Copy two or three of the transcripted oral interviews, and edit the dialogue as needed to ensure that the stories and information move smoothly as scripts. [Take care, however, to make certain that students understand what it means to edit, and how, what and why these particular stories have been edited. You might want to compare some unedited dialogue with the edited versions being used for this activity.] Also make enough copies of the maps provided on the website so that each two or three students have copies.

Assign students roles to play as "Berea residents" being interviewed about their past, and the experiences of their families. As the "actors" present the dialogue, groups of students should be marking their map copies in order that place names are mentioned (first site,one, and so forth).

After you have had students act out the interviews, begin a discussion of the events contained in the stories. Through this open-class discussion, create an ordered set of important events-YOUR OWN CLASS TIMELINE. You can then explain to students that they have done what historians do, made interpretations of stories, deciding what was most important in telling a story about the past.

Observations of student participation and the class' ability to recognize critical events will reveal the extent of understanding of the texts involved. You should also use the maps that have been numbered by the students to assess skills in map reading. As an extension activity, you might plan your own classroom/neighborhood oral histories. Brainstorm about the kinds of questions they would need to ask and plan who they might interview.