This holiday weekend will be about more than Thanksgiving treats and extra days off from school for eighth-grader Shreya Nair. Shreya will also spend some of her time conducting an interview that will end up in the Library of Congress.
Shreya, 13, is participating in a StoryCorps initiative called The Great Thanksgiving Listen. The project encourages students to interview family members and friends about their lives in an effort to preserve the stories and voices of an older generation.
“ It would be interesting to see her view on life and how it’s different from mine based on the circumstances she grew up in,”Shreya said about her interview.
StoryCorps' aim is to use audio to preserve the stories of people of all ages and backgrounds. Students will be able to record their interviews using a new app and upload them to the StoryCorps Archive at the Library of Congress.
Shreya’s English teacher decided to get involved in spreading the word about the project, by assigning the interview as homework. Alison Matthews teaches Shreya at McCall Middle School in Winchester, Massachusetts. She incorporated(纳入) the StoryCorps interview assignment into a unit on the book, The Giver. Matthews describes the novel as a“story about this community where there’s one man — the giver — who holds all the memories of the community.”
“The StoryCorps project fit in so perfectly. The Library of Congress is the keeper of our memories. So I asked kids to think about the importance of memory in our society,” Matthews said.
Shreya said that her classmates like the assignment.”It’s an interview that will help us not only understand the book we’re reading right now, but help us later in life,” Shreya said. “One of the things I like about the project is that you get to hear so many other people’s voices,”she added. “Sometimes in this world it feels like our opinion is the only one, but when you sit down and listen, it’s amazing what it can bring.”
4. Whom might Shreya meet this holiday weekend?
A.Her grandmother. | B.one of her cousins. |
C.Her English teacher. | D.one of her classmates. |
5. What is the purpose of the project?
A.To start a new tradition. |
B.To narrow the distance between people. |
C.To record history through oral communication |
D.To teach students to communicate more effectively. |
6. Why does Matthews support the project?
A.It fits in a lesson perfectly. |
B.It is a new teaching method. |
C.Her students want to learn about interviewing. |
D.Her students want to visit the Library of Congress. |
7. What might be the best title of the passage?
A.A Holiday Weekend. |
B.A Girl Participating in a New Project. |
C.An Interview to the Older Generation. |
D.A Meaningful Thanksgiving Day. |