ABSTRACT
I think he made history in his own little way. I enjoyed this report because I got to know someone very special to me. Now I understand him better and I love him more. This report taught me that history can be made in many different special ways.—An 11th-grade high school student comments on her oral history of the life of an Haitian immigrant to the United States
My grandfather passed away on his 74th birthday, April 7, 1989. This was only two days after our second interview for this report. I am grateful that I had to do this oral report. It gave me precious time to spend with my grandfather. It let me see a side of him not too many people knew. He told me many stories. My favorite ones were of his childhood. He was a good man who I loved and will miss.—A note attached to an oral history report by a high school junior
Over the years, many of my students have concluded oral history projects with personal statements about how important the class project was to them and their family. I believe that the most successful social studies projects achieve their goals because they connect the subject matter of
the class with the lives of students. These projects engage students as historians or social scientists and stimulate them to want to know more about the events and people they investigate. They also encourage students to read and write, playing an important role in the development of student literacy.
