Here it is: the memoir I spent two minutes writing. Man, those bad examples are easy. What makes this an ineffective piece of writing?
September 11
It all started during homeroom that morning. A student told me that a plane had crashed into the World Trade Center. I didn’t believe him.
During 2nd period another student told me the same thing. After that I turned on the television to see if it was really true. It was. Two airplanes had crashed into the World Trade Center. Another crashed into the Pentagon. Another one crashed in Pennsylvania. Then the World Trade Center collapsed. Thousands of people died in the worst terrorist attack in the United States. It was the worst day ever.
Hurry over to Maggie Steifvator’s blog and learn how you, too, can win cool stuff. And if you haven’t yet read Shiver, grab it off the chalk tray under “Our Favorite Books.” You won’t regret it.
Do you want to know who else in other classes is reading the same memoir you are? Now you can! Click on the links to their blogs to leave your thoughts about the book as you read and discuss it together. You can also learn some valuable background information by clicking on the NetTrekker link for each memoir. Watch the video or explore the website to learn more. Remember the username is middle123 and the password is student.
Words are powerful. The American Revolution was won as much with the words of Thomas Jefferson and Ben Franklin, Thomas Paine and John Adams as it was with the soldiers of George Washington. Ruth Minsky Sender survived the Holocaust because she wrote poetry that touched the heart of the camp Commandant. (Read about it in her memoir The Cage). There are many more examples of words that have inspired change throughout our history.
There are books today that are inspiring change in the people who read them. Too many times, censors want to pull these books from libraries and schools because they fear the power of words and find these books dangerous. Ellen Hopkins is one writer who inspires and encourages students with her books, but finds them challenged. This past summer Ellen was disinvited from a teen literary festival because some adults found her books objectionable. Just this past week, the school district where she lives pulled all of her novels off the library shelves of its middle school in a knee-jerk response to one parent’s complaint (and without following district policy on challenging books).
Ellen’s books are powerful, but they are not putting the students who read in danger. Yes, they deal with difficult subjuects: meth addiction, incest, abuse. Hopkins in no way glorifies these difficult problems, but instead offers hope and encouragement to her readers. Unfortunately, too many of our students live in these difficult situations. Reading Hopkins’ books offers a way out of their isolation by showing they are not alone. For students who have been blessed to be born in healthy families, these books can awaken empathy for classmates. They also offer strong discouragement. I have not had a single student read Crank (the story of a girl sucked into meth addiction) come up and say, “That sounds like fun.” No, the universal reaction is the opposite: I never want anything to do with meth after reading what it can do to you.
Wha powerful books have you read lately? What will you do to keep those books in the hands of the readers who need them?
You get your memoirs to read today. Once you have your book and introduce yourself to the people in your book club, figure out your weekly reading assignments. You should read approximately 1/3 of the book each week–by Friday of that week. Figure out how many pages you need to read each night to meet this week’s goal. Read the first couple of pages and discuss with your group. I want to make sure you are all off to a good start. HOMEWORK: Read 30 minutes. Choose five words for Weekly Word Study.
Tuesday
Check out the post below titled “Who’s Reading What Memoir?” Find the memoir you are reading. Click the link to watch a video or explore a website to learn more background information to help you better understand your memoir. Once you have explored the video or website, you may finish posting your two poems from last week on your blog, write a post about your memoir so far, or read. HOMEWORK: Read 30 minutes
Wednesday
Read my very-bad-on-purpose memoir. What makes it a bad memoir? Read my new and improved version of the same memoir. What makes it a good memoir? List on a piece of paper for one of your pages of writing this week. Homework: Read 30 minutes
Thursday
A memoir is a piece of writing about a memory. Use the Questions for Memoirists to generate a list of possible memoir topics. What experiences from your life might be worthy of a memoir? HOMEWORK: Word Study due today. Three-five pages of writing due today! Read 30 minutes. Get your reading log signed.
Friday
You will have your first book club discussion today. In order to have lots of ideas to talk about, take some time to collect your thoughts on paper. Fold a piece of paper in half hotdog style to create a bookmark. Divide both the front and back into two sections. In one section write any questions you have from the first third of the book. These should be real questions about things that confuse you or things that you wonder. In the second section, write down the page number of an important passage from the book. This should be a passage that made you think or feel something strongly. In the third section write down what you noticed about the author’s craft: style, language, point of view, literary devices, structures used to create the story. In the fourth section, write down your personal response to what you have read. Once everyone has collected their thoughts, begin discussing your book in your groups. I will be listening in, and these discussions will be graded. HOMEWORK: Reading Log due TODAY. Read over the weekend.
Here it is, my big secret. I have a picture of the cover for Fins Are Forever by Tera Lynn Childs. This sequel to Forgive My Fins is coming out soon! Isn’t it beautiful?
Do you want to learn how to make the most out of your blog? Check out the help section at Edublogs and make your blog shine!
Check out the New User Guide to learn the basics. Most of you have got this (writing new posts), but you might check out the difference between posts and pages.
When you are ready for the Advanced features, click on the Activate Advanced Admin and click over to the Complete User Guide. Learn how to change the appearance of your blog and add widgets. What, you don’t know what a widget is? Well, click on over and learn! Some features are only available to Pro and Campus (paid) users, but there are still lots of things you can do.
Several of you have asked about how to add a map to your blog. Click here for step by step directions.
You know what I like about YA authors? Besides writing great books, they like to give books away! Check out Elana Johnson’s blog for a contest to win free books! Even if the book doesn’t sound good to you, enter. If you win and don’t like the book, you can donate it to our classroom library! I’m entering. How about you?
First, Tessa Gratton shared the cover for her new book, Blood Magic, coming soon on April 26. For those of you keeping track, that’s Shakespeare’s birthday. How appropriate for a writer who also acts and shares her performances of Shakespeare monthly. Check out the cover here on her blog. Isn’t it beautiful? Now, who wants to buy me a copy in honor of the Bard’s birthday?
The next news is from last year. Several students entered poetry and essay contests sponsored by Creative Communication. I received the good news that Amy H. has a poem that will be published in the upcoming Celebration of Young Poets. Six students had essays selected for publication in an anthology as well. They are Carl C., Ali K., Claire M., Cammi S., Jesse S., and Tori W. Congratulations! If you are interested in entering one of your poems in their next contest, head on over to http://www.poeticpower.com. You, too, could be a winner.
I have one other bit of good news, but I can’t share it until Friday! Shhh….it’s a secret unti then.
