Getting Started! - Memory Bingo! - To get students thinking about their different memories, we played Memory Bingo. Students filled in the "bingo card" with their personal memories but were encouraged to work in small groups to encourage talking and telling of their stories related to their memories. Students were tasked to fill in 5 squares in a row and announce "bingo" when this was completed. Students collected stickers for each row they filled out.  The goal was to fill in the whole chart.  At the end of the activity, students took turns sharing with the whole group some of their favourite memories. An extension for this activity is to modify the questions so that they invite a response from a student in the class. For example, rather than say "At time I was proud" the square could read "Find a classmate who has a memory of being proud." Then, the students collect stories and signatures. 

Lesson Format:

• Time to Teach - Introduction to Memoir Genre - Next, students received a short presentation about the memoir genre. They found out that they would be writing a memoir and following the writing process to produce a published piece.  The steps of the writing process were reviewed and these steps were posted on Mrs. Spindler's writing process bulletin board. 

• Time to Practice - At the end of the presentation, students started the writing process by beginning with some pre-writing (brainstorming) by searching their hearts for memories. To do this, students made a Heart Map. Students were prompted to think about the following questions as they searched their hearts: What memories do you have stores in your heart? What has really affected you? What objects are important to you? What are some experiences you will never forget? Who has been important to you? Where are your favourite places?

• Time to Share - To close the lesson, students shared their heart maps with their neighbours. 

Lesson Format:

• Time to Teach - When teaching a genre, it is important to immerse yourself in that genre by reading books written in that genre. Thanks to the Shore Shore Regional Library, we filled the classroom with memoir texts. I love to use beautiful picture books as mentor texts when teaching about a genre because not only are the illustrations captivating, the stories are usually short and  engaging, too.  Also, many picture books are written about special memories. To start this class we read Crosby's Golden Goal by Mike Leonetti.  We used this text to examine the parts of a memoir. Together, we completed a simple Memoir Structure Graphic Organizer (this was double-sided so it could be used the next class) to show how a memory story is introduced, the story of the memory is developed, and how the story of the memory ends. Students were also given their own 4-pocket writing folders! We ordered these from Amazon.ca but as the date that this website is being published, they are no longer in stock. 

• Time to Practice - Students then took their Heart Maps and decided on the top ten memories they they would like to share or reflect on. The memories were then put in chronological order on a Memoir Timeline. Students put their happy memories above the line and their sad memories below the line. Students who finish early were encouraged to work on finishing any past work or "read like a writer" from one of the memoir texts available in the classroom.  

• Time to Share - Student shared their timelines with their neighbour partners. 

Lesson Format:

• Time to Teach - We started this class by reading The Story of the Sea Glass by Anne Westcott Dodd. I have special memories of collecting beach glass with my mom and now I collect beach glass with my son. I demonstrated the connections I could make with this story and students were asked to do the same.  After reading this memoir, as a class, we discussed the parts of this memoir and what happened in each part. Memoirs are about connections to memories so we wanted the students to start thinking about the memories they felt really connected to. 

• Time to Practice - Students then were assigned groups and a memoir to read. After reading their book, they were asked to completed the Memoir Structure Graphic Organizer on the  back of the graphic organizer we used to study Crosby's Golden Goal. Again, students who finish early were encouraged to work on finishing any past work or "read like a writer" from one of the memoir texts available in the classroom.  

• Time to Share - Students came back together as a class to share the stories that they read. 

Lesson Format:

• Time to Teach - This lesson was one of my favourites experiences in this coaching cycle! To start this lesson we read aloud The Memory String by Eve Bunting. As we did so, we discussed the parts of the memoir, the feelings as we read, and of course, made connections to the story! We filled out the  Finding the Story in My Memory Graphic Organizer ( students would eventually use this to plan their memoirs) with the students to deconstruct the memoir. We projected the organizer on the board and recorded the ideas the students shared. After completing this activity, we introduced the main activity. In the book, the main character's family records their memories using buttons from important articles of clothing - uniforms, dresses, etc. Students were told they they would be making their own memory strings this class. 

• Time to Practice - We modified the idea of a memory string to fit our project. We wanted to give students a hands-on experience as they continued to think about their memories.  Students were given a string and a ton of beautiful, colourful buttons.  Students selected buttons to represent each of their 10 from their memory timeline and put them on their memory string. The students had so much fun! Again, students who finish early were encouraged to work on finishing any past work or "read like a writer" from one of the memoir texts available in the classroom.  

