You Can’t Make

This Stuff UpA 5th Grade Memoir Writing Project

For who will testify,

who will accurately

describe our lives if

we do not do it

ourselves?

--Faye Moskowitz

What is a Memoir?A memoir is a narrative written about an important event in the

author’s life that affected them in some way.

Characteristics of Memoirs:• A memory; a description of a true past event• Written in the 1st person• Reveals the feelings of the writer• Has meaning; shows what the author learned from

the experience• About the author’s experience more than about the

event itself

What Does a Memoir Look Like?

• Memoirs are stories, so they should look like narratives written from the 1st person point of view.

• The number of paragraphs is up to you – there is no set rule – the goal of a memoir is to clearly show an important event or experience and explain how it changed you.

• The ending of a memoir must include an explanation that shows how this experience changed or affected you in some important way.

Student-Written Memoirs

6-Word MemoirWhat if you only had six words to write about a true past event or

experience that changed you in some important way?

6-Word MemoirWhat if you only had six words to write about a true past event or

experience that changed you in some important way?

6-Word MemoirWhat if you only had six words to write about a true past event or

experience that changed you in some important way?

Now it’s your turn, choose some important experience or event and write about it using only six words.

Remember1. It only works if it’s personal – the event or experience should be unique to

YOUR life

2. Put the six best words in the best order

3. Be creative

4. Focus on your EXPERIENCE, not the details

5. Have fun

Memoir: Fly Away Home

1st person point of view

Dialogue

Focuses on author’s feelings

Why do you think the author is telling the story about the bird being stuck in the airport and eventually finding a way out?

Planning

• Start by thinking of some important event in your life – try to think of something memorable; something you’ll never forget, something that changed you or taught you something.

• Need an idea? Click on the link below,

Brainstorming Memoirs from Life

What’s a Good Idea?

Planning

• Start by jotting down a memorable event

• Then, write down what you learned from this event or how it changed you in some way

• Finally, list what happened moment by moment

Event: When my cat got lost

What I learned: To never leave a friend behind

What Happened:1. Misty disappeared2. All of us wondered what

happened to her3. My brother and I began

searching the forest calling her name

4. By noon of the second day I had given up hope that we would ever find our cat

5. Then

Writing: Lead

A “lead” is how an author starts their memoir in order to grab the reader’s attention.

Writing: StoryAfter you’ve written your lead it’s time to write the story – this is

where you’ll write about the actual experience or event.

Remember:• Use the 1st person point of view• Tell the OUTSIDE story – what’s actually

happening• Tell the INSIDE story – what you were

thinking and feeling• Use dialogue to add impact• Tell details that only you, as the author,

could know (what you felt, what you wanted, etc. . .)

The INSIDE

story is the most

important!

Writing: EndingThe ending of a memoir is where you reveal how this important event changed you and what you learned

from it.

A Good Ending Includes: A memory of the main event Your feelings about it How you think/act differently

because of this or how this changed you.

If you can’t tell me

how this experience

changed you then

you’ve chosen the

wrong experience to

write about!

Writing: Ending

A memory of the main event

Your feelings about it

How you think/act differently because of this or how this changed you.

I’ll never forget the crack of the bat as I hit that homerun and the way my heart pounded as the ball flew out of the park. Suddenly, I knew that I was more than just the names they called me. I knew that it wasn’t just baseball I could be good at. If I worked at it, I could do anything.

Writing: Ending

Terrible Ending

So that’s the end of the story about my big baseball victory.

Awesome Ending

I’ll never forget the crack of the bat as I hit that homerun and the way my heart pounded as the ball flew out of the park. Suddenly, I knew that I was more than just the names they called me. I knew that it wasn’t just baseball I could be good at. If I worked at it, I could do anything.

Don’t write terrible

endings! Your goal is to

make your reader

understand not just

WHAT happened, but

WHY it mattered to you.

Revis

e &

Ed

it

Final Draft

• After revising your essay, you’re ready to write your final draft.

It’s also a good idea to

have someone read your

memoir to make sure

you’ve shown your

INSIDE story about how

you were feeling and how

this experience changed

you.