What is an oral history interview? What goes into the planning and what should be said? Why is it important that we know and learn from oral history? This is an excellent instructional activity to support your young historians as...

Bring U.S. history to your language arts class with this lesson. Middle schoolers complete an interview for an oral history project, and discuss the importance of oral histories - and how they embellish written accounts. They write...

There's no better way to learn something than to hear it straight from the horse's mouth. A handout on oral history, part of a larger series on specific writing assignments, explains how to conduct interviews and use the information...

Explore the difficulties in compiling an oral history with this lesson. Young researchers conduct interviews and consider how point of view changes various accounts of a single incidence, resulting in conflicting information. They view a...

Learners explore the oral traditions. In this storytelling lesson, students compare and contrast stories from the cultural traditions of Alaska and Hawaii.

Oral history has brought a multitude of lessons, stories, and factoids to our current knowledge of the past. Let us continue to use oral history traditions through a instructional activity that encourages pupils to discover and...

Students experience oral traditions in storytelling from a variety of cultures. In this storytelling lesson, students watch short video about oral traditions and of two cultural stories. They look for commonalities and differences in the...

Young scholars identify the stereotypes they are faced with on a daily basis. In groups, they use this information to identify the ways stereotypes are portrayed in movies and television. They use a video camera to record oral...

Learners explore oral history and how it is important to historical record. They interview someone who is a U.S. immigrant and create an oral history project/paper based on this interview.

Students create oral histories. In this oral history instructional activity, students prepare for and conduct interviews with Holocaust survivors, liberators, or rescuers. Students study the provided procedure for the interview and...

Students investigate the theme of what it means to be American in a pluralistic society. They conduct oral histories with a family member and create a presentation of the interview. Students develop a better comprehension of their own...

Seventh graders conduct an interview with a veteran of a recent war to provide an account of military conflicts. For this oral history lesson, 7th graders research a recent war and write interview questions for their research. Students...

Distinguish the difference between primary and secondary sources. High schoolers discover how to conduct an interview using an individual as a primary source, and why it is important to get a real-life perspective. They either video or...

Third graders interview older people about their experiences and memories. They include information about entertainment, travel, dress, toys, and food and present both written and oral reports. They publish their stories in a class...

Students act as historians by, first, reading and analyzing oral histories of professional baseball players to become familiar with baseball figures. Then, they proceed to interview family members, relatives, or neighbors who have...

Students use Web technology to access immigration history and develop an understanding of the concept of immigration. Then they develop oral history writing skills, including note-taking and conducting an interview and read for detail....

Thanksgiving doesn't occur only once a year for the Haudenosaunee. Weave an instructional activity about reading closely with an inspiring message about eternal gratitude for all of the elements of creation into a unit on Native American...

Practice your speaking skills! Using a chosen visual aid, pupils present a previously written essay to the class. During the oral presentation, the listeners identify and write down the author's purpose and a question for the author. At...

Sixth graders read First Nations legends to find information about the First Nations.  In this legends as oral history lesson, 6th graders interview and write oral histories from family members.

Students identify the process of producing an oral history/documentary. Students analyze and synthesize information and memoirs as a valuable tool for exploring the past using primary resources. Students differentiate facts of historical...

The importance of oral tradition is evident throughout time and across space. Introduce your learners to some interesting stories and then test their knowledge with these questions. Ten multiple-choice questions focus on characters and...

Middle schoolers visit their school library to read a variety of folktales. While they read, they identify the trickster or hero in each and discuss how the character represents the chaos in the real world. In groups, they write their...

Learners investigate historic events through the eyes of people who were their age when the event happened. Through personal interviews, students gain insights on the impact of these events on these people's lives and on the world at large.

Students analyze the use of oral history as a way of gathering history. In this oral history lesson, students define oral history and then discuss researching immigration. Students research immigration. Students create questions for to...