Unit Overview
Content Area: English/Language Arts
Unit Title: Memoir Unit
Target Course/Grade Level:
Eighth Grade
Timeline: 3-4 Weeks
Unit Summary:
The Memoir Unit is an opportunity for students to read memoirs written by people from all manner of ages
and circumstances. It also provides an opportunity for young people to take a moment of their lives and
chronicle it in writing.
Primary interdisciplinary connections: Social Studies, Technology, Character Education
21st century themes and skills:
 Creativity and innovation, critical thinking and problem solving, communication and collaboration
 Information, media, and technology skills.
 Flexibility and adaptability, initiative and self-direction, social and cross cultural skills,
productivity and accountability, leadership and responsibility.
 Develop strategies to reinforce positive attitudes and productive behaviors that impact critical
thinking and problem-solving skills.
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Select and use appropriate tools and digital resources to accomplish a variety of tasks and
to solve problems.
Determine an individual’s responsibility for personal actions and contributions to group activities
Demonstrate the use of compromise, consensus, and community building strategies for carrying
out different tasks, assignments, and projects.
 Model leadership skills during classroom and extra-curricular activities.
 Demonstrate the ability to understand inferences.
 Explain the meaning of productivity and accountability, and describe situations in which
productivity and accountability are important in the home, school, and community.
 Establish and follow performance goals to guide progress in assigned areas of responsibility and
accountability during classroom projects and extra-curricular activities.
Anchor Standards:
Anchor Standards for Reading:
R1. Read closely to determine what the text says explicitly and to make logical inferences from it; cite
specific textual evidence when writing or speaking to support conclusions drawn from the text.
R2. Determine central ideas or themes of a text and analyze their development; summarize the key
supporting details and ideas.
R3. Analyze how and why individuals, events, and ideas develop and interact over the course of a text.
R4. Interpret words and phrases as they are used in a text, including determining technical, connotative,
and figurative meanings, and analyze how specific word choices shape meaning or tone.
R5. Analyze the structure of texts, including how specific sentences, paragraphs, and larger portions of the
text (e.g., a section, chapter, scene, or stanza) relate to each other and the whole.
R6. Assess how point of view or purpose shapes the content and style of a text.
R10. Read and comprehend complex literary and informational texts independently and proficiently.
Anchor Standards for Writing:
W1.Write arguments to support claims in an analysis of substantive topics or texts, using valid reasoning
and relevant and sufficient evidence.
W3. Write narratives to develop real or imagined experiences or events using effective technique, well-
chosen details,
and well-structured event sequences.
W4. Produce clear and coherent writing in which the development, organization, and style are appropriate
to task, purpose, and audience.
W5.Develop and strengthen writing as needed by planning, revising, editing, rewriting, or trying a new
approach.
W6. Use technology, including the Internet, to produce and publish writing and to interact and collaborate
with others.
W10. Write routinely over extended time frames (time for research, reflection, and revision) and shorter
time frames (a single sitting or a day or two) for a range of tasks, purposes, and audiences.
Anchor Standards for Language:
L1. Demonstrate command of the conventions of standard English grammar and usage when writing or
speaking.
L2. Demonstrate command of the conventions of standard English capitalization, punctuation, and spelling
when writing.
L3. Apply knowledge of language to understand how language functions in different contexts, to make
effective choices for meaning or style, and to comprehend more fully when reading or listening.
L4. Determine or clarify the meaning of unknown and multiple-meaning words and phrases by using
context clues, analyzing meaningful word parts, and consulting general and specialized reference
materials, as appropriate.
L5. Demonstrate understanding of figurative language, word relationships, and nuances in word meanings.
L6. Acquire and use accurately a range of general academic and domain-specific words and phrases
sufficient for reading, writing, speaking, and listening at the college and career readiness level;
demonstrate independence in gathering vocabulary knowledge when considering a word or phrase
important to comprehension or expression.
Learning Targets/Activities
Domain: Writing, Reading Informational, Language
Cluster: Key Ideas and Details, Craft and Structure, Range of Reading and Level of Text Complexity,
Text Types and Purposes*, Production and Distribution of Writing, Range of Writing, Conventions of
Standard English, Knowledge of Language, Vocabulary Acquisition and Use
Standard #
Standards
W.8.1
Write arguments to support claims with clear reasons and relevant evidence.
