Out of Eden Footstep #4 – Listening to Neighbors’ Stories

Image source: Screen shot from the Out of Eden Learn website

You did a great job exploring your neighborhood and taking photos for Footstep #3. Now it’s your turn to try out your skills at listening and interviewing someone. You will share a neighbor’s story with your walking party:

• Your task is to talk and listen to an adult who lives or works in your local area. This person could be someone you have never spoken to before or someone you already know. It does not need to be someone who has lived in the area for a long time. Some ideas: a cook, housekeeper, or a driver who works for your family; a school employee (local from Chennai); an Indian friend of your parents; Other ideas (let your teacher know)?

• Ask the person for a story or memory about your local area or Chennai. For example, how did they come to be in this place or city? How have they seen the area (or Chennai) change over the years? What are some of their memories about the area? Do any particular events in the area stand out in their mind? BRAINSTORM SOME QUESTIONS BEFORE YOUR INTERVIEW, but use good listening skills and think of other questions during the interview.

• Write up the highlights of your conversation or recreate a story that they told you. Include a short description of the person you talked with – for example, how you know them, the setting where you talked, what they look like, and what they were wearing. Alternatively, you can upload an audio file (Garage Band -> Sound Cloud) of you retelling their story in your own words (Not the interview of the person). If you choose to use Sound Cloud, you will need to write a short introduction and add a URL to your interview; you cannot embed the podcast on Out of Eden Learn. For ideas, please look at some of the examples on Out of Eden to see what other students are doing.

Due Date: Thursday, May 14 (D Block, Martin & B Block, Hall) and Friday, May 15 (G Block Martin & H Block, Hall). Remember to use your Out of Eden Google Document to draft all of your work before copy and paste it on OOE Learn’s website.

Tags: Out of Eden Walk