MULTI-GENRE MEMOIR A Teacher Workshop Presented by Anna
Olson
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BACKGROUND
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WHO DO YOU THINK YOU ARE? Online class for 5 th /6 th grade GT
students (9 weeks) Autobiography only one of several projects Some
choice already built in Prewriting: brainstorm more events than
needed Prewriting: create a timeline of events chosen for
inclusiontimeline Organized around a themetheme Project format
Project format Family tree (choice of format completely up to
student) Family tree Students enjoyed project, but
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I felt we could be doing much more with the autobiography idea.
When I attended our orientation and heard about Romanos work with
multi-genre papers, something clicked and I realized that the next
class I wanted to design would focus on multi-genre memoir writing.
This decision has only been reinforced by the recent sharing of our
Ways of Seeing Me work. The new class I envision will not only give
students more choices in their writing, but will make them agents
of their own learning.
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MY QUESTIONS How can I use multi-genre memoir writing to enable
students to experiment with new ideas and take responsibility for
their own writing? And how can I do this in an online
environment?
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RESEARCH
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HISTORY OF MEMOIR
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PRIMARY RESOURCES
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KEY IDEAS Need for experimentation and exploration in writing.
There needs to be a body of work from which to choose. Exercise
increases the capacity for exercise. Breastfeeding stimulates the
production of milk. Abundance makes for abundance. Thats how
multi-genre works. Romano Students as decision makers. What to
include? No writing is wasted writing in the practice and
experimentation stages, but not all writing will be worth
publishing and including in a final memoir piece. Kirby &
Kirby
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EXPERIMENT & EXPLORE (ROMANO) Think about these categories
Important things Meaningful places Crucial people Central
acts/processes Memorable conversations Identify indelible moments
Stick in your mind Represent big emotion & complex meaning Can
be defining
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EXPERIMENT & EXPLORE (KIRBY & KIRBY) Name piece On the
day I was born Difficult times piece Sibling or parent piece Family
love or perspectives Epiphany or turning point Home piece Teachers
or school worries Ethnicity or culture piece Futuristic piece (what
Ill be like in ___years) Snapshot piece Artifacts, treasured things
Dialect, unique speech Conscious artist Boundaries piece Family
trip piece Grandparent piece Pet piece Mysteries piece Holidays
& celebrations Personal portrait piece
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MULTI-GENRE=MORE THAN ONE Description (different POV)
Dictionary entry Editorial Eyewitness account Fairy tale How-to
writing Journal/diary entry Infomercial (humorous) Letter of
complaint Map with legend Narrative Newscast Nursery rhyme Obituary
Parody Prezi Photo with description Poem, flash fiction PSA Recipe
Review (book, movie, etc.) Script (TV, play) Sermon Short story
Song State of the Union address Stream of consciousness
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LETS EXPERIMENT! Lets try a place spider piece. Think about a
place that has special meaning for you. It could be a room in your
home from any period of your life, a building, a place in nature, a
city, etc. It should evoke emotion. Now for the next 8-10 minutes,
write about this significant place. Save your writing for
later.
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KEY IDEAS Organization of a work with multiple pieces will
reveal itself (better not to begin with a preconceived plan). Which
pieces are most personally relevant? Look for patterns among them.
Pieces may be related through geography, time, feelings,
characters, artifacts. Repeat image, detail, exact language. Repeat
a pattern or quotations, pictures, titles. Repeat a form, genre,
style. Repeat a scene from a different point of view. Write a
significant fragment of a scene, then later surprise readers with a
fully rendered, vivid version of that scene.
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KEY IDEAS Teacher as model and coach. We need to write with our
students and participate with them in revising work, but it is they
who make the final choices. Writing is fostered in a community
which shares values, supports each others work & efforts, and
projects genuine interest in each others writing.
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IT TAKES A COMMUNITY! With your place spider piece in hand,
find your number partner. Take turns reading your work, then using
the Checklist of Revision Options for the Place Spider Piece
identify two ways that your writing could be revised. You and your
partner should discuss what kind of revisions would make the piece
more vivid and memorable for the reader.
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Hierarchy of revision behaviors Editing & proofreading are
lower order behaviors. Revising, elaborating, translating, and
forming/finding are higher order behaviors. Students need to engage
in both levels just like professional writers. Adding (elaboration)
and cutting (revision) are both important. Checklist of options
will vary depending on type of writing piece.
