KUTZTOWNUNIVERSITY

Kutztown, Pennsylvania

TITLE:EDU 563 – WRITING OUR OWN STORIES

COURSE DESCRIPTION

Using a workshop setting, students will explore everyday folklore and personal narrative in children’s literature to jump-start their own stories. Students will write personal narratives based on family folklore and personal experiences. Students will investigate how various authors have shared their memoirs. Students will develop their own writing program for their classrooms.

3 S. H. 3 C. H.

RATIONALE

Writing is a way to think about our own lives and our own stories, to look at our past and make sense of it. Brain research confirms that a student’s level of engagement increases when they can make an emotional or personal connection to the learning task (Haspel, 2004, NCTE Conference). Memoir is “ a way to validate to others the events of our lives – our choices, perspectives, decisions, responses.” (Atwell, 1998, p. 372) Before students can write their own memoir, immersion in the genre through a variety of children’s literature and the discovery of everyday folklore can enhance the writing experience. Children’s Literature serves as models for memoir writing. Folklore exposes students to the universal human experience. Students will gain insight about people in their own lives and decisions about their future by exploring everyday events and realizing how the themes that run through their lives are key to understanding who they are. Students will be able to create a writing program, incorporating memoir writing, for their own settings. The memoir allows children to reflect on their own lives and significant experiences and write about them. It is important for children to recognize that their own life stories are of great importance.

The memoir has become an integral part of popular culture and language arts curriculum. The Pennsylvania State Academic Standards for Reading, Writing, Speaking and Listening require that students be able to write narrative, informational and persuasive pieces (1.4 Types of Writing). Memoir is a personal narrative that also includes elements of informational and persuasive writing. The other state standards that this course would support are Quality of Writing (1.5), Speaking and Listening (1.6), and Research (1.8).

OBJECTIVES

As a result of research, reading, writing, discussion and practical application the students will be able to:

  1. Identify and share cultural practices that influence everyday experiences
  1. Demonstrate the ability to apply everyday folklore in compositions
  1. Identify memoirs, the benefits and elements of memoirs
  1. Demonstrate the ability to write personal narratives that include exposition and persuasion
  1. Create written texts using the writing process
  1. Recognize and apply literary devices
  1. Use memoir strategies in the writing of personal narratives
  1. Design a personal narrative program based on children’s literature, which could be implemented in an elementary or middle level classroom.

ASSESSMENTS

  1. Performance assessments which include: oral presentations, pre-writing activities, conferences, editing, revising, reading articles and children’s literature
  1. Course projects that include the writing process, publications, writer’s journal, and portfolios
  1. Participation in classroom projects, presentations, and discussions
  1. Quizzes and tests

COURSE OUTLINE

  1. “Everyday” Folklore
  1. Define
  2. Benefits
  3. Types
  1. Cultural Insider
  2. Cultural Outsider

D Share personal folklore – listening and speaking

  1. Types of Writing
  1. Narrative
  2. Informational
  3. Persuasive
  1. Memoir
  1. Define
  2. Benefits
  3. Elements
  1. Point of view is first person narrative
  2. Memoirist is the main character
  3. Thoughts, feelings and reactions are revealed
  4. Rich description and details are used to envision the action
  5. Setting is clearly defined, a snapshot
  6. Dialogue is used where appropriate
  7. Pace allows for moment to moment experiences
  8. Extra information is minimal
  9. Conclusion is deliberate
  10. Sounds like literature not reporting
  11. Reader learns about life from reading about a life

III Writing Process

  1. Prewriting
  2. Drafting
  3. Revising
  4. Editing
  5. Publishing

IV. Children’s Literature

  1. Personal Narratives
  1. Picturebooks (Examples: Polacco, De Paola, Ringgold, Rylant, Yolen, etc.)
  2. Young Adult Narratives (Examples: Lowry, Myers, Dahl, Paulsen, etc.)
  1. Diaries and Journals
  1. Sources of personal narratives
  2. Keepers of ideas – crafting

V. Literary Elements

  1. Setting
  2. Time
  3. Character
  4. Voice/Point of View
  5. Style
  6. Structure
  7. Conflict
  8. Imagery
  1. Strategies
  1. Personal Time Line
  2. Thoughtshots/Snapshots
  1. Flashback
  2. Flashforward
  3. Brain conversation
  4. Physical effects
  5. Emotional effects
  1. Show and Tell – everyday folklore
  2. Telescope – focus on main event
  3. Panorama – recognizing events around the main scene
  4. Maps
  5. Minilessons
  6. Journals
  7. Photographs

VIICreate a Writing Memoir Program

  1. Research
  1. Topic: Memoir
  2. Grade Level
  3. Standards
  4. Children’s Literature
  5. Strategies
  6. Resources
  7. Bibliography

B. Presentation of Program

INSTRUCTIONAL RESOURCES

Atwell, N. (1998). In the middle. Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann.

____. (2002). Lessons that change writers. Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann.

Barrington, J. (2002). Writing the memoir. Second Edition. Portland, OR:

Eighth Mountain Press.