• Time to Practice - At the end of the class, students were invited to share their memory strings with the class. 

Lesson Format:

• Time to Teach - To start this class, I shared a short memoir I had written called "Attack of the Christmas Muskrat". It is a funny memoir I wrote for my former grade 7 students about the time I "met" a muskrat in my house on Christmas Eve.  I can still vividly recall this memory and my family still brings it up almost every Christmas. For this activity, students were asked to talk about the questions on the Analyzing a Memoir handout provided.  We projected the organizer on the board and recorded the ideas the students shared. To help provide students with language about feelings, we provided students with a Feelings Wheel that they would keep as a resource in their writing folders. After completing this activity, we introduced the main activity. Students were provided with an exemplar memoir to analyse. 

• Time to Practice - Using the handout from the lesson, and their feelings wheel, students worked in partners (or small groups) to read and analyze the exemplar memoir. Again, students who finish early were encouraged to work on finishing any past work or "read like a writer" from one of the memoir texts available in the classroom.  

• Time to Share - As all students had the same memoir, we compared responses as a whole class.  

This step can be taught in one longer class lesson or in two shorted lessons over two classes. It is shown in one class lesson below.  

Lesson Format:

• Time to Teach - Choosing a topic to write about from a variety of choices can be a challenging decision. This was an important step for students as choosing a memory that they felt connected to would help fuel them as they took this memory through the writing process. We demonstrated looking at our heart maps and timelines and filled out a simple graphic organizer to help us "pin point" the memoir we would share. Then students did the same. 

• Time to Practice - Students were provided with the Narrowing Down my Topic graphic organizer from the lesson to help them with the process of narrowing down their ideas.  When students selected the memory that they wanted to turn into a memoir. Something we didn't do, but planned to do, was have students sketch out the memory, or make a memory map. This helps the students visualize what happened in the memory. 

• Time to Share - Students shared with the class the memory they would write about. Students were also encouraged to share their process for selecting the story. 

• Time to teach (part 2) - Deciding on a memory is only one part of the planning. Students then had to learn how to find the story in their memory. After all, a memory is not a story in itself. The story comes from the telling of the memory. Using another exemplar memoir, students worked with us to look for the story in the memory. Again, we modelled using the Finding the Story in My Memory graphic organizer that students would use to  find the story in their memory. 

• Time to practice (part 2) - Students then worked on finding the story in their memory they selected to share, using the graphic organizer from the lesson. When finished, they started the plan what would happen in the beginning of their memoir, in the middle, and the end. We photocopied this Memoir Story Planner on the back of the Finding the Story in my Memory sheet. 

• Time to share (part 2) - Students shared their ideas with neighbours. 

After a lot of hard work, students were ready to draft their memoirs! Celebrate this step...they did a lot of pre-work to get to this step! Before students begin to write, it is important for them to understand how their final work will be assessed. 

What counts?

I often like to ask students to share "what counts?" when writing...they usually know the answer to this questions! Then, I share the actual rubric. This rubric was deigned by my for Mrs. Spindler's class. I was very interested in creating a rubric that captured what students were assess on for their Nova Scotia Provincial Writing Assessment so the linked Writing Rubric was created. Also, students would need to demonstrate that they could use the writing process effectively and a rubric was provided to show them how they would be assessed as well. Starting to Write Students were reminded about what happens in the the drafting phase of writing: use your pre-writing to guide your writing, write your ideas in sentences, write your ideas in order, and don't spend too much time worrying about spelling and grammar (this gets corrected in the editing phase). We projected the Drafting Poster from the Writing Process poster series. 

Memoir drafting was such a great time because students had planned their memoirs so well that the ideas came pouring out. Some students typed, some hand printed, and others voice typed - all valued and acceptable ways to write. Reminding students that writing involves an internal conversation is important during drafting as if students are talking or not on task, this interrupts the thinking process involved when writing.  

Completing the first draft of their memoirs didn't take long and they were soon ready to start the revision process. 

The lesson structure continued to follow the same process: time to teach, time to practice, and time to share. 

Mini Lessons we taught throughout the drafting time. These lessons were based on curriculum requirements and observations made from reading student work. 