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MY PLANS Design 9 week online course on multi-genre memoir
writing Gifted/talented students in grades 5-8 Reading One memoir
of students choice (recommendations provided) Excerpts from memoirs
to serve as models for writing explorations Writing response groups
will change throughout course Write a spider piece Mon.-Thurs. then
use Fri. to respond Choose 1 piece each week to revise and submit
to teacher for feedback F2F#1 (week 1) Overview processes, types of
genres, various writing explorations Examine professional texts
that will serve as models for explorations/spider pieces Try a
couple of spider pieces, then practice giving feedback in response
groups
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MY PLANS CONTINUED F2F#2 (midterm) Students bring writing
pieces to use in mini-lessons on revision behaviors (high order and
low order) Discussion: ways to achieve unity Discussion:
presentation ideas Explore additional kinds of genre writing Final
weeks of course Students select pieces from their writing
collections for the final memoir Revise, edit, polish final work
Assemble memoir F2F#3 Present work Reflect on the process they used
and on the course
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ASSESSMENT: HELP! A big question I have is how to assess
multi-genre student memoirs in a meaningful way. Although the
authors I have read present some options, I would like to solicit
YOUR thoughts. Now that you have an idea of what my proposed class
will be like, please find your COLOR GROUP and spend a few minutes
discussing approaches to assessment.
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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Thanks to my writing response group (Bailey,
Claire and Deborah) for being a sounding board and for gently
steering me back on course when I veered from my own voice. You
have helped me grow as a writer and boosted my confidence more than
you know. Thanks to everyone in our cohort for being amazing
sources of inspiration. By going last, I have benefitted from each
one of you. Thanks to 2 Marks + 1 Beth for your nurturing
leadership styles and constant encouragement.
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QUESTIONS? FEEDBACK?
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RESOURCES Edelman, Marian Wright. 2003. Dream Me Home Safely:
Writers on Growing Up in America. 2003. New York: Houghton Mifflin
Harcourt Publishing Company Kirby, Dawn Latta and Kirby, Dan. 2007.
New Directions in Teaching Memoir: A Studio Workshop Approach.
Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann. Mendelsohn, Daniel. But Enough About Me.
What Does the Popularity of Memoirs Tell Us About Ourselves? New
Yorker. January 25, 2010.
[http://www.newyorker.com/arts/critics/books/2010/01/25/100125crbo_books_mendelso
hn] On Memoir, Truth and Writing Well (interview with William
Zinsser). NPR All Things Considered. April 13, 2006.
[http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=5340618]
Romano, Tom. 2013. Fearless Writing: Multigenre to Motivate and
Inspire. Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann. _______1995. Writing with
Passion: Life Stories, Multiple Genres. Portsmouth, NH:
Boynton/Cook Publishers.
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SAMPLE TIMELINE 1/1/99 I am born prematurely at Parkview
Hospital in River Falls, WI and spend my first month in the
hospital. 3/5/01 I unbuckle my high chair seat belt and do a swan
dive on to my head (first trip to ER). 5/1/02 We move to Milwaukee.
I get my head stuck in the stair railing of our new house and the
firemen come to help me get out. 7/21/4 I fell out of my crib and
broke my left arm. 12/5/4 The doctors cut my arm open trying to
take off my cast. THEME A Series of Unfortunate Events: My Life in
the Emergency Room back
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FORMATFORMAT CHOICES The Writer: Traditional printed, bound
book of 5-10 printed pages (illustrations optional and would be
extra pages beyond required number) CLICK HERE for complete
guidelines.CLICK HERE The Traditional Photojournalist: A collection
of 25-50 photos that tell the story of your family and your life,
mounted, with accompanying text for each photo. CLICK HERE for
complete guidelines.CLICK HERE The Graphic Artist: PowerPoint of
25-50 slides, which can include text, photos, graphics, music
and/or narration. CLICK HERE for complete guidelines.CLICK HERE The
Filmmaker: DVD (playable in a regular DVD player or computer) of
about 10-12 minutes duration, including photos, scanned or added
text, narration, music, video clips. CLICK HERE for complete
guidelines.CLICK HERE The Storyteller: Audio recording of about
10-15 minutes duration in which you tell your life story in an
entertaining manner. CLICK HERE for complete guidelines.CLICK
HERE
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back
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AUTOBIOGRAPHY THEMES Family trips Places I have lived Injuries
and illnesses Pets Sports Life in Scouts Friendships Achievements
Books Horse riding competitions Cow showing competitions Car racing
A musical life Farm life Living in two cultures My life as a gamer
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