Name:

_______________________________________________________

Ms. Fillingham
U.S. History

Oral Family History Project

This will be a project that will be due during the third quarter, but you will start it
during the second quarter. For this project, will interview a man or woman in your
family* about any of the following topics below.

Oral Family History Project Topics:

What is was like being a young teenager (about your age)
Friends
School
Hobbies/interests
Relations with parents (i.e. what did parents worry about in those days?)
Relations with siblings
Clothes
Music/dance/popular culture

*Requirements for your interviewee:
Must be at least 34 years old and still alive
Must be from your family
Doesnt have to be from the United States

You will record your interview, write a biography of the person you interviewed, and
upload the interview, biography, and accompanying materials to the class website
(http://oralfamilyhistory.weebly.com/).

Description of Oral Family History Project

Part I: Preparation

This is extremely important. If you are poorly prepared, your interview will probably not
go smoothly. Your interview should happen in person. You will have the opportunity to
interview that person over winter break. See me immediately if this is not possible to
interview in person.

a. Be sure to arrange for a quiet place and an interview time when you will not be
interrupted.

b. Make every effort to obtain a recorder (from your phone or computer if you can);
having to take notes will interfere significantly with the flow of the interview and may

cause the interviewee to make her answers unnecessarily brief. If you must depend
only on notes, consider breaking the interview into two shorter sessions.

c. Be fully familiar with the questions the class came up with, and mark those you want to
be sure to ask.

We will be doing a series of exercises in class that will help you prepare for your oral
history interview. You must turn in the Interviewee Info Sheet (see at the end of this
packet) by Monday, December 16. You must turn in an Interview Questions Sheet by
Thursday, December 19.

Part II: Interview

The Interview Itself
This should happen sometime after Friday, December 20, after I have approved your
interview questions. You should complete your interview by Tuesday, January 21,
2014, where you will turn in an interview completeness form.

a. You are required for your interviewee to fill out the Interview Consent Form. It is part
of your grade.

b. Think of yourself as a reporter. A good reporter knows that being interested and
politely persistent usually allows you to get the most information.

c. Begin with an open-ended question one that cant be answered with a yes, no, name,
or date. The first question you ask will set the tone for the responses you get
throughout the entire interview. An example of an open-ended question is: How
would you describe the city or town where you lived when you were a teenager?

d. Ask only one question at a time. Wait for the complete answer. If there is a pause, dont
feel obligated to fill it in with another question. This allows the subject to fill the space
with her own thoughts and feelings.

e. Use words like Why, How, Describe, Tell me about when you ask your questions.

f. Dont interrupt a good story. It may not relate to what you asked, but let it run its
course. You might like the ending.

g. It was this big, and I ran from here to there, mean little when the tape is played back.
Add verbal descriptions to any vague gestures: You mean about as big as a box of
Kleenex?

h. Do not antagonize your interviewee by pressing him/her too hard to answer a question
he/she has indicated she does not wish to discuss.

Post Interview Tasks

1. Thank your interviewee profusely for the time and effort made.

2. As soon as possible after finishing the interview, listen to the recording and/or review
your notes and jot down any follow-up questions you might have. Ask for this further
information as soon as possible.

3. Upload your recorded interview (either video or audio recording) to the class Weebly
website, http://oralfamilyhistory.weebly.com. We will go over how to use, access, and
upload audio recordings and videos for this project in the beginning of 2014.

Part III: Final Biographic Paper

Use this format for your final paper:

a. Cover Page Use a title that refers to a key point in the life of your subject, preferably a
quote from your subject, and a subtitle that includes the subjects name.

Example:
Its a Fabulous Friday!
An Optimist Speaks, The Life of Lana Brody

b. Biography Summarize your interviewees life in a 2-page biographical paper that has
an appropriate opening and conclusion. When writing about this interviewees life as a
young adult, be sure to compare and contrast your interviewees life with that of a
modern teen/middle school student, either in the body of the biography or in a section
at the end.
Format: Typed on a computer, double-spaced, Times New Roman, Calibri, Cambria,
or Arial font, 12-point font size, 1-inch page margins
Quotes: While this oral history is not a transcript of your interview, this biography
should use the interviewees voice as much as possible. Think of it as a narrative,
and use direct quotes from your interview. You are required to include a
minimum of two quotes within your biography from your interview.
A completed rough draft of this portion only will be due on Friday, January 31,
2014.
A final paper draft (along with the appendix), which will include revisions
made based on Ms. Fillinghams suggestions from the first draft, will be due in
class on Tuesday, February 11.
Note that you must upload an electronic version by Friday, February 28. This
is in addition to the paper version and it is required1.

c. Appendix:

If for some reason your interviewee wishes to remain anonymous, please speak to me as soon as
possible.

Reflection: You will write a one-paragraph reflection commenting on your

experience as an interviewer and listener. Was it hard or easy to do the interview?
Why? What did you do well and poorly? What questions would you add or delete?
What did you learn about this persons life that you didnt know? What did you
learn about being a young adult back then?

The Appendix portion, along with the final draft of the biography, will be due
in class on Tuesday, February 18.

d. Accompanying materials: Bring in pictures and/or any other items that were
important to this interviewees life as a young adult (note: do not bring anything of
monetary value like jewelry). You will just bring this in ONLY on Museum Day and Ms.
Fillingham wont be collecting this (expect to bring it back home that day), but it will be
displayed, along with your biography, for the class to examine and look at.
You must bring in accompanying materials for Museum Day on Tuesday, March 4,
2014.

e. Museum Day Tuesday, March 4, 2014
You will display your project and accompanying materials on Tuesday, March 4,
2014. Well have food and youll get a chance to read and look at your peers oral
history projects.

f. Upload oral family history project to the class website Friday, February 28, 2014
You will upload your final biographic paper and pictures of accompanying materials
(with captions), to the class website (http://oralfamilyhistory.weebly.com/).



