Oral History Project (10% of your final grade)
You will conduct an oral history project of an individual who attended school at least 20 years prior to you. You will record an oral history of that individual’s experiences with literacy instruction, followed by your analysis/ response to what you learn. This is an opportunity to explore another generation’s experience with literacy instruction, to place it in a cultural and historical context, and to compare/ contrast it with your own.

Steps:

1. Decide who to interview. This can be a family member, a friend, a neighbor, a colleague, anyone who meets the above criteria (attended K-12 school around 20 years or more before you did).
2. Schedule your interview.
3. Prepare your questions. Let’s brainstorm together in Oral History Project- Your Notes. Suggested: 5-10 questions—it also depends on the individual you interview. If they provide a lot of information, then 5 questions should be enough. If they prefer follow-up questions, then you can add a few extra ones. You may want to start with an open-ended question like: “Can you describe how you learned to read/ your experience with learning literacy skills (in elementary school)?”
4. Record your interview and/ or take notes.
5. Type up a transcript. This can be a rough draft, no need to edit.
6. Review the transcript and

Option 1: write up a paragraph reflecting on what you learned, on the cultural context of the individual’s literacy experience, on the individual’s overall experience with acquiring literacy skills (positive or negative), and compare/ contrast it to your own.

Option 2: Record yourself as you reflect on what you learned, on the cultural context of the individual’s literacy experience, on the individual’s overall experience with acquiring literacy skills (positive or negative), and compare/ contrast it to your own. Recommended podcast resource: Anchor.

• Submit the transcript and your reflection paragraph or podcast on Blackboard. You are done!

When all your oral histories are collected and submitted, I will analyze them, and demonstrate how to find themes related to literacy, identity, communities, and/or hegemonic or counternarrative discourses.

As you work on the project, check the resource Oral History Project: Your Notes. Post your interview questions or ask for ideas.