Oral history is a powerful way of collecting detailed information from a living person about a specific time, place, event, or experience. Oral history is rooted in giving voice to people who often aren’t involved in writing history.
Oral history relies on memory and spoken word.
We all have stories to tell. Oral history listens to these stories, organizes and gives order to the memories so that we can preserve important stories.
Your assignment: Explore oral history as a tool to better understand a specific time period or topic in American history, especially as it relates to your community, heritage, or identity. Begin by selecting a topic or era you'd like to explore, and identify someone to interview who has lived experience or insight into that subject.
Your task is to research, prepare thoughtful interview questions, conduct the interview, and produce an edited audio or video recording that captures the story in a compelling and respectful way.
As you position yourself within the diverse mosaic of American history, consider the current visibility and representation of your cultural background, both locally and nationally. How is your heritage acknowledged or overlooked? What stories remain untold?
For example, many Americans are unaware that the U.S. has five permanently inhabited colonial territories: American Samoa, Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands, the U.S. Virgin Islands, and Puerto Rico. All residents have U.S. citizenship—except for American Samoans, who are classified as U.S. nationals unless one parent is a citizen.
As an oral historian, your role is to document these kinds of nuanced stories: stories that might not appear in textbooks, but that are essential to a more complete understanding of the American experience. You will research, develop interview questions, conduct the interview, analyze the interview and edit into a compelling story.
Oral History projects rely on memory and spoken word. After an interviewer records the stories directly from the interviewee, the interviewer (which will be YOU), analyzes and reflects upon how to share the story in an accurate historical context.
QUESTIONS TO EXPLORE. These can be answered through discussion, quick writing responses or longer paragraph responses,
Oral history gives life to the facts.
Example: In 1933, unemployment had risen from 8 to 15 million and the gross national product had decreased from $103.8 billion to $55.7 billion.
This is an oral history account that gives face to that fact: “I remember it was awful hard times, and it was hard to get a hold of enough to buy a sack of flour and we made our own breads, cooked our vegetables, bottled our fruits, raised our gardens. We did most of our own cooking and pastry, pies, whatever. Did it all ourselves; we hardly ever bought anything.” --Marvell Hunt, recalling life at 19 years old during the Depression in Sevier County, Utah. Source: Family Gallery Guide for “Our Lives, Our Stories: America’s Greatest Generation,” NEH on the Road, a program of Mid-America Arts Alliance.
Do initial background research.
Based on your topic, brainstorm and make a list of possible people you could interview. Narrow down your list and select one person.
PRO TIP FOR TEACHERS: create a list of possible people in the community who might be willing to be interviewed. As Ken Burns once said, “there are no ordinary lives.”
PRE-INTERVIEW:
You’ll want to talk with the subject before you record. Ask them about their story, write down their answers. Use this conversation to decide the beginning and ending of their story and the key moments that will help it come alive. This will help you write your questions for the recorded interview.
INTERVIEW QUESTIONS
Come up with:
IMPORTANT PRE INTERVIEW NOTES:
Conduct the interview!
IMPORTANT POST INTERVIEW NOTES + REFLECTIONS
FORMATS TO CONSIDER:
Video profile: a profile is a story focusing primarily on one person. You want your profile to help the audience understand and see that person clearly. It could have voiceover (VO), b-roll, pictures, nats (natural sound), interviews of family members or peers of that one person.
Here’s more advice on using your phone to film broll. Use b-roll as the VISUAL REPRESENTATION of the story. If you are interviewing someone, listen closely, make notes, and then record video of the actions, objects, and places described during the interview. Especially for this project, strong b-roll will help communicate the story of the person you choose.
Audio feature story: This might be a two-way interview, a reported piece with multiple interviews and audio scenes. Sometimes people are more comfortable sharing difficult experiences in an audio format rather than appearing on camera.
Print story: This should be a written piece of journalism. It could be a report, a feature article, or an explainer.
Once you have all your video or audio clips, edit to a 2-3 minute piece, upload it to a platform of your choice and tag us!
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Twitter @reportinglabs
This resource is part of the Global Education Toolkit and was made possible with support from the Longview Foundation.
Media refers to all electronic or digital means and print or artistic visuals used to transmit messages.
A group of people who live in the same area (such as a city, town, or neighborhood). It can also be a group of people who have the same interests, religion, race, etc.
A simplified and standardized conception or image invested with special meaning and held in common by members of a group; a set form or convention
The condition of having or being composed of differing elements. Especially in the context of the inclusion of people of different races, cultures, etc. in a group or organization
The act or practice of including and accommodating people who have historically been excluded (as because of their race, gender, sexuality, or ability)
Immediate, current information and events are newsworthy because they have just recently occurred. It’s news because it’s “new.”
Awareness of the elements of environment through physical sensation or intuitive cognition. A capacity for comprehension and understanding.
