A Team Approach To Oral History
Submitted by: Elaine Seavey
School or Affiliation: Seminole High School, Seminole, OK
Endorsed by: These lesson plans are the result of the work of the teachers who have
attended the Columbia Education Center's Summer Workshop. CEC is a consortium of teacher
from 14 western states dedicated to improving the quality of education in the rural,
western, United States, and particularly the quality of math and science Education. CEC
uses Big Sky Telegraph as the hub of their telecommunications network that allows the
participating teachers to stay in contact with their trainers and peers that they have met
at the Workshops.
Date: May 1994
Description:
This project is a cross-discipline approach to the study of Oklahoma History and
English. Through the accomplishments of this project, students will see the
interrelationship of the two disciplines. Students often do not link literature and
history as interdependent disciplines and tend to compartmentalize each subject area. In
demonstrating the relationship these two subjects have with each other, we hope to provide
the kind of learning experience that would help students tear down these barriers. The
result of this active process will be a student-written publication of their own community
using the skills obtained in their English classes.
Grade Level: Appropriate for grades 8-10.
Goal:
The purposes of this project are multiple. One purpose is to involve the students
activity in the pursuit of history and to develop an awareness of the interdependence of
the various disciplines. The skills acquired in English class can be applied in the
exploration of the past. Another purpose of an oral history project is a sense of
community that evolves in the students as they begin their quest of a "story."
The students also develop an appreciation for the people in the community who are the
"living" history.
Objectives: Students will be able to:
- Observe the human side of history as revealed through personal interviews, newspaper
articles, and fictional accounts.
- Record the history of various sites and people in the Seminole area.
- Follow the process of preparing a manuscript for publication, including gathering
information, organizing, writing, editing, rewriting, and typesetting.
- Appreciate the interrelationship of literature and history.
Materials:
The Oral History Review
- Oral History Review
- The Foxfire series
- Brown, Cynthia Stokes -- Like It Was: A Complete Guide to Writing Oral History
- Sitton, Thad; McHaffy, George; Davis, O.L., Jr. -- Oral History: A Guide for Teachers
Procedure:
The following activities are designed to provide an outline of the sequence a teacher
may want to follow in your own oral history project:
- The teacher must become acquainted with the use of a tape recorder and interviewing
techniques. You may want to first do some research in the area of oral history and
interview individuals about some interesting event. These tapes could also be used as
examples for the students. You may also want to arrange for someone to come the classroom
for an interview and then the class could observe the techniques.
- Introduce the oral history project to the students and present some suggestions or
examples of what might interest them. Such as childhood memories of the Depression, life
in an oil camp, some research on a mysterious or unsolved murder, or some sinister
desperado, etc. Brainstorming some particular topics is always stimulating to the class
and helps to encourage even the most cynical.
- The class can then be instructed on some interview techniques and strategies for
obtaining and conducting interviews. The students can then be put in small groups of
paired off to help each other in formulating sets of questions. During this whole process
both the English and history teachers are working together in the sharing of their
particular skills.
- Students then record, transcribe, and edit their interviews. The student help each other
with the editing process, with final approval from the instructors. All articles are
signed by the authors and credits are given to those who contributed information for the
project. Many of the students received old photographs, old newspaper clippings, and other
documents to incorporate into their story. Some took photographs of a particular building
or area that was related to their topic.
- The final copies are entered in the word processor - there are always some students who
are either typing or in computers who happily volunteer.
- Students then participate in the process of typesetting. During this time student are
encouraged to submit names and cover designs for the book. Remember, it is their book.
- The happy day arrives when the book comes back from the printer and distributed to the
participants. It is an amazing thing to watch their faces as they see their name in print.
Tying it All Together:
We were very proud of our students in the completion of this project. The
inter-disciplinary approach to this project enabled students in these classes to apply
English skills for a practical purpose, that of actually communicating with a reading
audience. They gained an appreciation for the "living" quality of history as
they heard stories related by long- time residents of our town.
In addition to these major objectives, students were exposed to several other valuable
experiences. They learned interview techniques, gained an appreciation for those older in
the community who were absolutely essential to the completion of this project, practiced
self-discipline to stay with the task until completed, and sharpened their proof-reading
skills.
This project did not require big funds. Subject material is very plentiful and students
are involved in the active process of writing history and creating their own publication
and that is the greatest benefit of all!!!!
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