Abstract
How can oral history projects teach students about such abstract concepts as democracy or freedom? The literature reveals effective teaching of historical concepts requires teacher mediation—a finding that holds true for students worldwide. This article describes two middle school classroom oral history projects and discusses how teacher mediation and cooperative group learning led to creation of a Living History Museum in The Czech Republic. Through collecting family and community members’ memories about recent events, students gained knowledge, understandings, and insights not available in Czech history books. Students also began to appreciate personal freedom and the democracy in which they live.
