Oral History in the Classroom

Unlike studying from textbooks, students have a unique opportunity to find a personal connection to a specific topic being covered. Oral history projects can bring history to life.

When reading history books, it’s easy to forget that anyone other than famous figures have an effect on history in the making. Oral history projects empower students to realize that every person has a story to tell and plays a role in shaping history.

As students explore the interview process by developing interview questions, conducting interviews, and retelling the stories they collect in various ways, they gain an understanding of the way oral histories help us to learn about the past and each other.

Though these projects typically are assigned in English or history classes, they can work in a variety of courses such as art, anthropology, and geography. Oral history projects are appropriate for all levels of classes, from elementary through college.

The final presentations can vary greatly, allowing each student to put their favorite mode of expression into practice, such as through drawings or photography illustrating what they learned, theatrical productions, oral presentations, or written reports. This is a chance for each student to become immersed in a project where they discover their own place in history, allowing them to share their findings in their own creative way.

Classes and Ages That Can Benefit from an Oral History Project

Disciplines:

• Art

• English

• Social Studies including, but not limited to, history, geography, anthropology, psychology, and sociology

Ages:

From elementary school through high school as well as college level, oral history projects can have a powerful impact on all students. Students’ level however, will determine the complexity and length of the project.

Benefit of Using Oral History Projects in the Classroom

• Interviews raise student awareness about particular issues or moments in history.

• This interactive process gives students first-hand insight into topics covered in the school’s curriculum.

• Gathering stories of others who’ve lived through a particular time in history allows students to see themselves as historians.

• Students learn beyond their textbooks, finding relevance within their home or neighborhood.

• They discover a personal connection to the past through stories told by family members and those in their community.

• Students gain a sense of connectedness with the people they interview, learning that everyone has an important story to tell.

• An intergenerational appreciation is developed.

• Research skills are honed, enabling students to ask contemplative questions.

• Students develop interpersonal and communication skills, learning to listen fully and then thoughtfully respond with follow-up questions to deepen their understanding.

• Students improve their basic writing skills throughout the process—while taking notes during and transcribing a recorded interview, selecting the most important aspects of the narrative, editing, and finalizing a report.

• Critical-thinking and analytical skills are developed by comparing the documentation of a historical event in a textbook and comparing it to personal accounts. They can discern and discuss what is chosen to be included in history books and question what and why certain perspectives were left out.

Time Frame

An oral history project can take as little as one to three class periods, or students can spend an entire quarter or semester developing their project. Based on your schedule and objectives, the time frame is up to you.

Choosing a Theme

“Eunice Nuval, who teaches at a San Francisco continuation high school, says choosing a topic that’s relevant to her students’ lives keeps them engaged with the project. Last year, for example, her students conducted interviews on racism. ‘The students immediately knew people who had something to say about the topic,’ explains Nuval, whose class consists entirely of students of color. ‘It was an issue that they cared about.’

“ I’ve found that underrepresented histories or perspectives often make rich subjects for oral history projects. I frequently nudged students to interview people they knew whose stories were rarely told, such as victims of hate crimes and domestic violence or undocumented workers. By reaching out to nonprofit organizations, neighbors, and communities for senior citizens, teachers can help students connect with everyday people who have fascinating stories.

“Carefully chosen oral history topics can also help create links between various academic subjects.”

—    Lisa Morehouse
Living Legends: Oral History Projects Bring Core Subjects to Life

Students can develop an oral history project that surrounds virtually any topic within your curriculum. Here are a few themes that may spark some ideas for your own project:

• Community:  How has the community changed since it was established?

• Family:  Compare different aspects of life of those from different generations.

• Historical Events: Any event that is within the living memory of parents, grandparents, or neighbors is a good subject for an oral history project.

• Immigration: Discover where ancestors came from and what stories have been passed down through generations about their heritage. For those who are first- or second-generation immigrants, gather stories of experiences moving to the United States.

• Racism: Gather stories of those who have witnessed or experienced prejudice. How has that effected their lives?

• Refugees: Those who have had to flee their homes due to persecution or civil war and who have resettled in your students’ neighborhoods can offer insight into this world-wide crisis.

• Social Movements or Changes: Explore how social movements, such as the Civil Rights Movement, desegregation, or MeToo have affected individuals within the family or members of the community.

• Socioeconomic Levels: Ask people from different socio-economic backgrounds a series of the same questions—What is a typical meal each day? Where do you buy your clothes? What do you worry about? What traditions does your family celebrate? What do you hope for in the future? Compare and contrast the resulting answers.

• Technology: Compare what is available today to generations in the past with family members. For instance, how has communication between friends and family changed over the decades?

• Vocations: Talk with neighbors about their career choices.

Finding Storytellers

Let the topic or theme dictate who would be the best storytellers.

If you choose to bring narrators into the classroom, look to local historians, colleagues, organizations connected to your theme, or retirement homes to find those willing to share their stories that are related to the topic. 

Family members can provide a wealth of information. Not only will students be more comfortable talking with those they know well, they also will have an opportunity to learn how an issue or historical event affected their own families.

Members and leaders of the community can also make ideal subjects, depending on the theme. Going into the neighborhood or community might be daunting for younger students; this might be an instance where working in a group is helpful.

Determining the Scope of the Project

Once a theme is determined, it’s time to decide on the scope of the project. As mentioned earlier, narrators can be brought into the classroom, students can ask questions of family members, or they can reach out to community members. Students can work independently or in small groups, whichever you believe will work best according to the breadth of the project and time constraints.  

Will You Want Your Students to Include Visual Elements to Their Projects?

“Images, as well as stories, can provide a way to remember and retell experiences . . . expanding our understanding of ourselves and our neighbors.

“From the pencil sketches and watercolor drawings of pre-modern travelers to the photography used by early anthropologists, images have played an important role in conveying culture and experience.

“One of the most profound aspects of photography is its ability to evoke what neuroscientists call narrative empathy. Studies have found that any activity that encourages us to explore someone else’s perspective increased an empathic response. As human beings, we are hard-wired to respond to stories, because they ask us to imagine what it would be like to be someone else.

“When we look at a portrait, our mirror neurons fire, calling forth a similar response in our brains to the pictured individual. Looking into the eyes of a person in a photograph can also bring about an oxytocin release, helping us to feel connected to the individual in the portrait.”

—    Tracy Xavia Karner
Visual Sociologist, University of Houston

Sample Projects to Fit Your Chosen Theme 

1.     In Class: Invite narrators from your community into your classroom to share their personal experience(s) with a specific topic. Your students can discuss the topic and develop questions collectively, determining the order in which they’ll be asked. They can then ask the questions when the visitor arrives. Students can take notes discerning which aspects of the narration should be included in a report. Narrators could include colleagues, local political leaders, residents of a retirement home, etc.

“Help students create a list of questions they will ask in an agreed-on order, and direct them to take notes on the speaker’s responses. Afterward, ask the students to discuss how their initial expectations of the activity compared with the actual interview, and talk about any differences between textbook accounts of the topic and the speaker’s experiences. Students could also use the interview as a jumping-off point for journal entries. Be sure to have students write thank-you letters to the speak at the end of the segment.”

—    Lisa Morehouse, Living Legends: Oral History Projects Bring Core Subjects to Life; Students Become Conduits Between History and a Person’s Life

George Lucas Educational Foundation

2.     Family: Depending on what issue or historical event is being discussed in class, invite your students to talk with the parents, grandparents, and siblings to glean each of their perspectives on the topic.

3.     Community: Discover how the community has evolved by talking with elders in the community. Speak with those representing the diversity of the community or who have knowledge of the history of the neighborhood