Using Oral History to Engage Students

Presented at HTAV Middle Years Conference

Focus of this presentation

• Rationale

• Teaching historical skills

• Teaching historical content

Rationale • Student engagement

• “Doing” the subject

• Interpersonal skills

Teaching Historical Skills

• Identify a range of questions about the past to inform a historical inquiry

• Draw conclusions about the usefulness of sources

• Identify and describe points of view, attitudes and values in primary and secondary sources

Teaching Historical Skills continued

• Develop texts, particularly descriptions and explanations that use evidence from a range of sources that are acknowledged

• Use a range of communication forms (oral, graphic, written) and digital technologies (Years 7-8)

• Identify and analyse the perspectives of people from the past (Year 9)

Teaching Historical Content

• World War Two– The experiences of Australians during World War II – The impact of World War II, with a particular

emphasis on the Australian home front, including the changing roles of women and use of wartime government controls

• (ACARA n.d.)

Teaching Historical Content continued

• Popular culture• Migration experiences

Breakdown of Unit

• Hook

• Explanation of the term

• Show model of an Oral History

Breakdown of Unit

• Assignments – Oral History project

– PowerPoint presentationon process

– Reflective essay

Scaffolding

• Explanation of types of questions– Closed– Open– Follow-on

• Modelling Active Listening

Scaffolding continued

• Use of artefacts

Scaffolding continued

• Bloopers exercise

• Mock interview

• Fishbowl interview

Scaffolding continued

• Model transcribing interview• Model editing transcript into an oral history• Basic grammar

Other activities

• Jeopardy game

• Scattergories game

Remember to…

• Teach the necessary language features– Temporal connectives– Chronological order– Paragraphing– Consistent use of past tense when recounting– Use of first person

• Be passionate!

Webpage for Rules for Scattergories

• http://www.slideshare.net/lorinchina/scattergories-7100514

Bibliography

• Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority. (n.d.). The Australian Curriculum v 6.0 History Foundation to Year 10 Curriculum by Rows. Retrieved July 2, 2014, from http://www.australiancurriculum.edu.au/humanitiesandsocialsciences/history/Curriculum/F-10#level7.

• Independent Television Service. (2004). Independent lens: The new Americans. Retrieved July 2, 2014, from http://www-tc.pbs.org/independentlens/newamericans/pdfs/tna9_oralhistory.pdf.

• Paul, P.J. (1997). Fish bowls and bloopers: Oral history in the classroom. OAH Magazine of History, 11 (3), 43-46. Retrieved December 21, 2009, from http://www.oah.org/pubs/magazine/oralhistory/paul.pdf.

• Pchakjian, O. (2003). Interview with my grandfather- Sarkis Aivazian. Retrieved July 2, 2014, from http://www.clarkhumanities.org/oralhistory/2003/8367.htm.

Picture Credits• http://primarysourcenexus.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/interviewgraphic.jpg • http://

www.brown.edu/academics/public-humanities/sites/brown.edu.academics.public-humanities/files/imagecache/event_feature_image/Screen%20shot%202013-03-11%20at%2011.43.46%20AM.png

• http://img.antiquesreporter.com.au/080819CLME/1910.jpg • http://nicolepaulson.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2012/12/Mazotti-Family-Nicole-Paulson-Photography_001-copy.jpg • http://buildingvocabularyiseasy.wikispaces.com/file/view/clip-art0020.jpg/266866400/224x184/clip-art0020.jpg • http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rabbit-Proof_Fence_(film)#mediaviewer/File:Rabbit-Proof_Fence_movie_poster.jpg• http://naa.gov.au/Images/Italian%20migrants%2011339844_tcm16-46760.jpg • http://www.madle.org/eec03e.htm • http://www.clker.com/cliparts/f/r/z/C/i/V/cloths-hook-md.png • http://www.bindoonmuseum.com.au/cms/images/bindoon_museum/interview_inside.jpg • http://wirecuttertexas.org/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/OralHistoryProjectDoorAtADAPTPhoto.jpg • http://www.guidingtech.com/assets/postimages/2013/01/PowerPoint-Logo.png • http://www.wordspin.dk/files/2011/08/Oops_road_sign.jpg • http://www.hireosugrads.com/Zmages/Events-Tiles-MID-Stillwater.jpg • http://comps.canstockphoto.com/can-stock-photo_csp15402499.jpg • http://

cdn2-b.examiner.com/sites/default/files/styles/image_content_width/hash/4f/59/1333648688_jeopardy.jpg?itok=YRM_zkJr

• http://cdn.slidesharecdn.com/ss_thumbnails/scattergories-110301053609-phpapp01-thumbnail-4.jpg?cb=1298979464 • http://www2.lhric.org/pocantico//sources/Cover.gif