1. Doing Oral History A TAH Workshop

2. Mock Job Interview Instructions: Break into pairs and do a mock job interview for a position as a teacher. One person will pretend to be the principal of a middle or high school; the other will pretend to be a job applicant for the position of history teacher. Take about five minutes to do the interview.

3. Types of Interviews JobJournalismOral HistoryInterrogation JobX Journalism X Oral History X Interrogation X

4. Types of Questions --Factual --Descriptive --Evaluative

5. Anatomy of an Interview Scheduling the Interview Background Research Create a Question List Practice with Equipment Confirm Interview Conduct Interview Send Thank You Note / Transcript / Tape

6. Tips for Interviewing (I) Ask one question at a time. State your questions as directly as possible. Ask open-ended questions-questions that begin with "why, how, where, what kind of," etc. Avoid "yes or no" questions. Start with non-controversial questions. One good place to begin, for instance, is with the interviewee's childhood memories. Don't let periods of silence fluster you. Avoid interrupting the interviewee.

7. Tips for Interviewing (II) If the interviewee strays away from the topic, don't panic. Sometimes this is the best part of the interview. Gently steer the interviewee back to the topic with your next question. Be respectful of the interviewee. Use body language to show you are interested. After the interview, thank the interviewee for sharing his or her experiences. Don't use the interview to show off your knowledge, charm, or other attributes. Good interviewers never shine; only their interviews do.

8. Mock Oral History Interview Instructions: Get into pairs again (but not the same partner with whom you did the mock job interview). One person is the interviewer and one the interviewee. Ask spontaneous questions. Focus your questions on childhood through college. After 5-7 minutes, switch sides so that the interviewer becomes the interviewee and vice versa.

9. Oral History as a Class Project

10. Imagining an Oral History Project You have $100,000 and a staff of five volunteer interviewers. What topic, town, era, or event would be the focus of your oral history project? Who would you interview? How many interviewees? What kinds of questions would you ask of your interviewees?

11. Planning a Class Project Topic & Mission Scope Equipment Obstacles?

12. Veterans History Project Questions Were you drafted or did you enlist? Where were you living at the time? Why did you join? Tell me about your boot camp/training experience(s). Which war(s) did you serve in? Where exactly did you go? Do you remember arriving and what it was like? What was your job/assignment? Did you see combat? Tell me about a couple of your most memorable experiences. How did you stay in touch with your family? What was the food like? What did you go on to do as a career after the war? Did your military experience influence your thinking about war or about the military in general?

13. Release Forms What is the purpose of the release form for the interviewee? What is the purpose for the interviewer? What is the purpose for the archive?

14. Grading and Getting Started Grading: A Portfolio Approach? Getting Your Own Materials: http://www.loc.gov/vets/