Materials:

• chart paper
• marker
• cassette recorder and cassette
• camera and film

Objective: Children will develop creative-thinking and language skills as they create interview questions to learn about their classmates.

ACTIVITY

1 Write the word "interview" on a sheet of chart paper. Ask children if they know what an interview is. Explain that they will work together to create a class interview so they can get to know their classmates.

2 Ask children to think of questions to ask one another. Write each child's name on chart paper and record interview questions next to their names.

3 Invite children to use a tape recorder to conduct their interviews. Remember to provide time for children to learn how to use the tape recorder and to hear their recorded voices.

4 Conduct the interviews for several days, allowing several children to ask the group one question per day. Encourage children to state their names before answering the question. Provide time for children to listen to the cassette and discuss what they learned about their classmates.

5 Send a note home to families asking them to assist in copying the tape. Families can provide their child with a blank tape so every child in the class can have a copy of the interview project to share with his family. Photograph the class and include these pictures with the cassette so children can point out their classmates while they listen to the tape.

6 Review the interview process with children. Ask: What was the hardest part of interviewing? What was the most fun? What did you learn about your classmates that surprised you?

Curriculum Connection

Writing: Make Pen Pals. Contact another school in your area and see if their kindergarten class would like to become pen pals with your class. Encourage children to think of questions to ask their new friends through e-mail.

Art: Invite children to send picture messages to classmates. If a child would like to invite a friend to spend free-play time outdoors, suggest that he draw two children playing together outside. Set aside a special time for children to exchange notes. Encourage children to create more than one picture message and make sure that each child receives at least one note.

This activity originally appeared in the August, 2000 issue of Early Childhood Today.