1. Introduce the lesson by discussing information about home remedies. Point out that a family is any group of people who take responsibility for caring for each other.



2. Have students pass around laminated home remedy pages and read the suggestions for remedies. Do they sound familiar? strange?



3. Explain the definition of oral history: the documentation of traditions, stories, and recollections that are shared verbally. Much like a newspaper reporter researches a story by interviewing people, historians and folklorists learn a lot about how people live by interviewing them.



4. Ask each student to identify a family or community member they would like to ask about home remedies. They can conduct their interviews in person or over the telephone.



5. Distribute copies of the Oral History Interview Worksheet to students and give them a deadline for their assignment.



6. When the assignments are complete, ask students to discuss their experiences in doing oral histories. Who did they interview? What did they learn?



7. Wrap up the lesson by "binding" the oral histories into a class notebook or three-ring binder.

Attn: Curation Section
North Carolina Museum of History
4650 Mail Service Center
Raleigh, North Carolina 27699-4650.