INTERVIEW CONSENT FORM

This interview is being conducted by ___________________________________ (insert student name)
as part of an Oral Family History Project for 8th Grade U.S. History at the Roycemore School.
You will be asked a number of questions about your experiences as a young adult and as a
middle schooler. This interview will be recorded using the Oral History Association
Guidelines (see http://www.oralhistory.org/about/principles-and-practices/). It is possible
that the interview could be a part of an Internet web page
(http://oralfamilyhistory.weebly.com/). Only your first name will be used on this website.

If you are willing to participate in this interview and allow your interview and photograph
to be used as stated above, please sign and date the form below.

If you have questions about this project, please contact Emily Fillingham (History Teacher)
at efillingham@roycemoreschool.org.

I have read the above information and give my consent to participate in this project.

_________________________________________________________________________________________________________
(interviewees signature)

Please print the following:

Name:
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Address:

_________________________________________________________________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Phone:

_________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Interviewers (Student) Name:

_________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Oral Family History Project Due Dates

Revised 2/2/2014

What
Interviewee Info Sheet
Interview Questions Sheet
Interview Completeness Form

Due Date
Monday, December 16, 2013
Thursday, December 19, 2013
Tuesday, January 21, 2014

Points
Worth
5 points
20 points
5 points

(NOTE: January 17 is the last day of

second quarter. Middle school exams
will take place on January 14, 15, &
16).

Interview Consent Form

Paper Rough Draft
No appendix, just
biography portion
COMPLETE (at least two
pages to get full credit)
Final Draft
Edited biography portion
from suggested comments
made from rough draft
Appendix (which includes
the reflection)
1) Upload entire project
(biographic paper with pictures
of accompanying materials) to
class website AND 2) bring in
accompanying materials for
Museum Day

Tuesday, January 21, 2014

Friday, January 31, 2014

5 points
15 points

Tuesday, February 18, 2014

40 points

Friday, February 28, 2014

(Museum Day will be Tuesday,
March 4)

10 points

TOTAL (project grade)

100 points

I will return comments on rough drafts no

later than Tuesday, February 4.

For more tips on how to do this oral history project, go to:

http://www.tellmeyourstories.org and
http://historymatters.gmu.edu/mse/oral/what.html.

Ms. Fillingham
U.S. History

Interviewee Info Sheet
Oral Family History Project

Your Name: ______________________________________________________

This is due in class on Monday, December 16.

1. What is the name the person you plan to interview?

_________________________________________________________________________________________________________

2. How old is this person?

_________________________________________________________________________________________________________

3. How is this person related to you?

_________________________________________________________________________________________________________

4. When do you plan to interview this person, and where? (date)

_________________________________________________________________________________________________________

5. Why do you want to interview this person?

_________________________________________________________________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Ms. Fillingham
U.S. History

Interview Questions Sheet
Oral Family History Project

Your Name: ______________________________________________________

This is due in class on Thursday, December 19, 2013. You should have at least 12
questions.

Before you make your list of questions, think about the following:

a. Begin with an open-ended question one that cant be answered with a yes, no, name,
or date. The first question you ask will set the tone for the responses you get
throughout the entire interview. An example of an open-ended question is: How
would you describe the city or town where you lived when you were a teenager?

b. Use words like Why, How, Describe, Tell me about when you ask your questions.

Post Interview Tasks
4. Thank your interviewee profusely for the time and effort made.

Interview Question Examples:

1. What was your life like when you were in middle school?
2. How would you describe your experience in school?
3. What important advice do you remember getting as a young man or woman?
4. What was your most memorable moment during your middle school years?
5. What responsibilities did you take on as a young man or woman?
6. What was it like growing up as a young man or woman? Have you ever had to juggle
work and family/personal life? If so, how?
7. Have you faced any other issues growing up as a young man or woman?

List of interview questions you plan to use:

1. _____________________________________________________________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________________________________________________________

2. _____________________________________________________________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________________________________________________________

3. _____________________________________________________________________________________________________


_________________________________________________________________________________________________________

4. _____________________________________________________________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________________________________________________________

5. _____________________________________________________________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________________________________________________________

6. _____________________________________________________________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________________________________________________________

7. _____________________________________________________________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________________________________________________________

8. _____________________________________________________________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________________________________________________________

9. _____________________________________________________________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________________________________________________________

10. _____________________________________________________________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________________________________________________________

11. _____________________________________________________________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________________________________________________________

12. _____________________________________________________________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Ms. Fillingham
U.S. History

Interview Completeness Form
Oral Family History Project

Your Name: ______________________________________________________

This is due in class on Tuesday, January 21, 2014.



I interviewed __________________________________________________________ on




(insert interviewees name)

_______________________________________________________________.


(insert interview date)

The interview was (check at least one below):

__________ fun!

__________ interesting!

__________ cool!

__________ I learned a lot about my family that I didnt know about before!


I certify that this interview did occur based on the information above.


X_______________________________________________________________________________________________________
(Student Signature)

X_______________________________________________________________________________________________________
(Parent/Guardian Signature)