of chart paper of the people interviewed and any common themes identified by the recorder. Lead a discussion about what they have learned, using some of the following questions.

 What surprised you the most about your interviewee?  How well did your questions work?  Did you cover the interviewee’s whole life, or just one important part?  Were you able to get them to give you specific personal details about things?  Did they talk about physical things – the kind of telephone they had, how they got places, the food they cooked, etc?  Did you discover anything about yourself by conducting the interview?  Did you find any other useful web sites? Conclusion 5 minutes Explain that our family histories are important to know and understand, and that we can learn things about ourselves as well as the person that we are interviewing when we hear their stories. Remind them about the use of oral histories in writing any kind of “historical” script. Let them know the there will be a lesson soon when they will use their notes to write a short play, so they must keep their notes and also think about physical objects mentioned in the interview that might be useful as “props.” Pass out Student Homework: The Interview (page 6).

Name: ______Date: ______

Student Homework: The Interview

Interview an older person you respect: preferably this will be an older family member like a grandparent, but a neighbor can work as well. Ask this person about their life or an important event they experienced. Interview your subject for a maximum of 30 minutes. Be sure to create a comfortable setting and atmosphere for your subject. Be clear about the questions that you are going to ask and how you are going to record their answers. If you use a recording device, you will need to make detailed notes after the interview. If you need more room, attach another sheet of paper. ______

TEACHER’S RUBRIC FOR HOMEWORK

Quality Interview Rubric adapted from www.ssd.k12.ak.us/phs/TeacherResources/Interview_Rubric.doc

Questions Emerging (1) Developing (2) Proficient (3) Advanced (4) Should Be:

Creative  All yes/no and  Mostly yes/no and  Original—1-2 deep  Provocative= really short answer short answer questions are not from makes you think questions questions the lists generated in  Draws interviewee out  The only deep class and reader in questions asked  Questions encourage  At least three deep are from the list deep answers questions are not from generated in class the lists generated in class Informative  Some required  Only background  5 deep questions in  5 or more deep questions not and/or required addition to required questions in addition to included questions required Interesting  Hard to know  A few unique  Pinpoints interesting  It is very clear what what makes the points are experiences makes the interviewee interviewee mentioned, but  Asks the interviewee to unique unique not in depth tell a story  Presents information in an exciting way Topic-Related  No central topic  Topic is clear, but  Topic is clear, and  Topic is clear, and the or theme is clear interview is not questions are almost interview is focused on focused on it well completely focused on topic topic Respectful/  One or more  One or two  No questions of  No questions of obviously questions may be questionable questionable Appropriate inappropriate or of questionable appropriateness appropriateness disrespectful appropriateness.  Wording shows respect questions and forethought

Complete  No follow-up  Few follow-up  Good follow-up  Follow-up questions questions questions questions delve deep

This Lesson Plan was developed by Ian Ruskin, Director, The Harry Bridges Project, and Education Consultants Kara Hunter and Karen Mowrer.

Made possible with the generous support of

and many other organizations and individuals.

Thank You!