Interviews can take a variety of different formats, with children interviewing or being interviewed. Interviewers should prepare their questions beforehand and may wish to record the interview in some way (written notes, audio recording or video recording), and the interview should take place in a suitable (preferably quiet) place. The whole class may take part, or the interviews could be conducted in small groups. Below are some ideas for the settings for interviews:
- Interviewing School Staff – Ask a few members of staff (e.g. headmasters, teachers, secretaries, cleaners) if they would be willing to be interviewed. The children can ask them what their job entails and what they like / dislike about their job.
- Interviewing the Teacher – The children could interview their teacher about his or her job and why they like being a teacher.
- Interviewing the Class – The teacher could interview children in his or her class. The children could also interview each other to find out about each other (e.g. hobbies, family, likes / dislikes).
- Interviewing other Children – Children from other classes in the school could be interviewed. This would give your class an understanding of what younger and older children are interested in, how they feel about school etc.
- “Hot Seating” – The person being interviewed should take on a character’s role (e.g. a famous person or a character from a story). A few suggestions are listed below:
- Alexander T. Wolf (from “The True Story of the Three Little Pigs” by Jon Scieszka) could be interviewed about what really happened to those three pigs!
- The Trunchbull (from “Matilda” by Roald Dahl”) could be asked about her opinions of children and school.
- Babe (from “The Sheep-Pig” by Dick King-Smith) could be interviewed about his achievements.
- The Prime Minister could be asked about their job and about how they intend to improve education in Britain.
- A survivor of the Titanic could be asked what it was really like to be on the sinking ship.
Almost any character / person can be used for this activity, but it is best to choose one that the children know well. In order to answer questions, the interviewee will need to have a good background knowledge of the character / person, so they should choose someone that they are familiar with.