Memoirs

1. Memoirs Memoirs

2. Do Now In today’s lesson we will discover the definition of a memoir. Let’s see if you can come up with your own definition first by reading the following quotes: 1. Virginia Woolf: "A memoir is not what happens, but the person to whom things happen." 2. William Zinsser: ”A memoir is a window into a life." 3. Jean Little: "Memoir is not the whole head of hair but one or two strands of hair." 4. Lucy Calkins: "Our memoir will come not only from our memories but also from our imaginations.”

3. Gallery Walk • Before we discuss the idea of a memoir, I have placed five different quotes around the room that also help us to create a definition of a memoir. • In your reading groups, take a post it note and write down your thoughts about memoirs at each definition or excerpt.

4. Memoir • What is a memoir? Personal written record of one’s life story and times. (memoir=French word for memory) To create a memoir, a person writes a story of a time in his or her own life.

5. Stop and Jot/Switch • What are some of the advantages of writing your own memoir? • What are some disadvantages to the reader of reading a memoir?

6. There are 4 major Types of Memoirs

7. Memoirs are important because they give us: 1. The perspective, or point of view, of someone who experienced an event. A memoir is always written in FIRST (1st) PERSON. (I, me, my, us, we, our, etc.) 2. A memoir tells the emotions that a person went through as he or she experienced an event. 3. We see a person’s thoughts, feelings, and relationship to a specific event or time in history.

8. Within a memoir you think about the authors experience, not just the event!