1. Using Oral History to Engage Students
Presented at HTAV Middle Years Conference

2. Focus of this presentation
Rationale
Teaching historical skills
Teaching historical content

3. Rationale Student engagement “Doing” the subject Interpersonal skills
As opposed to single events or factors

4. 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

5. 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)

6. Teaching Historical Content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.)

7. Teaching Historical Content continued
Popular culture
Migration experiences

8. Breakdown of Unit Hook Explanation of the term
Show model of an Oral History

9. Breakdown of Unit Assignments Oral History project
PowerPoint presentation on process
Reflective essay

10. Scaffolding Explanation of types of questions
Closed
Open
Follow-on
Modelling Active Listening

11. Scaffolding continued
Use of artefacts

12. Scaffolding continued
Bloopers exercise
Mock interview
Fishbowl interview

13. Scaffolding continued
Model transcribing interview
Model editing transcript into an oral history
Basic grammar

14. Other activities
Jeopardy game
Scattergories game

15. Remember to… Teach the necessary language features Be passionate!
Temporal connectives
Chronological order
Paragraphing
Consistent use of past tense when recounting
Use of first person
Be passionate!

16. Webpage for Rules for Scattergories

17. 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
Independent Television Service. (2004). Independent lens: The new Americans. Retrieved July 2, 2014, from
Paul, P.J. (1997). Fish bowls and bloopers: Oral history in the classroom. OAH Magazine of History, 11 (3), Retrieved December 21, 2009, from
Pchakjian, O. (2003). Interview with my grandfather- Sarkis Aivazian. Retrieved July 2, 2014, from

18. Picture Credits