Memoir
Lesson Design
by
Eva Arce
What is a memoir?
A subcategory of an autobiography (part of a life story)
A personal narrative
A record of events based on the author’s recollection
A memory (From French mémoire)
A retrospective account of a memorable event
A composition about a personal experience that focuses on
the relationship of the memory to the author.
Books For Example?
David Sedaris Me Talk Pretty One Day
Lance Armstrong It’s Not About the Bike
Joan Didion The Year of Magical Thinking
Anne Frank The Diary of a Young Girl
Frank McCourt Angela’s Ashes
Maya Angelou I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings
Barack Obama Dreams from My Father: A Story of Race and Inheritance
Stephen King On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft
Ernest Hemingway A Moveable Feast
Henry David Thoreau Walden
Essays for Example?
Brent Staples “Black Men in Public Spaces”
Joan Didion “On Keeping a Notebook”
David Quamman “The Same River Twice”
Adam Gopnik “Bumping into Mr. Ravioli”
David Sedaris “Me Talk Pretty One Day”
Judith Cofer “Myth of the Latin Woman…”
Saskia Verlaan “Perspectives on Fear”
Mark Twain “Two Ways of Seeing a River”
Activity 1
What Color is your Voice?
What is voice in writing? author’s tone or style; reflection of author’s
personality
What is Synesthesia? Mixed sensations in which a stimulus in one
sense elicits an experience in another (For example an unusual
blending of senses such as to see color in music or sound, to taste a
name, to touch a smell, to taste a smell, to sense a shape triggered
by a taste, or to see color when feeling pain. )
Identify the color of your voice.
Explain why this color reflects your voice.
Share your findings/recollections with your housemates
Activity 2
Conversation Starters
Develop a question that would stimulate a
discussion of memories.
Share your answer with your housemates.
As a group, choose the best conversation starter
and best answer(s) with the class.
Essential Questions
How are aspects of identity expressed in various situations?
How do language and culture influence identity?
How does one’s identity develop over time?
How do memoirs help us to make meaning of our lives? Consider
assimilation, perseverance, and/or adversity,
How do writers use reflection to make sense of prior experience?
How does memoir enhance self reflection?
Why is someone compelled to write a memoir?
Memoirs in Art
Vincent Van
Gogh Self
Portrait 1889
Courtauld Institute Galleries
London, England
The Lovers in the
Countryside
(1844)
Gustave Courbet
Musée des Beaux-Arts
Lyon, France
The Desperate Man
(1843-45)
Gustave Courbet
Private Collection
The Wounded Man
(1844-1854)
Gustave Courbet
Musée d’Orsay
Paris, France
Memoirs in Music
“Get Her Back”
Robin Thicke
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bz_EqawkmTg
Reflections on his lost love
The Ballad of John and Yoko
John Lennon and Yoko Ono
Context
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=obEtgWkksU4&f
eature=kp
Song http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GxxdOHias8
“Live Like You Were Dying”
Tim McGraw
Reflections about his father death
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_9TShlMkQnc&f
eature=kp
“Piano Man”
Billy Joel
Reflection on his career
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gxEPV4kolz0&fe
ature=kp
“Family Portrait”
Pink and Scott Storch
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hSjIz8oQuko&fe
ature=kp
Reflections on family relationships and conflicts as
seen through a child’s point of view
Your Memoir Prompt
Prompt: In pursuit of the Socratic Quest “Know
thyself - gnothi seauton,” think about the
philosopher’s famous line: “The unexamined life is
not worth living.”
In a well developed essay, reflect on one aspect of
your life.
Readings to Inform
Your Memoir Writing
“Perspectives on Fear” by Saskia Verlaan
“Black Men in Public Spaces” by Brent Staples
From Me Talk Pretty One Day by David Sedaris
“Myth of the Latin Woman” by Judith Ortiz Cofer
Planning Your Memoir
Writer’s Journal Entry 1: After reading the selections, identify
elements of an effective memoir.
Writer’s Journal Entry 2: List 10 vivid memories on which you
would like to reflect. Consider the events in your life that have
shaped who you are.
Writer’s Journal Entries 3, 4, and 5: Draft three memories with
reflections. Consider how these events define you. How did
you react in these situations and how were you affected by the
events? What did you learn about yourself? about others?
about humanity in general?
Draft Your Memoir
Be Prepared for Peer Editing
Heading:
Student #,
AP
Block
Date
Title
500-700 words
Typed
Double spaced
12 pt font
Object d’Art
Your Visual Connection
Symbolic of your memoir
Not more than 5” in height, length or depth.
A ring or hook on the top (from which to tie a ribbon)
Your name on the bottom
Light enough to hang from the ceiling (think Christmas
ornament)
Polish Essay and Submit
Final Project
Essay and Object d’Art Due Dates:
Optional Composition
Grade
Graphic Memoir: Using graphics in the style of a
comic book, frame one aspect of your life.
Musical Memoir: Using an original music
composition or a musical score, explain how this
musical selection reveals one aspect of your life.
Propose a creative memoir option: Get teacher’s
approval before beginning this task.