Oral History Project

Print the PDF Blackline Master

Overview

A class oral history project can be a powerful experience for a class of students because the entire class participates in a process to write a work of historical fiction. Here is a suggested sequence for such a project; however, experience might suggest a different approach.

To carry out the project, the teacher may do the following:

• Research oral history and historical fiction writing (e.g., that of Eliot Wigginton, Ben Brunwin, Will Hobbs). (See the list of oral history resources.)
• Meet with students to explain the concept of the project, share ideas, and set goals.
• Plan the schedule/calendar.
• Create rubrics for assessment.
• Research and write story lines. Visiting a local historical society and/or examining a book such as Virginius Dabney's Richmond: The Story of a City may be helpful at this point. (See sample story lines below.)
• Verify access to journals and other types of oral history research.
• Present story lines to students, and reach consensus on one. (See blackline master.)
• Have the students study the art of creating an oral history through a study of a novel such as David Baldacci's Wish You Well.
• Plan a field trip to three sites: two for conducting research and the third for visiting the site of the chosen story line.
• Have the students do preliminary research on the story and present the results.
• Recruit an outside expert to become a part of the project by giving information/advice to the class.
• Help the students reach consensus on the point of view, main characters, conflict, and chapter contents.
• Divide up further research responsibilities, creating two research teams.
• Go on the field trip, and have each research team conduct research at one of the two sites; have everyone gather at the site of the setting of their novel.
• Review with the class the art of writing novels. Have them go to David Baldacci's Website www.david-baldacci.com for a chat with the author and to discover how he tackles his novels.
• Have the students compose plot outlines for each chapter, merging oral history with fiction.
• Assist the students in developing character maps for each main character. Discuss the maps. Reach consensus for each chapter.
• Assign artwork (optional).
• Have the students write first drafts of the chapters, using a writing workshop format. Show them the example of the beginning of a possible first chapter based on Sample Story Line 1. 
• Have the students peer-edit the drafts and then correct and unify their chapters.
• Have the students revise their drafts.
• Have the students type the revised drafts in writing lab.
• Share the chapters by conducting a read-aloud; critique artwork.
• Have the students rewrite according to consensus of the whole class.
• Ensure that the students create smooth transitions between chapters.
• Finalize the revisions.
• Have the students publish their chapters in uniform format and assemble all into a book.
• Assess the students' contributions to the project. (See blackline masters "Peer Evaluation of Your Chapter" and "Evaluation of Your Contribution".)
• Celebrate with an authors' tea.
• Assess the project.

Two Sample Story Lines

The Tunnel Collapse of 1925 - The Lost Train
This story takes place on Church Hill in Richmond, Virginia, on October 2, 1925. On this date, a tunnel collapsed, a train was buried, and four people were reported killed. However, to this day people who were there claim that many more were killed. When the accident occurred, hundreds of men were busy rehabilitating the very old tunnel. Men could hear the sounds of the train switching flat cars about 100 feet inside the tunnel. Then, bricks started falling from the roof and the horrible crackling sound of the roof caving in was heard. Some managed to scurry to safety, but many were trapped. Most eventually escaped, but some were buried and had to crawl to freedom. The engineer, Tom Mason, was later found dead, pinned in an upright position at the lever. Due to the danger of further cave-ins, the entrances were sealed. To this day, one end of the tunnel is completely filled in, but the other end has partial access. The locomotive remains buried under Jefferson Park Hill, where a bank was built (Maurice Duke and Daniel P. Jordan, editors, A Richmond Reader, 1733-1983 [Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 1983] 186-191).

