Conducting Community Interviews

Grade Level

11th Grade

Duration

90 minutes

Unit

Investigating Social Movements (Lesson 6 of 10)

Learning Objectives

By the end of this lesson, students will be able to:

I can develop respectful and relevant interview questions to gather diverse perspectives on social movements.
I can conduct structured interviews with community members using appropriate communication skills.
I can analyze and synthesize multiple viewpoints to deepen my understanding of a social movement.
I can reflect on how community perspectives influence social change.

Common Core State Standards Alignment

English Language Arts - Speaking & Listening (CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.SL.11-12)

SL.11-12.1: Initiate and participate effectively in a range of collaborative discussions, building on others’ ideas and expressing their own clearly and persuasively.
SL.11-12.3: Evaluate a speaker’s point of view, reasoning, and use of evidence and rhetoric.
SL.11-12.4: Present information, findings, and supporting evidence clearly, concisely, and logically.
SL.11-12.5: Make strategic use of digital media in presentations to enhance understanding.

Reading Informational Text (CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RI.11-12.7)

Integrate and evaluate multiple sources of information presented in diverse formats and media in order to address a question or solve a problem.

Writing (CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.W.11-12.8)

Gather relevant information from multiple authoritative print and digital sources, using advanced searches effectively; assess the strengths and limitations of each source in terms of task, purpose, and audience; and integrate information into the text selectively to maintain the flow of ideas.

Materials Needed

Interview question template (printed handout or digital copy)
Recording devices or smartphones (with permission)
Notebooks or digital devices for note-taking
Reflection journal or template
Projector/Whiteboard for instruction and debriefing
Contact info or schedule for community members (prearranged by teacher)

Success Criteria

I have prepared thoughtful and open-ended interview questions.
I can actively listen and take notes during interviews without interrupting.
I demonstrate respectful communication with interviewees.
I compare different perspectives accurately to inform my understanding of the social movement.
I reflect thoughtfully about how these perspectives add depth to my research.

Lesson Activities

1. Warm-Up & Review (10 minutes)

Activity: Brief class discussion using “I can” statements from previous lessons on social movements and research methods.
Purpose: Reinforce prior knowledge and introduce today’s goal: learning to conduct community interviews as a key research method.
Teacher Prompt: “Why do we need to hear directly from people affected by or working in social movements?”

2. Mini-Lesson: Crafting Interview Questions (15 minutes)

Instruction: Review characteristics of effective interview questions (open-ended, neutral, clear).
Modeling: Teacher demonstrates rewriting a closed or biased question into an open, balanced one.
Activity: Students draft 3-5 interview questions related to their assigned or chosen social movement topic using the question template handout.
Differentiation: Pair less confident writers with peers for brainstorming support; provide sentence starters for students who need them ("Can you tell me about...", "How did... impact your community?")
Success Criteria: Questions encourage detailed and personal responses and avoid yes/no answers.

3. Role-Play Practice Interviews (20 minutes)

Activity: Pairs of students take turns role-playing interviewer and community member with sample personas provided by the teacher (e.g., activist, local business owner, policymaker).
Focus: Practicing active listening skills, note-taking, and appropriate follow-up questions.
Teacher's Role: Circulate, provide feedback on tone, question phrasing, and listening.
Differentiation: Allow students who are uncomfortable with speaking to conduct written interviews or prepare questions for classmates to answer.
Success Criteria: Students demonstrate respectful and engaged questioning, accurate note-taking, and follow-up questions based on responses.

4. Preparing for Real Interviews (15 minutes)

Activity: Discuss logistics and etiquette for actual community interviews (e.g., scheduling, seeking permission to record, privacy considerations).
Student Task: Finalize interview questions and plan who will contact/interview community members for their social movement project.
Teacher Support: Provide contact lists or help coordinate interview opportunities.
Extension for Advanced Learners: Plan a brief presentation of interview findings including multimedia elements for the upcoming lessons.

5. Reflective Writing (10 minutes)

Activity: Students write a reflection summary in their journals on:
- What they learned about asking questions and interviewing.
- How community voices might help their social movement project.
- Personal feelings about approaching and learning from real people.
Prompt Example: “I was surprised to learn… I feel confident/unconfident about…”
Differentiation: Offer the option to dictate reflections or present verbally for students who struggle with written reflection.

6. Group Debrief & Closing Discussion (20 minutes)

Activity: Whole-class sharing circle where students share one key takeaway or concern about conducting interviews.
Guided Discussion: Teacher asks questions to link community interview skills with broader unit themes of social movement research.
Teacher Highlights: Importance of perspective, ethical interviewing, and critical evaluation of sources.
Success Criteria: Students articulate understanding of how interviews contribute to social movement investigation.

Differentiation Strategies

Visual aids and graphic organizers for question development
Peer support and small group collaboration for drafting questions
Alternative modes for conducting interviews or reflections (written, oral, video)
Scaffolded sentence starters and interview role cards
One-on-one teacher support during practice interviews

Extension Activities for Advanced Learners

Design a multimedia interview project incorporating video or audio to present community members’ viewpoints.
Research and present ethical considerations in oral history and interview methodology relating to social movements.
Conduct additional interviews outside class and compare contrasting perspectives from multiple community sources.

Assessment

Formative: Observation during role-play and paired interview practices; review draft questions for quality and relevance.
Summative (to be used in later lessons): Compilation and presentation of interview findings integrated into the research project on their social movement.

This lesson empowers students to engage authentically with their communities, applying key Common Core speaking and listening standards while advancing their understanding of social movements through firsthand experiences. The varied activities, built-in differentiation, and emphasis on reflection ensure all learners can meet the objectives successfully.

Teaching Instructions