Project: Oral History

Step Description Expected Student Results
1 Introductions: My students will e-mail you their first message. My students will write you the first message. They will tell you a little bit about the project and their progress, as well as provide information on how you can best support them in their writing endeavors to complete a published biography.
2 Students will begin work to create chapter drafts in their biography. Mentors will assist in editing and revising drafts.
 Students will initially begin their biography by researching information about the person’s life (using library and museum archives, live interview, and cataloguing photographs that we receive for the project). Students will use this information to write the biography. I have given a structure for the students to work within for their biography, but the chapters will inevitably evolve from person to person. The chapter structure I recommended for the students to use to organize their biography is: Early Life, Education, Discovering their Passion/Interest, Influences (events or people), Adult Life, Lessons Learned/Lessons shared and Summary. So for example, it might be possible that education is not as important to the story as serving in a war. I have given my students some artistic license to adjust this structure as needed. This is one area where you can be sure to play a role. I will need mentors helping to provide structural and organizational feedback in writing this biography, as well as assisting in any necessary revisions and editing of the book. I suggest that the mentor and student collaborate on a plan for submitting and editing work through messaging weekly. It might be advantageous if the mentor and students created deadlines for chapters to be completed. The mentor can revise and edit chapters while the student is writing the following chapter.
3 Students will complete their biography. Mentors will review the biography for one final editing run-though.

After mentors have completed a final review, students will submit their biography into CreateSpace for it to be published. These published copies will get distributed to the Preston Library and our local library branches (5 copies). Students will give an electronic copy for the Library’s Historical Connections archive. Students shall receive a copy as well.

There will be a book premiere and some work to wrap up for our documentary. I am unclear as to when our premiere will be scheduled, but I will communicate this date as soon as I nail it down. Students will reflect on their class experience, complete program surveys and share our appreciations for our mentors.		 Students will complete their biography and submit for publishing.