Plans
The strategies below will allow the students to explore the development of a memoir through self-reflection, reading, writing, responding, revising, and publication. The included strategies are for helping students uncover their personal truths, define and categorize lies, uncover stereotypes that impact their lives, relate this to fiction, define memoir, and work through a prewrite, draft, and revision of a memoir. The memoirs and short stories for this unit are summarized below. The summaries include the specific lie, stereotype, or prejudice that drives the writing selection. Along with the summary is a guide that can be used to direct students to identify elements of craft. The material is presented in the order that I suggest it be unveiled while actually teaching the unit. Once students are actually in the drafting phase, they will be asked either to do a quick write based on the craft element in a particular selection or to chose portions of their drafts and add the element to their memoirs.
It can prove difficult to motivate some students to engage in reading and writing, especially when doing so exposes the students' fears and insecurities. In an effort to find compelling material, I searched for both memoir and realistic fiction that included stereotypes based on sex, gender identity, race, religion, body type, parental financial status, family configuration, disability, neighborhood, and social status?all topics about which students have questions. All students need to feel that they have something to offer. Michael Cart says:
[N]ontraditional families deal with...circumstances that often result in their being marginalized, rendered invisible, regarded as unacceptably different or even being persecuted by peers...How can "other" become "us?"...One way...is through reading fiction that captures - artfully, authentically, and unsparingly -the circumstances of kids whose lives are a daily experience of redefining family.18
Lesson Series 1: How Can You Help Students to Uncover Lies, Prejudice, and Stereotypes?
This lesson series will help to ease the students into sharing their truth-filled stories.
Lesson 1a
As an anticipatory set, follow this script:
- Close your eyes and do not open them until I give you the ok. (Pass a blank paper and a pen to each student while they have their eyes closed.)
- Raise one hand if you have ever been made fun of because of the way you look, the color of your skin, the clothes that you wear, the people that you like. Raise the other hand if you think that treatment might make you or others feel that certain people should be avoided or distrusted. Keep 'em up! If you feel uncomfortable sharing, put your hands down now; otherwise, keep them up, open your eyes. Now, let your burden down. It takes a lot out of someone to hold that stuff up. That's the point of this class?we'll be unburdening ourselves by reading and writing memoirs, or real life personal accounts, that reflect when these things have taught us something about ourselves.
To begin to uncover the stereotypes that students have experienced, the student should now use the paper to create a three-circle Venn with each circle headed as either Lies, Stereotypes, or Prejudice. They should brainstorm anything that strikes them as fitting those categories. On the other side of the paper, ask them to create a web, starting with a circle of the category of stereotype with which they have personally dealt. Limit this to three circles for time's sake. Branches should be placed off of each category that connect with student-generated questions such as, "Why did my friend call me a slur?" They can make correlations like, "I am a female and I like sports. People often call me a tomboy. I guess that means that they are saying I am not acting like a girl. Why do they do that? What constitutes 'acting like a girl'?" After several quiet minutes, encourage, but do not force, all of the students to read whatever portion of their writing they are willing to share. Ask: What is common about what we have shared? Why is it difficult to discuss?
End with a discussion about what they know about the memoir genre. Discuss how memoir and fiction connect. Ask: How do you think literature helps you to understand the world around you? How could your story help you and others?
Lesson 1b
Review prior discussions: What connections might lies, stereotypes, and prejudice have to the memoir genre? What similarities and difference do you think fiction and memoir have? If not offered by the students, be sure to point out that the three essential components of a memoir are setting, situation, and a sharing of reaction and/or realization.
Though it is necessary to read to become a more effective writer, it is also imperative to give the students a chance to write before reading the work of others. I find that reading prior to writing turns them into style-parrots. Though pastiche, or 'write likes,' can prove to be powerful teaching tools, I want them to use their own voices, not others'. I also like to have a baseline writing assessment for each student prior to the start of formal writing instruction. For this reason, I will employ two writing and sharing experiences prior to beginning the reading of professionally written memoirs. The goal of the writing prompts is to have the students begin to openly discuss taboo topics?not to criticize their writing. Instead, they will be asked to voluntarily read aloud at least a portion of one of the prompt responses.
