Oral History Narrative Assignment

Oral History Narrative Assignment

Goal: To write (type) and present a significant/ important event in your life and share it with your classmates in an organized way. This should tell a TRUE story that happened to YOU, and you should use the first person words (I, we, me, my). Share your thoughts and feelings about the experience. You should tell the story in the past tense.

Requirements:

● Consider your audience when choosing a story to tell. Ask yourself: what do the listeners need to know? What kind of details would interest my audience?

● Organization must be easy to follow. The story must have a clear introduction (beginning), body (middle), and conclusion (end).

● The story must have a clear theme or point. For example: what did you learn from this event? Why would your listeners want to hear this story? What could the audience learn from your story? Why did you choose this story to tell?

● You MUST use a visual aid to accompany your story—this may be a poster board or photos or even a physical demonstration.

● Make sure to practice for the time parameter (between 3 and 5 minutes). Time yourself by presenting your story aloud a few times.

● Practice and preparation will help ease fear of speaking in front of others. You will be graded on delivery; however, you do not need to be an expert speaker. Delivery tips: practice, project your voice (so we can hear you), look at your audience (give eye contact), and tell your story with your own personality. Understand that everyone is a little nervous, and we are all going to support each other positively!

You will be graded on:

Written story (must be typed in 12pt. font, Times New Roman font)

Visual Aid

Organization & Delivery

Due Dates:

Outline Due for group discussion and workshopping: April 12th, Monday

Oral Presentation and final draft of written story due: April 14th, Wednesday

Steps

1. Finding a Story (see handout on topic ideas)

2. Gathering Details (description)

3. Composing a draft of the story

4. Revising the draft

-Check for organization: does the story follow a time order? Do you have time transitions?

-Check for details in the story: can the listener see, hear, and feel the moment you are describing? Do you use specific words?

5. Tell the story to the class

Narrative Topic Ideas

1. An experience that caused you to learn something about yourself.

2. An incident that revealed the true character of someone you knew.

3. An experience that helped you discover a principle to live by.

4. An incident that has allowed you to develop an appreciation or awareness of your ethnic identity.

5. An event that causes you to change your mind about something or someone

6. An event from childhood that, although small, helped form your outlook on life

7. A move that made you realize how connected you are to a place (the place has made you who you are today)

8. Experiencing a new culture/environment helped you find part of yourself.

9. A lesson learned from a parent.