Short Memoirs - Read Then Write a Memoir- Hook, Theme, & Polishing Focus

Students read, analyze, then create their own short Memoirs. Memoirs show that you value student experience, voice, and creativity. Memoirs nurture a safe space in my classroom, so it is excellent for back-to-school.

At the start of the school year, I prefer to do shorter readings for two main reasons: 1) to get students back into reading and 2) because the class list is often still in flux. I want a new student to be able to integrate quickly. That said, the Memoir unit works well at any point in the semester.

It contains:

1) Detailed Teacher Notes.

2) Student Learning & Hooks:

• 3 Ted Talks encourage students to tell their stories.
• Questions for the discussion of the Ted Talks
• Discussion Rubric (oral communication mark)
• Theme Definition Chart
• A chart that helps students organize and understand themes (with Ted Talks)

3) Short Memoirs Reading:

• Chart of suggested short teen memoirs
• Rehearse locating a theme- activity using short memoirs

4) Short Memoir Writing:

• Assignment Sheet
• Memoir Writing prompts
• Definition of 'paratext' + helpful poster
• Help with Canva.com (for publishing)
• Rubric (writing + media marks)

5) Teacher Answer Key includes answers for:

• The Ted Talks discussion questions
• The theme chart for the Ted Talks "The Danger of a Single Story"
• The theme chart for the short Memoir "Lost and Found"
• Extension suggestions for the unit: List of the best Memoirs for high school students to read.

If you liked this unit, please consider the Slam or Rant Unit.