The first prompt requires the student to write about a time when they were on the receiving end of a lie. By asking the student to describe a time in which they have been on the receiving end of a lie rather than being the purveyor of a lie, toxicity is deflected from them, allowing the students to capture a setting, situation, and a sharing of reaction and/or realization -the three essential components of a memoir- without fear of turning inward. Ask them to share this writing by reading them aloud.
Lesson 1c
The next prompt will require students to reflect on a time in which they have been the purveyor of a lie. This prompt was chosen based on Goldberg's description of her first rule of writing practice, "Go for the jugular, for what makes you nervous. Otherwise, you will always be writing around your secrets, like the elephant that no one notices in the living room." 26 This turns the toxicity up a notch from the prior prompt. It will cause the students to reflect on their own wrong doings, thus preparing them to tackle the upcoming larger issue–bearing witness to lies, stereotypes, and prejudice and doing something about it. On separate note cards as a pre-write organizer, the students will be asked to list: When, Where, Who, What, and Why. They will be instructed to formulate their outline in questions. For example, what lie was told? To whom was the lie told? They will answer their own questions and then rearrange the cards in a manner that best shows the story. They will be asked to read aloud all or a portion of their accounts.
Lesson Series 2: How Can Reading Help Students Learn to Write Well?
All writers need experience with well-constructed text. In order to make the reading experience palatable and independently doable, I use a set of guiding questions and a standard of marking the text. The two guiding questions that students will be expected to answer while reading are: What type of lie, stereotype, and or prejudice is the main character trying to work through? What experiences have you had with the above mentioned lie? (State your answer thoroughly in the format of your choice.)
When 'marking' text, I want the students to do it purposefully. I also want the behavior to be repeated independently, so I try to keep things very simple. I tell them to:
Underline any word, phrase, or line that you think is "crafty" or interesting. Circle any line in which the author reveals the lie, prejudice, or stereotype that is important to the overall development of the selection. Square any word that is unfamiliar. If you cannot figure it out using context clues, look it up. Mark a synonym in the margin. (Use these strategies with all remaining reading selections.)
Lesson 2a
Read Smoky Nights by Eve Bunting to the students. It is a short picture book. It has been chosen as the introductory reading selection because using the 'children's' book will allow me to quickly break into talks of stereotyping and prejudice seen in literature. No writing will take place. It is not a memoir, but it is in first person. In the book, a young boy is becoming aware that people look and act differently than his own family. 19 During a fire in the apartment in which he lives, he comes to understand that he was wrong to shy away from differences. 20 The author's purpose is pretty clear?she is trying to show how stereotypes are passed along and that even children can learn to recognize, use, and eventually dispel such notions.
The craft elements that I would like my students to model are based in the simplistic, yet effective, use of language. Many middle-level students feel that they must inundate their writing with 'college-level' vocabulary. The selection is full of rich, yet easily-accessible word choices that can be used to discuss audience appropriateness when writing about difficult topics, such as racism. The toxicity undulates, making a serious topic palatable to younger audiences. These elements are the foundation for writing; choosing an audience and writing toward that audience. The students will be asked to work in teams to create a first-person, short children's narrative that includes the effects of a lie, prejudice, or stereotype. This will boost the student-to-student comfort level and help to build a writing community. They will share the stories with the class and discuss what is effective and what could be added or removed to make each more effective.
Lesson 2b
In order to continue on the path to openly sharing, students will be asked to read the selections aloud in teams. The strategy stems from a Creative Dramatics course at the University of Pittsburgh that promotes text interaction. Depending on the number of characters, students will be asked to read in the following manner: Student A reads whenever Character 1 is speaking, Student B reads all Narrator portions, Student B reads whenever character 2 is speaking, etc. Not only does this promote text interactions, but it makes audible the divisions in the text's structure, thus helping to highlight it for the budding writers.
