More Than Just the Facts, Ma'am: YouthLearn's Interviewing Project

Thinking ahead to the new year of afterschool? Check out YouthLearn's interviewing project: There's no better way to learn than by talking to people. Even if you're not a reporter, everyone needs good interviewing skills, whether it's to find the answer to a question or to get a job. Interviewing isn't something you can just rush into, however. Kids need preparation, practice and coaching. This project teaches kids how to conduct an effective interview, then sends them out to talk to people in your center or neighborhood and create a Web page to tell the story.

This example covers the entire process once as a model, and we suggest that you do the same. Once you've completed the entire project in the demonstration phase, do another with the same steps, but let the kids pick their own interview subjects and topics, and give them more time to research and create their pages.

Make sure that you are familiar with any elements you intend to include in this project, such as

using mapping,
digital photography,
computer graphics and image editing, and
creating a Web page.

You can use this project to introduce any or all of these topics, or you can introduce them beforehand and use this project to reinforce them. If your kids are younger or new to any of the software applications, leave more time for modeling and exploration.