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Introduce claim(s), acknowledge and distinguish the
claim(s) from alternate or opposing claims, and organize the reasons and
evidence logically.
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Support claim(s) with logical reasoning and relevant
evidence, using accurate, credible sources and demonstrating an
understanding of the topic or text.
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Use words, phrases, and clauses to create cohesion and
clarify the relationships among claim(s), counterclaims, reasons, and
evidence.
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Establish and maintain a formal style.
•
Provide a concluding statement or section that follows from
and supports the argument presented.
W.8.3
Write narratives to develop real or imagined experiences or events using effective
technique, relevant descriptive details, and well-structured event sequences.
W.8.4
W.8.5.
W.8.6.
W.8.10.
RI.8.1
RI.8.2
a. Engage and orient the reader by establishing a context and point of view
and introducing a narrator and/or characters; organize an event sequence
that unfolds naturally and logically.
b. Use narrative techniques, such as dialogue, pacing, description, and
reflection, to develop experiences, events, and/or characters.
c. Use a variety of transition words, phrases, and clauses to convey
sequence, signal shifts from one time frame or setting to another, and show
the relationships among experiences and events.
d. Use precise words and phrases, relevant descriptive details, and sensory
language to capture the action and convey experiences and events.
e. Provide a conclusion that follows from and reflects on the narrated
experiences or events.
Produce clear and coherent writing in which the development, organization, and
style are appropriate to task, purpose, and audience. (Grade-specific expectations
for writing types are defined in standards 1–3 above.)
With some guidance and support from peers and adults, develop and strengthen
writing as needed by planning, revising, editing, rewriting, or trying a new
approach, focusing on how well purpose and audience have been addressed.
Use technology, including the Internet, to produce and publish writing and present
the relationships between information and ideas efficiently as well as to interact
and collaborate with others.
Write routinely over extended time frames (time for research, reflection, and
revision) and shorter time frames (a single sitting or a day or two)
Cite the textual evidence that most strongly supports an analysis of what the text says
explicitly as well as inferences drawn from the text.
Determine a central idea of a text and analyze its development over the course of the text,
including its relationship to supporting ideas; provide an objective summary of the text.
RI.8.3
Analyze how a text makes connections among and distinctions between
individuals, ideas, or events (e.g., through comparisons, analogies, or categories).
RI.8.4
Determine the meaning of words and phrases as they are used in a text, including
figurative, connotative, and technical meanings; analyze the impact of specific
word choices on meaning and tone, including analogies or allusions to other texts.
RL.8.5
Compare the contrast the structure of two or more texts and analyze how the
differing structure of each text contributes to its meaning and style.
RI.8.6
Determine an author’s point of view or purpose in a text and analyze how the
author acknowledges and responds to conflicting evidence or viewpoints.
By the end of the year, read and comprehend literary nonfiction at the high end of
the grades 6-8 text complexity band independently and proficiently.
RI.8.10
L.8.1.
Demonstrate command of the conventions of standard English grammar and usage when
writing or speaking.
Demonstrate command of the conventions of standard English capitalization, punctuation,
and spelling when writing.
Use knowledge of language and its conventions when writing, speaking, reading, or
L.8.3.
listening.
Determine or clarify the meaning of unknown and multiple-meaning words or phrases
L.8.4.
based on grade 8 reading and content, choosing flexibly from a range of strategies.
Demonstrate understanding of figurative language, word relationships, and nuances in
L.8.5
word meanings.
Determine or clarify the meaning of unknown and multiple-meaning words or phrases
L.8.6.
based on grade 8 reading and content, choosing flexibly from a range of strategies.
Unit Essential Questions
Unit Enduring Understandings
 Why do people tell or write their stories?
 Memoirs are carefully structured narratives
that depict diverse human experiences of real
 How do writers craft engaging, vivid narratives?
people.
 What makes a personal story worth telling?
 Time is the main organizational structure of
 How does the genre of memoir promote a
L.8.2.
reader's understanding of an author's
experience?
 How do authors make real-life stories as
captivating as fictional stories?
narrative writing.
 While any life may seem mundane, reflecting
on important moments can bring insight into
common human experiences.
 Memoirs go beyond simple storytelling to
reflect on how the narrator has grown or
changed as a result of his/her life experiences.