Read Isaiah Washington's memoir in Etan Thomas' Fatherhood. In it, Washington recalls the funeral of his never-present father. It demonstrates a respect for his mother and that personal choice dictates success, not race or, in his case, a lack of fraternal involvement. I expect many of my students will make the assumption that this athlete would not be so articulate. Washington has an interior life aside from sports. He masterfully uses many craft elements.
Students should be made aware that Washington's format uses a weaving of past and present. His writing is lush, descriptive, yet accessible. Washington consistently employs antithesis to hone in on his reality. For example, he writes, "Over the years [my father] has been the biggest presence, yet he's a stranger who means nothing to me." 21 He uses well-crafted figurative language, such as, "Strong family fingers grip my shoulders." 22 A discussion of alliteration and metaphor should take place. Was the family literally gripping his shoulders? Perhaps, but the strength of the line lies in its figurative usage. Why effect does alliteration have? It places visual and auditory emphasis upon certain images and details. A good way to have students explore his use of figurative language is to execute a pastiche?by using Washington's concept of something being simultaneously both 'present and absent', students can model his writing while examining their own memories.
Students will begin to write their own memoirs now. In order to help the students begin to write, I have created a prewriting organizer (See Appendices). The organizer establishes the expectation for what is to be included within each memoir. I tell them that it is mandatory and that all drafts must include the organizer. I also do this because it is a simplistic, fast approach to getting all levels of writers started. It also places a gentle hand over the mouths that say, 'But I don't do prewrites!'
Lesson 2c
Sharon Olds poem, "On the Subway" is a reflection about how others wonder about each other, rather than ask questions aloud. Olds' poem is set on a subway train while she compares what she looks like to the appearance of the young African-American boy seated across from her. She is brave in her honesty, as seen in this lines /...And he is black/and I am white, and without meaning or/trying to I must profit from his darkness 23. The purpose for using this poem is both to show an uncommon form of memoir and to focus on the importance of honesty in the development of a powerful memoir. Ask: How would this piece be different if Olds was not brave enough to be honest about her own prejudices? Her language is simplistic, but powerful. Why? How? Students will be asked to consider the two formats of memoir in Washington's and Olds' work. They will be asked to discuss which format feels right for their memoirs. The drafting of their individual memoirs will now begin.
Lesson 2d
Harriet McBryde Johnson's Too Late to Die Young: Nearly True Tales from a Life, seems to do my job for me. McBryde's memoirs paint a remarkably resilient and self-confident woman. Stricken with congenital neuromuscular disease from childhood, she has many physical limitations. The writing is focused on the stereotypical notions that she has lived to dispel?a person should not be defined by her or his disability. In the preface memoir, she focuses much more on who she is rather than focusing on life-shaping situations. Her language is direct, if not scolding. The voice created stands up for her. For example, she writes, "[M]y stories don't aim to satisfy the general curiosity about what it is like to live in a withered body." 24
McBryde's structure is in contrast to the form used by Isaiah Washington in that he spends more time in the background story/situation. Washington is sharing his experience with himself as the receiver of truth; McBryde is almost directly sending out a message to the reader that their truths are not her truths. Students should be asked to orally compare these two structures, why the authors might have used them, and what effect such choices have on the reader. Students will be asked to evaluate their own memoir structure. Ask: What is gained or lost by your choice of structure? What is the difference between Washington's language and McBryde's language? How does word choice help to establish tone? What tone do you wish to use in your memoir? What word choice might help (student A, B, C, etc.) establish such a tone? Once the discussion ends, the students will continue to draft their memoirs.
