“Who Am I?”
Senior Memory Book
Teacher: Stephanie St. Croix
Topic: Memoir Writing
Grade Level: This lesson is used in twelfth grade, but it could be used at any grade level.
Length: This project spans the entire school year. Individual chapters are assigned weekly starting in November.
Learning Objectives:
· Students will identify the main components of a memoir.
· Students will identify events in their lives that they would include in their own memoir.
· Students will engage in different stages of writing.
· Students will revise their chapters until the end product is reached, which is a 15 chapter senior memory book.
Materials Needed:
· Album/Three Ring Binder
· Pictures
· Paper
· Glue
· Colored Pencils and/or Markers
Procedures/Activities:
1. Students are provided with examples of memoirs. I use Angela’s Ashes by Frank McCourt. I also have the students look at student written memoirs at http://teacher.scholastic.com/writeit/readwork.asp?Page=5&genre=Memoir&sortBy.
2. Students draw a life map of their house, school, or city to recall important events from their life.
3. Students brainstorm possible topics for memory book using http://teacher.scholastic.com/lessonrepro/lessonplans/ profbooks/whoami.pdf.
4. Students find pictures to include with each chapter.
5. Students write a rough draft of one chapter. I usually assign a chapter at the beginning of the week. I give the students one work day during class each week to work on memoir chapter.
6. Each student is given a peer editor to proofread his/her rough draft. I tell my students they are not allowed to use the same editor more than once.
7. The students will be evaluated by me on each individual chapter after peer revision using Rubric 1.
8. The students will be allowed 3-5 days in class during the month of April to work on final project.
9. The students will be evaluated on senior memory book using Rubric 2.
Standards:
Standard 2: Students engage in the reading process.
12.2.2 – Critique details, facts, and concepts from nonfiction genres.
Standard 3: Students engage in the writing process.
12.3.3 – Organize the ideas and details of a composition according to purpose.
12.3.4 – Use variety of sources for supporting details.
12.3.5 – Elaborate ideas through word choice and description using
grade-level vocabulary.
12.3.7 – Use techniques to convey an individual voice and style.
12.3.8 – Edit and revise compositions for standard writing
conventions and appropriate tone.
12.3.9 – Edit and revise compositions for unity, coherence, clarity,
and fluency.
12.3.10 – Edit and revise compositions with an awareness of parallel
structures and proper verb tense and agreement.
Standard 6: Students understand and use principles of language.
12.6.1 - Use conventions of grammar, usage, and punctuation to edit
and revise.
Senior Memory Book
You will be writing a Senior Memory Book as a major project this year. It will consist of your memories and thoughts from your life. It will be due in April, but you must begin now and work on it during the year in order to complete it on time without rushing.
The final product will be presented to me in a loose-leaf, snap-ring binder, or we can spiral bind your finished product. Whether you need a ½ inch or a 2 inch binder/spiral will depend upon how much you put into this memory book. Your binder may have drawings or pictures pasted on the outside cover, inside cover, and the spine if you wish. You may buy a binder that has a clear plastic sheet cover behind which you may place sheets of paper. You can use a scrapbook, but the expense of the book is not pertinent to the grade.
You will have at least 15 chapters to your book. Each chapter must be at least 300 words long. You should add drawings, pictures, memorabilia… to the chapter, but you must have the 300 words which does not include the title or your name. I will proofread each chapter as you complete it. You will make corrections and I will double check it if you desire. Save your chapters and other items to Google Docs.
I will try to get into the computer lab so that you can have some class time to type your chapters. Because you will be saving your chapters on Google Docs, you will be able to access your chapters from home as well. With the technology available to us today, you should be able to create masterpieces. The purchase of any scrapbooking materials may be nice for you, but it is not necessary for me. It is not required.
The purpose of this project is to make you proofread, write, create, organize, and think. I’ll be looking at your sentence structure. Use not only simple sentence structure, but also compound and complex structures. Explain yourself. Three hundred words is the minimum number of words you need. Chapters can be longer, within reason.
Turn in your chapters as you finish them so that I can proofread them. If you choose to scan pictures, you can do so at school as long as I supervise you. I have found that if you scan old pictures and put them on a disk and take them to Walmart (or some other picture developing store) the expense is not that much. Then you have a copy and you don’t take your parent’s copies.
Don’t wait until the last minute. You do get grades for turning in each chapter, so don’t procrastinate. I will try my best to get the chapters back to you ASAP.
You must save your chapters to Google Docs. If you don’t have it saved here, you may use too much of your valuable time retyping!
Your individual chapters are due as follows:
November 7 – Chapter 1
December 5 – Chapter 2
December 12 – Chapter 3
December 19 – Chapter 4
January 9 – Chapter 5
January 16 – Chapter 6
January 23 – Chapter 7
January 30 – Chapter 8
February 6 – Chapter 9
February 20 – Chapter 10
February 27 – Chapter 11
March 6 – Chapter 12
March 13 – Chapter 13
March 27 – Chapter 14
April 3 – Chapter 15
April 24 – Memory Books Due
Make all chapters in 14+ font or bigger. Please use the Times New Roman font for the first draft. You may change to a fancier font for your final draft if you wish.
Number the chapters 1-15 in order for me, but that does not mean that it has to stay that number. When you are putting your final book together, they can be in any order you see fit for your project. I just want them numbered to keep my bookkeeping straight!
Senior Memory Book Evaluation Form
For an A
· The 15 or more chapters (minimum 300 words) are typed and organized in a very appealing way with pictures, magazine cut outs, newspaper articles, and other memorabilia.
· Proofread pages are corrected.
· Includes a creative table of contents with labeled chapters.
· A theme, with color, is used throughout the book.
· The book reveals the amount of time and effort on the student’s part.
· The student’s work is individual and creative, not the work of others.
· The book is submitted by the mandatory deadline date.
For a B
· The book contains 15 chapters of 300 words or more.
· The chapters are typed, proofread, and the writing is well organized.
· The writer uses colored pages or uniqueness to differentiate the chapters.
· Solely the author of each chapter does the writing.
· The book is organized in a creative manner.
· The book is submitted by the mandatory deadline.
For a C
· The writer creates 15 chapters of 300 words each.
· The author includes pictures, etc. . . with thought and creativity.
· The book contains occasional errors in proofreading and organizing – less than 10 errors.
· The organization, including the chapter writing is lax, but an attempt was evident.
· The book is cleanly typed with no errors with nothing smudged.
· The book contains a basic table of contents.
· Solely the author completes the work.
· The book is submitted by the mandatory deadline.
For a D
· The book contains 15 chapters, between 200-300 words.
· The book appears unorganized with little care or effort.
· Some chapters may contain pictures, etc. . . but not well organized.
· The book contains a poorly written table of contents.
· The book is submitted by the mandatory deadline.
Points Deductions
· - 10 points per day for late submission.
· - 10 No pictures in chapters or photos pertaining to the chapter.
· - 20 No color or intent to use a theme within the book.
· No pictures or writing pertaining to drugs, alcohol, or parties will result in an automatic ZERO.
· - 15 points per chapter for uncorrected errors or written suggestions to improve your writing.
Teacher Comments
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Final Score ______
Name ______