Oral History Interview: Knowing My Family Better

This section can be expanded or adapted by giving students more flexible and autonomous choices of interviewees, such as interviewing siblings, relatives, or a heritage person from their community.

Task 1: Pre-Interview Activities in Steps:

1. Students describe their grandparent(s) and/or parent(s) not only as (grand)parents but as fellow human beings.
2. Students take the time to think about how well and much they know about their parents (from a surface level—such as their birthdays, favorite dish, etc.—to a deeper level in a variety of dimensions, such as their childhood dreams, their most significant challenges as immigrant parents, etc.).
3. Students develop interview questions. Students create a basic timeline so they have a visual (e.g., birthdays and marriages, workplaces, places they lived, or significant events that they know happened). Ask other family members about special memories or stories to include. Please make a note of family members, friends, or hobbies they want to know more about. They can use this information to create a list of specific questions for the interview. (Students may refer to guided questions provided by the teacher.)

Task 2: Conducting the Interview Activities in Steps:

1. Students conduct the interviews using an audio recording or video. They talk with a family member (not an immediate member) about a particularly memorable Thanksgiving, Hanukkah, Christmas, or special event. They make sure to gather some details about the holiday or event, such as

• What did the person say?
• Where was the person living?
• What happened?
• What were the person’s feelings about the event at the time?
• What are the person’s feelings about the event now?

2. Students write an essay to synthesize their new knowledge from the interview experience. They summarize the information into a written report (the preferred format) in 5–6 paragraphs. Teachers provide guided paragraph content outlines.

Task 3: Post-Interview Activities in Steps:

1. Produce a family oral history podcast presentation. (Students have choices of audio or audiovisual modes of production.)

2. Participate in a reflection and in-class discussion. Students share their thoughts about their interview (e.g., feelings about obtaining their oral family history and information and just talking with and learning about the family member).

Oral History© 2024 by Angela Lee-Smith is licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 4.0