Magister Yeats
Item List
WW2.01 a-b
Introduction to Memoir
How do people tell their own stories?
BELL WORK
(A) Journal: "Most important days of my life" cluster mapping.
(B) Journal: Begin a draft over one of your cluster map topics. Put in the MEMOIR section.
WE WILL
(A) Discuss the value of a mentor text for writing.
(B) Share out thoughts and ideas about memoir writing.
YOU WILL
(A) Read at least one memoir from a list of mentor texts below.
Memoir:
The Electric Typewriter Collection
(A larger collection of pieces. Below are some some suggestions)
By David Sedaris (satirical, dark humor)
By Anne Helen Petersen (Technology, coming-of-age)
By Kevin Wilson (Anxiety, Parenthood)
By David Amsden (Police in America, teenage)
By Rahawa Haile (Race in America, Travel, politics)
By Lidia Yuknavitch (Assault survival, hardship)
By Lauren Slater (Adoption, assault survivor, pets, nature)
My Mother and I Went Halfway Around the World to Find Each Other
By Jennifer Hope Choi (Self-Discovery, family, divorce, travel)
By Wendy Xu (Anxiety, Race in America)
By Anjali Enjeti (Race in America, multicultural identity)
By Jen Doll (coming-of-age, teenage, writing)
By Jordana Narin (Romance, coming-of-age)
I Followed My Heart To A Place Between Israel And Palestine
By James McDonald (Romance, LGBTQ, Religion)
(B) Reflect in your journal: Which piece did you read, and what about it seemed worth emulating? What would you be interested in doing differently? Put in the Memoir section.
IF YOU FINISH EARLY
(A-B) Begin a free-write over one of your cluster map topics.
WW2.02
Memoir Writing and Beginnings
Where do I start a story?
BELL WORK
Journal: 5-minute free write.
WE WILL
Group write based on the following prompts:
"Once upon a time..."
"They had to keep running."
Discuss in media res vs ab initio narratives.
YOU WILL
Draft an in media res vs ab initio introduction for your memoir piece. Put in MEMOIR.
IF YOU FINISH EARLY
Reflect on which introduction you'd prefer to use for your shared piece.
WW2.03 a-c
Writing Time!
How do I write a memoir?
BELL WORK
(A) Journal Prompt: Depict a dinner that goes horribly wrong.
(B) Journal Prompt: Someone sneaks into an abandoned house. What do they find?
(C) Journal Prompt: If you could time travel, when would you go and what would you do?
WE WILL
(A) Review what types of stories there are. Put in WRITING TOOLS.
(B) Share out and discuss Freytag's pyramid and plot structure. Put in WRITING TOOLS.
(C) Discuss cliched writing and avoiding cliché. Put in WRITING TOOLS
YOU WILL
(A-C) Draft your first memoir piece. Submit a version with an introduction, climax, and conclusion.
IF YOU FINISH EARLY
In your journal, reflect on a long-term writing project you'd be interested in pursuing during and after this course.
WW2.04 a-c
Travel Memoir
Is where we've been important to our lives?
BELL WORK
(A) Journal: Make a list of five places you have travelled to. Then think of an interesting moment from each trip.
(B) Journal: When you think about where you've travelled, what sounds, smells, and sights do you think of first?
(C) Journal: Why did you choose this particular story to write about?
WE WILL
(A) Share out places visited and adventures you have had in those places.
(B) Discuss the importance of sensory language in writing. Put in WRITING TOOLS.
(B) Hand back memoir draft from 2.3c. Put in MEMOIR.
(C) Reflect on the impact audience has on writing.
YOU WILL
(A-C) Draft a travel memoir and show completed draft.
IF YOU FINISH EARLY
Watch this video (8:04) exploring other types of memoir.
WW2.05
Letting Writing Rest
When does writing mean not writing?
BELL WORK
WE WILL
Discuss how we take breaks and why they are useful.
Engage in a breathing exercise to release endorphins.
Take a walk around the school to decrease cortisol OR take a class naptime!
Intentionally activate oxytocin with cute animals.
YOU WILL
Journal: Which of our activities made the biggest impact? Could you find ways to incorporate that into your day more often?
Take a look at your writing from
IF YOU FINISH EARLY
Watch a silly pun battle video.
WW2.06 a-c
Major Revision!
Why is this step so important?
BELL WORK
(A) Read this classic article about drafts. In your journal, reflect on what lessons you can take from the opinion of a professional writer.
(B) What do you think is the weakest part of your memoir? What ways do you think you could improve it?
WE WILL
(A) Discuss the bell work article.
(A) Go over a revision checklist. Put in WRITING TOOLS.
(B) Individual check-in on revision.
(C) Go over when and how to share your writing with someone else.
YOU WILL
(A-B) Work on revising one of your memoirs for sharing out.
(C) Switch writing with a partner and complete the rough draft reflection.
IF YOU FINISH EARLY
Check the Revising Sentences list to further refine your writing.
WW2.07 a-c
Editing!
How is it different from revising?
BELL WORK
(A) Journal: What grammar/punctuation mistakes do you find most often in your writing?
WE WILL
(A) Review our writer's tools grammar and punctuation work.
(B) Discuss the benefits of having an editor and the role we play as editors of other people's work.
(C) Discuss the importance of a piece's title.
YOU WILL
(A) Work on editing your own piece.
(B) Proofread another person's work.
(C) Make final corrections and a clean final copy of your memoir, Times New Roman, 12-pt double spaced. FOR HOMEWORK: Record yourself reading your piece on our flipgrid.
IF YOU FINISH EARLY
In your journal, reflect on the changes that have been made to your writing? Why do you think writers so often skip the revision or editing process?
WW2.08
Share Out and Submit!
What can we say about writing itself?
BELL WORK
Journal: How do you feel about sharing your writing with other people?
WE WILL
Review and discuss the cyclical nature of the writing process.
Write a reflection on writing!
YOU WILL
Turn in final draft of your memoir.
HOMEWORK: Watch and respond to at least 3 flipgrid videos.
IF YOU FINISH EARLY
Review your journal and see what writing ideas you would like to explore in our unit over scenes and plays.