“Being human means we can remember and tell stories and pretend and write and hope and share and in this way add

growth rings of meaning to our lives…What human beings fear is not growing old but growing old without things adding

up.” Lucy Calkins

“We do not know what we will say until we say it and so we discover, by writing what we have seen, what we have

learned, what we have lived and what it means. Each draft is new, filled with surprise.” Donald Murray

“Unlike autobiography, which moves in a dutiful line from birth to fame, omitting nothing significant, memoir assumes

the life and ignores most of it. The writer of a memoir takes us back to a corner of his or her life that was unusually vivid

or intense—childhood, for instance—or that was framed by unique events. By narrowing the lens, the writer achieves a

focus that isn’t possible in autobiography. Memoir is a window into a life.” Zinsser

So…why should we care about reading and writing memoir?

That will be our goal—figuring this out along with effectively writing and reading memoirs.

We live in an ever-expanding, multi-cultural society

We have always learned by stories

We need to cherish real, deep communication in this fast-paced age of tx

We need to know ourselves and others. How do we fit in? stand out?

We need to cherish our memories (refer to Dostoevsky quote on ppt)

Some things we will do in this unit

Differentiate biography, autobiography, and memoir

Read and respond to main ideas and tone of assorted memoirs in class (and/or some you discover for yourself)

Reflect on and write about a special cloth memory and participate in the class quilt activity.

Write a longer memoir for your Wanna Piece of Me (edit using Writing Conference rubrics)

Turn this piece into an expository essay using the Simple Essay formula (it’s like magic!)

Read The Polio Hole and visit the author at her farm for a picnic and writing workshop. (Polio Hole info and links

are in long term, WP of Me on the harrellland website. Wild Onion Press is on the homepage links)

Getting Started

Intro slide show

Mrs. Harrell’s memoir sharing about former student, Julie, and her own escapades as an elementary school boy

hater in “Murder She Wrote.”

Writers’ Video on Gary Soto discussing memoir (At this time you’ll receive your handouts to use for watching all

10 of these videos during the year, so keep them in the writing section of your harrellland notebook)

Teacher reads Gary Soto’s memoir, “The Pie.”

Teacher shares a much-loved memoir, “Three Letters from Teddy”

Continuing in Reading Workshops

Read silently from the folders of provided memoirs. Please take only one or two pieces at a time and return

them to the correct folder when you finish. Feel free to advertise memoirs you especially like so your peers can

read them too.

Reading, Writing, Reflecting…Memoir

As you read, jot down on your own paper a one sentence summary of each memoir you read along with a brief

annotation about a lesson learned from the memoir and a one word comment on the tone or voice of the piece

(humorous, sarcastic, thoughtful and reflective, sad, etc.) These notes will be part of your work ethic grade.

You can also find interesting memoirs in the many text anthologies in our classroom as well as in various

magazines, especially Reader’s Digest, Mirage, and Making Waves. Be sure to make a note of any memoirs you

want to copy for your Antholio.

Orange folder (places)

Porsche by Bailey White

Summer of the Yellow House by Linda Gunsaulies

Middle Georgia by Jill Smith

Long-legged House by Wendell Berry

607 East University Avenue by Mrs. H

To Dad by Mrs. H

Backyard by Kevin Lehner

Bobo’s House by Danielle Kiel McGriff

Red folder (revelations and philosophy)

Santa by Allison Cravey

Crayons by Robert Fulghum (you have this one)

Discovery by Cathy David

A Child’s Life by Mrs. H

What is Under My Bed?

Mermaids by Robert Fulghum

Larry Walters by Robert Fulghum (the movie, Up, is

based on this)

Three Letters from Teddy (Miss Gilmore read)

Yellow folder (childhood adventures)

The Cornbread Calamity by Jimmy Galindo

Daydreamer by Catherine Quaimbo

Catfish excerpt by Farley Mowat

Get em by Matt Stone

Car Graveyard by John Cadwalleder

You Can’t Fly in a Coat by Barbara Hontz

Our car boiled excerpt by Tobias Wolff

Rabid Alligators and the Dreaded Cotton Mouth

Python by Alex Wayne

Manilla folder (trauma and tear jerkers)

The Kindness of Strangers by Chris Morris (former

PKY principal)

Eleven by Sandra Cisneros

Murderer by Brent Dean

Charlie by Sandi Ryals

Deliverance by Dorothy Coar (former PKY dean)

Moth excerpt by Annie Dillard

Ken by U of F student

A Discovery by Erin Pearson

The Doe by Ian Richard

You will see on page two of this “packet” some suggested prompts for memoir writing. Next to some of these

prompts I have written the names of pieces you may have read from the folders that fit them. Note how the

student writers (and many of these pieces were written by students) handled writing to a prompt. You don’t have

to use the prompts provided, however, if your memoir is on something else. Whatever you write, be sure I can hear

your voice in your piece. Also strong verbs and concrete details are imperative! Don’t forget to “Have a Writing

Conference with Yourself” before typing your final draft to turn in which is due____________________.

