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The Veterans History Project began in 2000 for the purpose of documenting the lives of American WWII Veterans. Later, the project was expanded to any veteran on active duty or who has served in any branch of the Armed Services in any era. Your mission is to interview a veteran, present their narrative in a multimedia presentation, and share it. If it is good enough, the interview and the narrative will be sent to the Library of Congress so any American can learn about the service and sacrifice these veterans have made for our country. More information about this project can be found at [|http://www.loc.gov/vets/].

In order to complete this project, you must complete the following steps.

=Step 1: Locate Veteran=

You will need to locate a veteran who is a family member. If you do not have a veteran family member, you will need to find a veteran willing to participate in the project.

=Step 2: Contact Veteran=

You must work together and contact a veteran to set up a formal interview time and to ask some preliminary information so you can do research for your interview questions. **When you do contact the veteran, have him/her complete the biographical information form and the waiver form and collect them.** You will be in charge of researching background information based on this form. Mr. Bickel’s students will research proper interview question writing techniques and tips on how to conduct a proper interview. Each student will post his/her findings on the Wikispaces site dedicated to this project (http://elco-veterans-history-project.wikispaces.com). Mr. Bickel’s students will also teach narrative writing.

=Step 3: Interview Questions=

Together, you will formulate at least 25 interview questions for the veteran interview. Be sure to follow the guidelines mentioned on the website as well as the guidelines presented in class. Use the information gathered in the library to help formulate the questions as well.

=Step 4: Practice Interview=

To practice for the interview, Mr. Bickel’s students will demonstrate how to use a video camera and wireless microphone properly to tape the interview. Then you will watch at least two interviews from the website and critique them. Give at least three specific examples of what worked well with them and three things you will change in your interview. You will conduct a mock interview with members from another group to make sure that you know how to use the equipment properly. Students will also need to know how to use a regular digital camera to take photos of any veteran’s artifacts. This sample interview will be turned in for a grade.

=Step 5: Conduct Interview=

You will conduct the actual interview with the veteran. The interviews must be taped using a digital camcorder. Wireless microphones should be used in most cases.

You should also take photos of any veteran artifacts that he/she would like to display. Read the requirements in the veterans history project field kit. You are required to set up and conduct the interview with your partner. Be sure to get follow up contact information in order to send a thank you note.

=Step 6: Multimedia Project=

Students will edit the interview in iMovie and write a narrative based on the interview. The narrative will be combined with the interview footage and the veteran’s artifacts to create a multimedia project.

=Step 7: Class Presentation=

You will share your veteran interview and multimedia project with the class and with the veteran and possibly his or her family. If your project is really good, it will be displayed at the [|free energy generator] spring art show, on the ELCO website, and on the Library of Congress website.