Oral Histories

What is oral tradition, and what unique tool did the Native Americans of the Northern Great Plains use to help them remember their complex histories? Through pictograph analysis, discussion, research, and an engaging hands-on activity,...

What is an oral history interview? What goes into the planning and what should be said? Why is it important that we know and learn from oral history? This is an excellent worksheet to support your young historians as they conduct...

An informative resource covers the event of John Brown's Raid, an event that became an important part of West Virginia history. It serves as a standalone and covers the event and John Brown's life in depth using group work, online...

The resource, a standalone, shows how news coverage of John Brown's Raid began when the event happened and how that reporting shaped perception in West Virginia history. The resource includes interesting anticipatory discussion...

Bring U.S. history to your language arts class with this lesson plan. Middle schoolers complete an interview for an oral history project, and discuss the importance of oral histories - and how they embellish written accounts. They write...

All ages love to engage in cartoon writing –- little do they know that they actually learn quite a bit from it! In an instructional session focused on literacy syntax and vocabulary, your pupils work cooperatively to draw six pictures...

Students consider the insight to the past that oral histories can provide. They, in groups, analyze oral histories, prepare to interview a family member on their recollections of a historical event and then write a historical narrative.

Encourage scholars to retell their favorite short story or folktale, adding personal details to make it their own. After reading their book of choice several times, story tellers retell a tale verbally to their classmates.