Oral history is a valuable tool for education, community building, and advocacy. Sharing first-person stories from people—in their own words—illuminates issues and events in a powerful way.
Voice of Witness creates oral history resources to support individuals, organizations, and classrooms with ethical storytelling, community-based oral history projects, and human rights education. We have seen firsthand how they resonate with participants of all kinds, inspiring connection and belonging, empathy, and community engagement. All of our lesson plans are free and Common Core-aligned.
Learn more about the benefits of oral history and the impacts of oral history education.
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Say It Forward: A Guide to Social Justice Storytelling
Say It Forward is a DIY oral history guide that outlines best practices for social justice storytelling and community-based projects.
Guides and Toolkits • Grades 9-12 • Higher Ed
Ethical Storytelling Principles
VOW’s ethical storytelling principles are grounded in values of respect, dignity, empathy, transparency, collaboration, and equity. These principles are relevant to many forms of community-based storytelling and programs.
Guides and Toolkits • Grades 9-12 • Higher Ed
The Power of the Story: The Voice of Witness Teacher’s Guide to Oral History
This comprehensive guide allows teachers and students to explore contemporary issues through the transformative power of oral history, and to develop the communication skills necessary for creating vital oral history projects in their own communities.
Guides and Toolkits • Lesson Plans • Grades 6-8 • Grades 9-12
Oral History Resource Guide For English Language Learners
Voice of Witness’s education program develops curriculum that directly supports students in migrant, multilingual, and English Language Learner communities. This guide contains activities, handouts, and reading strategies to make oral history accessible to students at all language levels.
Guides and Toolkits • Lesson Plans • Grades 3-5 • Grades 6-8 • Grades 9-12
