How Old Is Old?
4. Interview An Older Friend
Project Skill
- discovering new things about an older friend or family member
Life Skill
- communicating with others; relating to others
What to do
This activity helps you find out more about an older friend or family member. Choose a person at least 65 years old to interview. It might be a family member, friend, or your project helper. Ask questions about your subject's experiences as a child, as a young adult, and as an older adult. Write the answers after the questions.Helpful hints
You can do even more with this activity. You could:- create a picture journal to accompany the written interview
- tape the interview to create an oral history for the older person
Childhood
- Did you have a favorite toy? If it was a doll or a stuffed animal,
what was its name?
- What was your favorite candy? Do you associate it with a particular
person or time?
- Did you have pets as a child? What kind and what were their names?
- Did you have a nickname? How did you get it?
- Did you have chores around the house?
- Do you remember a favorite bedtime story or poem?
- What was your favorite subject in school? Was homework hard or easy
for you?
- Can you remember a historic event that happened when you were in school?
Who told you about it? Your teacher? Your mother when you got home?
- Did you ever want to run away? Why?
- Did your father have a favorite saying you can remember him repeating?
How about your mother? Do you sometimes find their words coming out
of your mouth?
Young adult
- What was your first job?
- Did you date a lot? What did you like to do for fun?
- Do you remember your first big romance? Did you get married, or how
did the relationship end?
- Is there a particular song you associate with that time of your life?
- What was your first home like? Describe your household appliances.
- Did you have children? Who was the first person you called to say
"It's a girl" or "It's a boy?"
- What was the funniest experience you ever had with a child (yours
or someone else's)?
- What was your scariest moment as a parent? Or the scariest moment
you experienced with any child?
- What was the best trip or vacation you ever took? Why was it so special?
- What was the best thing about this part of your life? The worst thing?
Older Adult
- What is your favorite hobby or activity?
- Do you enjoy a slower pace now, or are you as busy as ever?
- If you have had to slow down because of age, what activities to you
miss?
- Has retirement been a good or bad experience?
- Do you have grandchildren? Do you see them often?
- What is the best part about being or not being a grandparent? The
worst part?
- What things do you get to do now that you couldn't do when you were
younger?
- What are some of the biggest changes you've seen in your lifetime?
- Which president did you admire most during your lifetime? Was there
another public figure you particularly admired?
- What age has been the best age of your life? Why?
What was the interview like?
What are the most important things you learned about your older friend or
family member?
What similar experiences have you had?
Do you think you'll be like the person you interviewed when you get older?
What stories would you tell about the age you are now?
Read "Making Sense of Sensory Changes." The following activities will help you learn more about the physical changes that occur in our bodies because of the aging process.
You wil be able to experience some age-related physical changes with the help of an "immediate aging kit." This kit contains items such as glasses, gloves, and medicine bottles that will help you understand what it might feel like to lost some of your physical ability.