Oral History Project

A detailed, thorough and well written paper about your person's story. Include the person's personal biography, memories of significant events and feelings about those events and the famous people of the day.	30.
A detailed, historically accurate of the real events and people that relate to your interviewee's story. This should be woven into your paper at the appropriate points.	30
Discussion of your personal reflections on this experience.	8
Interesting, powerful introduction and conclusion	12
Good grammar and spelling. Beautiful English. Well written paragraphs with topic sentences and good use of transitions between paragraphs	15
Bibliography with correct format	5
TOTAL POINTS	100

(This rubric should be stapled to the front of your paper or you will automatically lose five points.)

What To Do

1. Find someone who is willing to be interviewed by you about either the Depression, World War Two or the Holocaust.* Try to find someone who was at least 15 years old during the time period. People who served in the military are the best subjects.

If you don't know someone in your family to interview, other resources might be your friends' relatives, members of your church or temple, a senior citizen center, or veterans' organizations.

Arrange a date for you to interview that person. You may wish to ask permission to tape or videotape your interview. I would prefer that you do your interview in person, but you may speak to me separately about doing it by e-mail. If you are interviewing a stranger by e-mail, you must have the written permission of a parent.

You may work in small groups (2-4 people) for the actual interview, but you will have to write separate papers.

* I would strongly prefer it if you interviewed someone about the Depression, World War II or the Holocaust, because these are the subjects you're studying in Social Studies and Language Arts. However, if you absolutely can not find someone to interview about those subjects, you could interview someone about more recent history such as the Korean War, the Vietnam War, the Civil Rights Struggle, or the Persian Gulf War.

2. Prepare your questions in advance and provide a copy to the interviewee. When the interviewee is given a chance to think about questions, you will get clearer facts, dates and information. You will need at least 10 questions about the historical subject for this project. Of course, you may (and should) think of additional questions as your interviewee talks. but this will be a good starting point. In addition you will need a series of biographical questions to get to know your subject and his/her personal history.

3. Do research on the place and period that your interviewee tells you about. For example, if your subject participated in a certain battle, do research on that battle; if your subject talks about historical figures, do research on those people.

The Final Product

A. Write a paper that includes your version of this person's story. Make this person come alive for me. Try to give me some sense of who this person is and what he/she experienced. What were your subject's feelings about the historic events he/she lived through. What did he/she think about the important people of the era? Has your subject changed his/her views now that time has passed? How was this person changed by these experiences?

B. Use the historical research you did to provide background on any people, places or things that came up in your interview. Seamlessly interweave your subjects personal history into a discussion of the events occurring at the time. Show me that you learned something beyond what we covered in class by going into depth on the history of this period.

C. Also in your paper, please include your reflections on what you learned. What surprised you? What was new? Please don't just give me unctuous platitudes, but sincerely express what you were thinking as you listened to your interviewee. This is one time when you may use the first person.

Your paper should probably be about five to seven pages long.

Tips for a good interview

a. Courtesy is essential to a successful interview. Thank your interviewee and offer to send him/her a copy of the completed project. Make the interviewee realize that you honor him/her as a link to the past. Be respectful at all times. (I know, I know. I don't even have to mention this to you wonderful people. Sorry, but I'm an inveterate nag.) Think about doing the completely unexpected thing and send a 'thank you' note after the interview.

b. Play the part of an informed interviewer. Remember to jot down ideas as the interview progresses and to ask vital follow up questions. Don't just go straight to your next question, but think about what the person just said and questions that help your subject elaborate on his/her thoughts. The best interview sparks the memory and allows for free flow of information. Follow the interview where it leads instead of being limited by your prepared questions. Remember that you have to get enough information to write several pages.

c. Let the person being interviewed speak. Don't interrupt! Show the person that you are interested in what he or she has to say.

d. Ask open-ended questions. Allow the person being interviewed time to think and the freedom to wander with his or her answers. Avoid questions that can be answered with a "yes" or "no," or questions that can be answered with one or two words. Instead of asking, "Do you remember President Roosevelt?" ask "What did you think of President Roosevelt?" "Why did you think that?"

e. Relax and remember to smile. When you are at ease, your interviewee will be at ease. Start your recording equipment and then forget about it. Don't fiddle with the equipment during the interview, except to turn over a tape.

f. Consider the feelings of this person. Questions may bring an emotional response. If the person is elderly, then be prepared to speak slowly and clearly. If you're interviewing one person as a group, be careful not to speak all at once and overwhelm your interviewee.

1. Turn in the name of the person you're interviewing and the subject of the interview. Determine what aspect of the War you will be learning about.	Monday, April 23
2. Final project is due. (Turn it in early for 2 pts. per day for 10 pts. max. extra credit)	Monday, May 21