SUMMARY

Hometown DC, an oral history project, captures the stories of local D.C. residents—and what it truly means to be a Washingtonian at the nation’s 250th birthday.

Visit the Student Reporting Labs website for more information.

NOTE: If you are short on time, watch the video and complete this See, Think, Wonder activity: What did you notice? What did the story make you think about? What would you want to learn more about?

News alternative: Check our recent segments from the News Hour, and choose the story you’re most interested in watching. You can make a Google doc copy of discussion questions that work for any of the stories here.

WARM-UP QUESTIONS

1. Who is Armonté Butler, and what is his background?
2. What is the purpose of the Hometown DC project, according to Rebecca Lemos Otero?
3. Why did Hometown DC want to focus on the DC area for a project related to American 250, according to Lemos Ontero?
4. How was the project planned and organized?
5. Where will the project be displayed? What was the intended audience?

ESSENTIAL QUESTIONS

1. The purpose of America 250 is to explore the shared story of people living in this country. How do you think focusing on local stories adds to the larger national story?
2. Why do you think the organizers of this project focused on oral history? What does this approach add to the focus on local history?

Media literacy:

Take a look at the website for Student Reporting Labs. Scroll through the website and briefly look over the goals of the organization. Then, answer the following questions:

• What does Student Reporting Labs strive to do?
• Why is it important to have organizations such as SRL that include the voices of the youth when developing projects?

WHAT STUDENTS CAN DO

Now, it is your turn! Take turns interviewing each other using the same question presented in Hometown DC: What makes your community home to you?" Once you are done, share in small groups. Make sure that everyone pays close attention and gives the person sharing the utmost respect that they deserve.

Once small group sharing is done, ask if any student is comfortable sharing their story with the whole class.

Before students are dismissed, teachers should assign them the task of getting to know about someone else's life story. This could be that of a friend, family, or stranger. This is an opportunity to help foster connection between the student and the person asked to share their life story.

Written by PBS News Hour Classroom Intern Justin Vasquez and edited by News Hour's Luke Gerwe

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