Bomer, K. (2005). Writing a life: Teaching memoir to sharpen insight, shape

Meaning and triumph over tests. Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann.

Calkins, L. & Harwayne, S. (1990). Living between the lines. Portsmouth, NH:

Heinemann.

____. (1994). The art of teaching writing. Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann.

Farris, P. J. (2004). Language arts: Process, product and assessment. Fourth

Edition. Long Grove, IL: Waveland Press, Inc.

Finn, P. (1999). Teaching memoir writing. New York: Scholastic.

Gere, A. R., Christenbury, L., Sassi, K. (2005). Writing on demand. Portsmouth,

NH: Heinemann.

Goder, S. (2002). Memorable characters…magnificent stories. NY: Scholastic.

Gornich, V. (2002). The situation and the story: The art of personal narrative.

New York: Farrar, Strauss & Giroux.

Heard, G. (1995). Writing towards home. Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann.

Kasten, W. C., Kristo, J. V., McClure, A. & Garthwait, A. (2005). Living literature:

Using children’s literature to support reading and language arts.

Columbus, OH: Pearson/Prentice Hall.

Kurstedt, R. & Koutras, M. (2000). Teaching writing with picture books as

models. NY: Scholastic.

Lane, B. (1999). Reviser’s toolbox. Shoreham, VT: Discover Writing Press.

Latimer, H. (2003). Thinking through genre. Portland, ME: Stenhouse

Publishing.

Ledoux, D. (1993), Turning memories into memoirs: A handbook for writing

lifestories. Lisbon Falls, ME: Soleil Press.

Naylor, P. R. (1978). How I came to be a writer. NY: Aladdin Paperbacks.

Portolupi, J. & Fletcher, R. (2001). Nonfiction craft lessons: Teaching information

writing K-8. Portland, ME: Stenhouse.

Rainer, T. (1998). Your life as story: Discovering the “new autobiography” and

writing memoir as literature. New York: Putnam.

Simons, E. R. (1990), Student worlds, student words: Teaching writing through

folklore. Portsmouth, NH: Boyton/Cook.

Solley, B. (2005). When poverty’s children write. Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann.

Sunflower, C. (1994). Really writing. New York: The Center for Applied

Research in Education.

Tompkins, G. (2005). Language arts: Patterns of practice. Sixth Edition.

Columbus, OH: Pearson/Prentice Hall.

_____. (2004). Teaching writing: Balancing process and product. Columbus,

OH: Pearson/Prentice Hall.

Yolen, J. (2000). Touch magic. Second Edition. Little Rock, AR: August House

Pub.

Zinsser, W. (2004). Writing about your life: A journey into the past. New York:

Marlowe &Co.

_____ (1998). Inventing the truth: The art and craft of memoir. Boston:

Houghton Mifflin.

AUDIO/VIDEO

Zinsser, W. (1999). How to write a memoir. Audio

(1993). Enjoying the writing process. Insight Media.

(1999). Writer’s workshop. Insight Media.

RECOMMENDED PICTUREBOOKS

Bahr, M. (1992). The memory box. Illinois: Albert Whitman & Co.

Browne, A. (2003). The shape game. New York: Farrar.

Cooney, B. (1991). Roxaboxen. New York: Lothrop, Lee & Shepard Books.

Gray, L. M. (1995). Mama had a dancing heart. New York: Orchard Books.

Greenfield, E. (1988) Grandpa’s Face. New York: The Putnam & Grosset Group.

Lawson, J. (1998). Midnight in the mountains. Washington: Orca Books.

MacLachlan, P. (1994). All the places to love. New York: Harper Collins.

Ringgold, F. (1992). Tar beach. New York: Scholastic.

Rylant, C. (1992). An angel for Solemn Singer. New York: Orchard Books.

_____. (1991). When I was young in the mountains. New York: Alladdin Books.

_____. (1985). When the relatives came. New York: Macmillan

Shanley, M. K. (1996). The memory box. Iowa: Sta-Kris.

Steig, W. (2003). When everybody wore a hat. New York: Harper Collins.

Warhola, J. (2003). Uncle Andy’s. New York: Putnam.

Yolen, J. (1987). Owl moon. New York: Philomel Books.

Books by: Tomie de Paola, and Patricia Polacco.

RECOMMENDED MIDDLE LEVEL BOOKS

Dahl, R. (1984). Boy. New York: Puffin.

Ehrlich, A. (1996). When I was your age. Cambridge, MA: Candlewick Press.

Gantos, J. (2002). Hole in my life. New York, NY: Farrar, Straus & Giroux.

Lobel, A. (1998). No pretty pictures – a child of war. New York, NY: Avon.

Lowry, L. (1998). Looking back: A book of memories. New York: Delacorte.

Myers, W. D. (2001). Bad boy. New York: Harper Collins.

Turner, A. (2000) Learning to swim. New York: Scholastic.

INTERNET

Crafting a Memoir

A memoir study by Victoria Baumann for Fort Pitt Elementary School

NCTE (National Council of Teachers of English)

Wera, a Polish immigrant, uses memoir to reflect on her life.

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