 Memoirs help readers learn from someone
else’s experiences, broaden a reader’s
perspective, and develop increased empathy
for others.
Unit Learning Targets
Students will ...
 Write a memoir using all steps of the writing process (W.8.3, W.8.5, W.8.6, W.8.10,)
 Use mentor texts, reading as writers, to help develop one's own craft in memoir writing [RL.8.5,
RI.8.3, RI.8.4]
 Identify narrative elements in a memoir (RI.8.2, RI.8.4]
 Use non-fiction reading strategies to monitor comprehension [RI.8.1, RI.8.2, RI.8.10]
 Determine importance of author's word choice and style on effectiveness of text [RI.8.4]
 Determine how point of view and narrative structure support the author's message
[RL.8.6]
 Demonstrate understanding of why/how the shared experiences of a memoir are meaningful to
the author and to the reader (via an oral or written project)[RI.8.10, W.8.1, W.8.4, W.8.5,
W.8.6, W.8.10]
 Read to understand and analyze events [RI.8.10]
 L.8.1-Students identify and adjust to audience when writing and speaking
 L.8.2- Students will know when to use commas, ellipses, and dashes in their writing.
 L.8.2- Students will use correct spelling.
 L.8.4Students will use the following strategies to determine or verify word meanings:
•
context clues
•
Greek or Latin affixes or roots
•
reference materials (dictionary, thesaurus, glossary)
 L.8.5-Students will recognize and interpret figures of speech such as verbal irony and puns.
 L.8.5-Students will use word relationships to deepen comprehension of individual words
 L.8.5-Students will examine and distinguish the connotations of words with similar meanings.
 L.8.6- Students will build a working vocabulary of grade-appropriate and academic language.
Learning Activities
 Peer Editing/Revision
 Passive/Active Voice Cartoons
 “I Remember” poems
 Stargirl found poem
 Explanatory essay writing
 Bad Memoir
 Intro., Body Paragraphs, Conclusion
 Ineffective and effective memoirs
 Vocabulary and word study workshop
Evidence of Learning
Formative Assessments
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Quizzes
Group Discussions
Quick writes
Creative Writing-Appearance vs. Reality Poem
“I Remember” poems
Six word memoirs
 First drafts, revised copies
 Reading Response Journal
 Writing Response Journal
 Responding to Writing Prompts
 Vocabulary Exercises
 Sentence Meaning
Summative Assessments
 Stargirl literary analysis
 Poetry Anthology
 Narrative Writing Assignment - students take a single moment/event from their own lives and
transform it into memoir (500-100 words)
 Speculative Essay: Quote Analysis
 Literary Analysis Essay
RESOURCES/TECHNOLOGY
Teacher Instructional Resources:
 Petey
 Stargirl
 The Creation of Petey
 Lessons That Change Writers-Nancie Atwell
 Kelly Gallagher – Write Like This, Teaching Adolescent Writers
 “Monkey Garden” from House on Mango Street by Sandra Cisneros
 Tis by Frank McCourt (pp. 204-213)
 Up the Down Staircase by Bel Kaufman excerpt (first chapter) describing the first day teaching.
Short Story Resources:
 “The Lesson” by Toni Cade Bamabara
 “A Mistake that Should Last A Lifetime,” in
Write Like This, Gallagher
 “Two Lies” Nancie Atwell
Poetry/Song Resources:
 “Make Your Own Kind of Music”-Cass
Elliott
 “Thumbprint”-Eve Merriam
 “I Am From” poem (based on George Ella
Lyons)
Integration of Technology: PowerPoint, Smartboard, Elmo, Internet
Technology Resources:
Click the links below to access additional resources used to design this unit:
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http://www.webenglishteacher.com/
http://owl.english.purdue.edu/
http://www.sadlier-oxford.com/
http://dictionary.reference.com/
http://www.kellygallagher.org/
Opportunities for Differentiation:
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Selective Grouping
Modeling of Writing Techniques
Books on CD
Abbreviated Assessments
Various Questioning/Discussion Techniques
Previewing Literature
Extended Time
Teacher Notes: This is by no means a comprehensive compilation of activities and/or objectives;
however, this unit does give an ambitious sampling of what occurs during the unit and should be adjusted
to meet the individual students’ needs as well as teachers’ strengths.