So many ideas…so little time:

1. Write about a pet you once had but don’t have anymore (Farley Mowat’s catfish) 2. Did you ever try to cook something that didn’t turn out right? (Cornbread Calamity) 3. Can you recall a time you got in trouble or broke something? (The Pie) 4. Can you remember a trip you would not want to take again? (A Discovery) 5. Can you remember a birthday or holiday you wouldn’t want to live over? (Eleven) 6. A time you got lost… 7. A first impression that turned out to be wrong… (Three Letters from Teddy) 8. A time you learned something from a child… (Mermaids, Crayons) 9. Can you remember a time you were tricked or lied to? (Kindness of Strangers) 10. When you were little, what was it like going to the movies? (Mexican Movies) 11. A place you would like to go back to… (Summer of My Yellow House, To Dad, 607 East Univ.) 12. Recall the neighborhood bully… (Green Gulch) 13. Recall a great fort, exploring cool places or devising childhood games or clubs…(Car Graveyard, Get ‘Em) 14. Stray animals you brought home… 15. A difficult decision you had to make…(Deliverance) 16. Write about a time you found out something about yourself. (Murder She Wrote, The Art of Living Simply) 17. A time you had to communicate with someone you couldn’t understand (My Fourteenth Summer) 18. Did you ever see a ghost? 19. Running away from home… 20. Were you ever accused of something you didn’t do? (Mrs. Williams, Ducks Don’t Drown, Murderer) 21. Sand castles or mud pies (A Child’s Life) 22. Write about feeling like a misfit. (Ken, Falling Asleep) 23. Write about nightmares. (What’s Under My Bed?) 24. Having to wait for something you wanted… 25. Finding out the truth about Santa, Easter Bunny, Tooth Fairy, et. al. What are you implying, Mrs. Harrell!? 26. A movie or book that made a huge impression on you… 27. Describe the best time you ever had in your life. (The Power of Being There, Rabid Alligators) 28. The funniest thing that you ever saw or that ever happened to you… (Larry Waters) 29. Did you ever feel really sorry for someone? (Charlie) 30. Do you remember a special cloth doll, toy, costume or piece of clothing from your childhood? (Mothball Memories,

Red Blanket, etc. You may expand your “cloth memory” piece into a full-length memoir if you wish.

“We do not know what we will say until we say it, and so we discover…by writing what we have seen, what we have

learned, what we have lived and what it means. Each draft is new, filled with surprise.”

~Donald Murray in A Writer Teaches Writing

Cloth Memories

The cloth memory writing assignment is a chance for you to practice your memoir writing skills before the more in-depth

memoir assignment later on in the unit. For this assignment, you will be thinking and writing about a piece of cloth from

your childhood that means a lot to you.

Some of the cloth memory pieces we will be reading include:

“My Mother Pieced Quilts” by Theresa Palma Acosta Excerpts from students’ cloth memory memoirs Cloth Memories (Red Blanket) by David Houder

Mothball Memories by Mrs. Harrell Quilt Song by Mark Vinz

After reading these sample pieces, here’s what you will be doing:

1) Think about a piece of cloth from your childhood that has a special place in your heart. It could be a stuffed

animal, a security “blankie,” a costume, or other piece of clothing or special cloth belonging to you or to a

special person in your life to whom you were attached as a young child. (I believe a few of the memoirs you

looked at in the folders included a reference to cloth—“Eleven” and “You Can’t Fly in a Coat” for example)

2) After you have your cloth in mind, share what it meant to you by writing a short (1/2 to 1 page) memoir

reflecting on its appearance, significance, use, etc. Paint a vivid picture for your reader with strong verbs,

sensory details, and even figures of speech if you need some. Write in first person. If you need help getting

started, recall the examples and reread them if you wish.

3) When you are finished with your piece, turn it in to me and I will give you a square sheet of paper and some

crayons. (ahhhh, remember crayons ) Color the paper so that it looks like a piece of cloth from your memoir,

and turn it in when you are finished. I will assemble a class quilt of everyone’s paper pieces. Everyone will have

an opportunity to read his/her cloth memory aloud as we try to match the story to the piece of cloth! We could

later dismantle the quilt so you can put the “cloth” and your typed, edited writing in your antholio (or we could

take a photo).