Mini Lessons: 

• Writing Rubric (based on PLANS rubric)

• Writing Process Rubric

• Mini Lesson - Figurative Language (Class Poster Example)

• Mini Lesson - Hooking Your Reader

• Casting a Spell on Your Reader (sensory details)

Lesson Format:

• Time to Teach - We presented a mini lesson. 

• Time to Practice - Completed mini lesson activity and apply to writing.  

• Time to Share - Students shared their drafts or excerpts from their drafts with the class. 

Revision mini-lessons were introduced as soon as some students were ready to begin this step. Depending on your students, you may need to teach some of the drafting mini-lessons after introducing revising lessons. It is important to note that students will be at different stages in the writing process and students are encouraged to progress through the writing process at their pace. Because we were explicitly teaching the writing process steps in this genre study, student may only need a reminder of each step for future full writing process writing. To explicitly teach revising, we showed the class the Revising Poster to remind them of what revising meant and demonstrated revising a teacher written draft. 

Mini Lessons we shared during drafting included:

• TAG Peer Revision Strategy 

• ARMS Revision Strategy

• Revising vs. Editing Activity

Lesson Format:

• Time to Teach - We presented a mini lesson. 

• Time to Practice - Completed mini lesson activity and apply to writing.  

• Time to Share - Students shared their drafts or excerpts from their drafts with the class. 

Like the Revision mini-lessons, Editing mini-lessons were introduced as soon as some students were ready to begin this step. Again, depending on your students, you may need to teach some of the revision mini-lessons in smaller guided reading groups during the time-to-practice part of the lesson.  Again, it is important to note that students will be at different stages in the writing process and students are encouraged to progress through the writing process at their pace.

To explicitly teach revising, we showed the class the Editing Poster to remind them of what revising meant and demonstrated revising a teacher written draft. 

Mini Lessons we shared during drafting included:

• CUPS Self and Peer Editing Checklist 

Lesson Format:

• Time to Teach - We presented a mini lesson. 

• Time to Practice - Completed mini lesson activity and apply to writing.  

• Time to Share - Students shared their drafts or excerpts from their drafts with the class. 

Proofreading is that final step before publishing. Here students were encouraged to give their piece of work a final check to make sure the font, spacing, essentially everything is laid out as you want. The check-list provided helps students make sure the have evidence collected to show writing process. Students who are finished pass in their completed writing. 

Oh no! What do I do with the students who are finished?!
I encourage teachers to use quick writes, or writing warm ups daily. Students are usually very engaged in this short bursts of writing and these quick starting drafts make for excellent material to take through the writing process and share. Student should always have some piece of writing on the go, whether it is an assigned topic or one of choice. So when students complete a piece of writing, they start. 

This was another one of my favourite experiences with the class. Finally, when all the hard work was done, students were ready to celebrate and share their work. We also provided snacks for students to enjoy as they celebrated the completion of this project. Students read each of their classmates' memoirs and left a comment about their writing. Ms Spencer, the vice principal, joined the class and even left the students a lovely note before having to leave. 

Memoir Gallery Walk Activity

• Each student's memoir, positive comment sheet, and the button from their memory string were placed on their desk. Remaining buttons were put back in a classroom supply for use another year. Students wrote down whey they choose that particular button to represent her memory and those buttons were put on a memory strong for Mrs. Spindler to keep. 

• Next, relaxing music was played while students moved from desk to desk, reading their classmates memoirs. When finished, students left a comment about something that they liked about their writing. Students who were finished reading the memoir before other were finished sat quietly and waited until it was time to move on. 

• At the end of the class, students gathered in a circle to share some of the feedback from their peers and teachers. 

• It was a beautiful way to end this experience with students. 

Co-Marking student writing is an incredibly rewarding experience. Mrs. Spindler marked the memoirs together and discussed areas of strength and areas to consider for further instruction for each student. This time was filled with valuable, student-centred discussion. I highly recommend marking writing with a colleague. 

The final part of this adventure was to compile all of the students' memoirs into a class book. Before stringing together the buttons into a memory string, I arranged them in the shape of a heart and made this picture this cover of their book. Unfortunately COVID-19 delayed the delivery of this book, but Mrs. Spindler and her 2020-2021 students would be able to enjoy reading her students' hard work from the previous year.