Describes the author's 1962 attempt to obtain an oral history of Czech immigrants in Texas. Examines the difficulties involved in the interview process and discusses the subjects' reactions. States that oral history presents an opportunity to record the subtle nuances of people's lives; their hopes, fears, expectations, and disappointments. (GEA)

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…

In the course of collecting and recording oral histories, there is a tendency to overemphasize the individual account and forget the social context. To learn more about social relationships, one can focus on the teller's position, similarities and oppositions in different tellers' versions, and categories used by the teller. (IS)

This is the index to and transcripts of interviews from the Washington State Oral/Aural History Program. The intention of the program was to pay tribute to the national Bicentennial by celebrating the life and community histories of 'common' men, women, and ethnic minorities. The transcripts are available on 297 microfiche. Immigrants, migrants,…

History instructors working in a community college face two major challenges. First, to make history interesting and relevant to the students, many of whom have to take history courses as a requirement. And second, to fulfill one of the missions of a community college which is to forge a connection between the school and the people in the local…

This lesson plan asks students to use documents from "California As I Saw It: First Person Narratives, 1849-1900," in the American Memory Project to create a script depicting the motivations, expectations, fears, and realizations of immigrants who settled California between 1849 and 1900. According to the lesson plan, "California As…

The document presents the transcript of the audio narrative portion of approximately 100 interviews with first and second generation Scandinavian immigrants to the United States. The document is intended for use by secondary school classroom teachers as they develop and implement educational programs related to the Scandinavian heritage in…

Illustrates how U.S. history and geography teachers can locate supplementary materials for teaching about immigration using the Educational Resources Information Center (ERIC) database system. Cites 11 documents containing units of study, lesson plans, and class activities. (NL)

Describes programs of the History Studio, a hands-on workshop of the Tsongas Industrial History Center (Massachussets), which provides role-playing activities and experiential learning about immigration history. Describes how "luggage" contains primary source material on six different ethnic groups used to teach students about immigrant…

Transcripts are presented of interviews with 20 individuals of various ethnic backgrounds who live in the Westport-Norwalk, Connecticut, area. The document is part of a project to investigate the ethnically varied cultural, heritage of the Westport-Norwalk area from 1900 to 1979. Persons interviewed are identified by ethnic group, including…

Describes how a 2-volume history textbook was translated into a 453 "page" CD-ROM product. Discusses how primary sources and graphics were combined with text to create an electronic textbook. Concludes that a major motivation for experimenting with this new technology was aimed at democratizing historical understanding. (CFR)

The booklet describes a multimedia project which introduces secondary students and interested adults to the ethnic history of Westport and Norwalk, Connecticut, from 1900 to 1979. Objectives of the project were to demonstrate ways to explore the past and relate it to the present, forge links between generations, encourage understanding and respect…