Folklife Resources for Educators

Materials Related to Sound recordings

There are 2 titles in this list.

Folklife and Fieldwork: An Introduction to Field Techniques
by American Folklife Center
http://www.loc.gov/folklife/fieldwork/

A guide to conducting folklife fieldwork, updated in 2005. (46 p. PDF) Includes information on what to collect, how to do fieldwork, and provides examples of release forms, data sheets, and logs for audio, video, and still photography. Also has tips on using tape recording, video, and photographic equipment. A Spanish-language translation of the guide is included, under the title "La Tradición Popular y la Investigación de Campo Una introducción a las técnicas de investigación." (46 p. PDF) Both English and Spanish versions are also available in free published versions from the American Folklife Center.

Sponsoring Organization:
American Folklife Center
Library of Congress
Washington DC 20540-4610
(202) 707-5510
http://www.loc.gov/folklife/

Ghetto Life 101
by Sound Portraits Productions
http://soundportraits.org/on-air/ghetto_life_101/

In 1993, two teenagers from Chicago's South Side collaborated with public radio producers to create the radio documentary "Ghetto Life 101," based on audio diaries of life in the Ida B. Wells housing projects. A study guide (24 p. PDF) was written for classroom use to accompany the audio segments. It adds new voices and historical perspectives to the original radio documentary. Topics covered in the study guide include growing up in the ghetto, the character of urban neighborhoods, and responding to violence in the inner city. In addition to the study guide, the Ghetto Life 101 web site includes the original audio documentaries, their transcripts, and photos.

Sponsoring Organization:
Sound Portraits Productions
80 Hanson Place, 2nd Floor
Brooklyn NY 11217
(646) 723-7020
http://soundportraits.org/