Examines a historian's experiences and impressions gained while interviewing the immigrant generation in a community of Jewish chicken farmers in Petaluma, California. Information is presented on the differences in attitudes and aspirations between generations, interview techniques, problems of interviewer credibility, and problems of…

Students can use their community as a historical base, but they must first learn how to question effectively. Specific strategies for implementing interviews are suggested. Through interviewing, students learn concepts about demography, roles, and social change, and they acquire skills in collecting data, testing hypotheses, and evaluating data.…

Describes a writing course for undermotivated students which focuses on careful precise observations through the study of other time periods in the history of the town where the school is located. (DD)

To overcome problems of trivia and nostalgia, a problem-centered approach to community oral history projects is proposed. Instead of cataloging details about aspects of past social life, the projects might shape their inquiry as an effort to understand a problem facing the community, a problem with contemporary significance but historical roots.…

Senior citizens recall what it was like living in the West during the late 19th and early 20th centuries in this Foxfire magazine, written and published by high school students. At the heart of the Foxfire idea is the conviction that students can learn about their community and humanity only outside the classroom. The magazine is an example of…

Presented are practical suggestions to help teachers successfully implement an oral history magazine project modelled after "Foxfire." Four major issues are discussed: nature of the project, relationship of project to schools, relationship of project to community, and teacher-student relationship. (RM)

A description of Project Preserve, a Colorado high school living history course which provides students with tools to find their roots and understand themselves and their futures, presents a history of the project; details the formation of goals, objectives, and philosophy; and notes the advantages to both students and community. (SB)

Describes a year-and-a-half-long history project that involved elementary students in exploring their community's past. Students took field trips, interviewed community persons, taped oral histories, painted murals, and produced a dramatic musical based on their community's history. (RM)

The major aim of the Manchester Studies Unit, based at Manchester Polytechnic in the north of England, is to preserve, research, and make available the popular history of the Manchester region. How this project has used oral history within community projects is described. (RM)