A Civil War Spy: Miss Elizabeth Van Lew
This story is set in Richmond, Virginia, during the Civil War, when many Union sympathizers were tried and hanged for spying. However, one person, Miss Elizabeth Van Lew, was never caught. This intelligent, tenacious woman was able to get Mary Elizabeth Bowser, a free black, onto the staff at the Confederate White House, where much information was obtained and transmitted. General Grant once wrote to Bowser that she had sent more valuable information than anyone else had. Although it was never confirmed, even in her diary, many historians give her credit for aiding the escape of 109 Union prisoners from Libby Prison. Behaving and dressing in a rather bizarre manner, people thought she was crazy but harmless; thus, she was able to make daily visits to the prison. In 1863, thousands of Union prisoners were taken to Danville, Virginia. Union Colonel Ulrich Dahlgren was sent to free the remaining prisoners in March 1864. He marched down River Road outside of Richmond, and at Cary Street Road he was met by 300 men from the Home Guard. Dahlgren was headed off and had to retreat to Tidewater, where he was killed. A mysterious order was found on his body: "Richmond must be destroyed and Jeff Davis and his cabinet killed." Confederates secretly buried Dahlgren in Oakwood Cemetery, but Miss Van Lew's agents discovered the grave. They dug up the body and took it to the home of Robert Orrock in Henrico County outside of Richmond, where it remained until after the war. Then it was exhumed again and moved to the Dahlgren family plot in Philadelphia (Virginius Dabney, Richmond: The Story of a City, [Charlottesville: University of Virginia Press, 1990] 181-184).

Blackline Master
Evaluation of Your Chosen Story Line
(Download print-friendly PDF version)

Directions: Now that you have read each of the proposed story lines, it is time to cast your vote. Choose the story line that you like best and evaluate your choice according to these 6 criteria. Assign 1 to 5 points (1 = low; 5 = high) for each criterion that is met by your chosen story line. Justify why you assigned these points. 

My chosen story line: _________________________________________
 
__________________________________________________________

Total points _______

Blackline Master
Peer Evaluation of Your Chapter
(Download print-friendly PDF version)

Directions: Evaluate your partner's part of the chapter according to these 8 criteria. Assign 3 to 12 points (3 = low; 12 = high) for each criterion. Justify how your partner earned your assigned points. Discuss your results with your partner. 

Total points _____

Blackline Master
Evaluation of Your Contribution to the Class Novel
(Download print-friendly PDF version)

Directions: Evaluate your contribution to the class novel according to the following rubric.

Comments:

An Example Based on Sample Story Line 1

THE CHURCH HILL TRAGEDY
Chapter One: "Bad Dreams" (excerpt)

"AAAAAAAHHHHHHH!" I jerked up from my fitful nightmare, cold sweat pouring from my face. Sitting up, I rubbed my sleepy eyes and yawned. "Gee," I thought, "that was one weird dream!" I looked out of my window at the cold, dreary morning. "Rain again? This is the third day it has rained!" I picked up my diary and began to write.

Entry #56
10/2/25
It looks as if it's going to be another one of those days again. It's raining and cold, so I can't go out and play. I wish the rain would stop. I hate rain in October! Pappa and I were going to play catch after school today, but now we can't because it will be too muddy. Last night I had the scariest dream ever!!! I was all alone in the middle of a crowd and all of a sudden everything began to get black! It didn't happen gradually-blackness surrounded me all at once. It was like I was locked up in a closet or really, really deep under the sea. The scariest part about my dream was that there was no way out! I screamed and yelled for Pappa or Mama to come and help me, but they couldn't hear me. I couldn't breathe, and then I wasn't able to see or feel anything. I just can't stop thinking about it. It was so real that I know I was there. That was the strangest dream I've ever had. Maybe it means that Claude, my brother-in-law, will kid around with me and push me in the closet and not let me out until Mama yells at him. He always does that, and I hate it! Even though she's my sister, I'm still worried about Sissy. She's having her tonsils taken out today at three o'clock. It's harder for a twelve-year-old to have her tonsils out than just a little kid. I know she's scared. She has to stay overnight and is going to be put to sleep with ether! Mama's going to take her to St. Luke's Hospital after breakfast and then stay to see that Sissy is all right. Whenever Mama is around, everything always seems to turn out okay, so I guess I don't have to worry so much. Well, I have to go if I want to wish her well.

I closed my journal and walked out my bedroom door. When I reached the top of the stairs, I saw a light on in the kitchen. I could smell the bacon cooking on the stove, so it looked as if I weren't the first one up on the day of Sissy's tonsillectomy.