People are interested in other people. Everyone has something to celebrate and something to complain about. We like unusual stories of people who accomplish amazing feats or handle a life crisis because we can identify with them.
People are attracted to information that helps them make good decisions. If you like music, you find musician interviews relevant. If you’re looking for a job, the business news is relevant. We need to depend on relevant information that helps us make decisions.
The people who read, watch and consume news. Often, journalists think about audience and newsworthiness in similar ways. How will the news story serve their local or national audience? Who am I writing the story for and why?
A conversation between two or more people where the purpose is to gather information and facts. The interviewer asks questions and the interviewee provides information based on their knowledge about a specific topic or issue.
A digital audio or video file or recording, usually part of a themed series.
An audio story within a podcast episode
An account of past or current events. In journalism, stories are presented with a combination of people, facts, and typically includes a beginning, middle and end.
A person or other physical being in a narrative. Stories are made up of different characters who provide information and help shape the narrative with their knowledge, experience and perspective.
The process of changing and updating your work based on feedback with the goal of making it stronger. To successfully revise your story, listen to other perspectives, be open to reconsidering parts of your story and remember not to take feedback personally - it's about the story, not about you.
A document with transcribed (written-out) soundbites and voiceover narration. A VIDEO script is a two-column document with the audio (soundbites and voice over) in the right-hand column and a description of what the audience sees (visuals) in the left-hand column.
The term “empathy” is used to describe a wide range of experiences. A generally definition is the ability to sense other people’s emotions, coupled with the ability to imagine what someone else might be thinking or feeling. In media-making, creators can have empathy for their subjects and the audience can empathize with the characters.
Narration and/or voiceover (VO), scene reconstructions, archival footage, nats (natural sound), b-roll, images, research, lengthy interviews, soundbites.
The primary video and audio that drives your story from beginning to end.
A short video clip that captures the interview subject in their natural state. It involves a person looking into the lens for a few seconds. It’s like a still photo but video!
Something that is known or proved to be true.
Something that is accepted as true or as certain to happen, without proof.
An investigation into and study of sources in order to establish facts and reach new conclusions.
A source is an individual, company, document or more that can provide information to fuel a new story. In order for a story to be considered verified and to maintain a reputation as a news outlet, it is important to have a credible source.
A word-for-word document of what was said in a conversation or interview
The main person or character in a story. There can be multiple subjects in a story. The subject can also be the main theme of your story.
A detailed analysis and assessment of something.
An attempt to grab the reader or viewer’s attention with interesting information that will keep them reading or watching.
After someone reviews your work, it is good practice to receive feedback, or an evaluation of your work based on certain standards. Feedback from multiple perspectives is an important part of the process. Masterpieces are rarely created in isolation.
The process of verifying the accuracy of a piece of information.
A desire to learn and know about something or anything.
The supplemental footage used to visually support your A-ROLL.
Search: broll.
Historical inquiry is based on materials left from the past that can be studied and analyzed. (NCSS D2.His.9.9-12 - D2.His.13.9-12)
Civics teaches the principles—such as adherence to the social contract, consent of the governed, limited government, legitimate authority, federalism, and separation of powers—that are meant to guide official institutions such as legislatures, courts, and government agencies. (NCSS D2.Civ.7.9-12 - D2.Civ.10.9-12)
Students recognize the responsibilities and opportunities for positively contributing to their digital communities. (ISTE)
Students leverage technology to take an active role in choosing, achieving and demonstrating competency in their learning goals, informed by the learning sciences. (ISTE)
Whether students are constructing opinions, explanation, or arguments, they will gather information from a variety of sources and evaluate the relevance of that information. (NCSS D3.1.9-12 - D3.2.9-12)
Students communicate clearly and express themselves creatively for a variety of purposes using the platforms, tools, styles, formats and digital media appropriate to their goals. (ISTE)
Historical understanding requires recognizing this multiplicity of points of view in the past, which makes it important to seek out a range of sources on any historical question rather than simply use those that are easiest to find. It also requires recognizing that perspectives change over time, so that historical understanding requires developing a sense of empathy with people in the past whose perspectives might be very different from those of today. (NCSS D2.His.4.9-12 - D2.His.8.9-12)
In order to act responsibly and effectively, citizens must understand the important institutions of their society and the principles that these institutions are intended to reflect. That requires mastery of a body of knowledge about law, politics, and government. (NCSS D2.Civ.1.9-12 - D2.Civ.6.9-12)
Journalism
Representation
Stereotypes and Misconceptions
Race and Justice
Video Production
Civics
Podcasting
Education
Digital Literacy/Citizenship
History
Arts
Identity
Mental Health
Active Prompts
Projects
Beginner
Intermediate
Advanced
Mic
Camera or Mobile Phone
Computers
Mobile Phone
Camera
Internet
Notebook
Light Kit
2-4 weeks