Jenks, C. “Using Oral History in the Elementary Classroom.” (2010)

Charles Jenks suggests that all too often, students see history only as a product: a massive collection of unrelated names and events, dates and places. He suggests that if students are presented with history as a process, they can become aware of how the product (written history) is created. Oral history is presented as a means for students to gather information and produce historical records that are relevant to them. Students interviewed their own families and in doing so, began to realize that ordinary people have a history that is worth telling and recording, including themselves.