Lesson 2e
In chapter two of Richard Wright's Black Boy, a scene is developed in which Richard questions his mother about race. 25 The majority of the selection is written as dialog. Though Wright wrote this as an adult, the reader can hear his voice as a curious child. For example, Wright wrote:
Naively I wanted to go see how the whites looked while sitting in their part of the train.
"Can I go peep at the white folks?" I asked my mother.
"You keep quiet," she said.
"But that wouldn't be wrong, would it?"
"Will you keep still?"
"But why can't I?" 26
Dialog is a way to help students create their characters' voices as Wright did. In memoir writing, dialog presents a form of lying?since the writer is drawing from memory, he or she may embellish the dialog. Students need to know that this is acceptable and, perhaps, necessary. Students will be asked to re-read a portion of Wright's dialog and, in pairs, list rules for writing dialog. While discussing their 'rules' as a group, be sure to cover the following: What the character says is placed inside of quotations. Punctuation for the character's statement goes inside of the quotation marks. When dialog is on-going, each character's statement is moved to a new line and indented. The narrator typically only uses a period. Though it is okay to occasionally use 'said,' it is better to use more descriptive dialog indicators, such a balked, raged, or 'showing' indicators such as, "His angry red lips curled to a grimace." Not every chunk of dialog requires a dialog indicator.
Have the students compare the language in the past three reading selections. Ask: Which is more floral? Which is more direct? Which is most powerful? Why? Which do you prefer for your memoir? Why?
Lesson 2f
Students will be asked to spend the first half of class working on their choice of a 100-125 word section of their memoirs-in-progress. They will mark their own copy with the age of their characters. They will print a copy and the selection will be rotated around the room so that students can try to rework each other sentences according to age-appropriate voice, adding dialog as each sees fit.
Lesson 2g
At this point, I expect that many students will be entering the revision process or, perhaps, may be done writing. Marjane Satrapi's Persepolis: The Story of a Childhood is the author's memoirs presented in graphic novel form. This will be introduced to the students as an alternative to writing an entirely new memoir. They will be given an option to illustrate one of their own memoirs, stating the reason behind their choices for text and image use.
The setting of Satrapi's novel is revolution-era 1960's Tehran, Iran, but the main characters are quite westernized. The theme of the body of work could be framed as: What is the cultural impact of any form of segregation? Though the graphics are in black and white, the author creates a vivid image of herself and her country through vibrant illustrations and simplistic, but powerful, text. Satrapi's parents are liberal in their parenting style. Both parents encourage and support her individuality and creativity, but society does not. This is illustrated when she, at the age of six, has developed a love of God. The illustration depicts her as she's exclaiming, "I am the Last Prophet." To which a group of men sneer, "A woman? "27
The students will read the first 20 pages, and then watch the movie version to the same scene. The students will be asked what effect the various square sizes have on the storyline. They will be asked to discuss what the images give or take from the memoir genre. They will note the page and square number in which they can directly see the adaptation from book-to-screen. We will discuss why they think such choices were made.
Lesson Series 3: How Can Students Be Guided to Help One Another with Revisions?
A responding sequence can be used so that students can help one another grow as audience-focused writers. This is best modeled by having the students respond first to a teacher's own writing sample.
Lesson 3a
Students should be required to place their drafts of their memoirs in a bin. Four questions will guide each response session, which can simply be clipped to the top of each memoir: 1) What lie, stereotype, or prejudice is explored in this memoir? List it. 2) Does the memoir cover a setting, situation, and a sharing of reaction and/or realization? If so, state each in a complete sentence. If not, note the missing component on the top of the writer's work. 3) Are there any gaps of connectivity in the text? If so, list questions that might lead them to make the connection(s). 4) What elements of craft has the author used? Make a list with an example from the text and/or explain in a complete sentence. If you see none, make no comment.
Lesson 3b
Writers need to read their work aloud to hear the flow of the sentences and the pattern of word choices. Students are more willing to do this with a teacher; however, I require them to work together prior to asking me for help. They are, after all, writing for their own age group. While the students read to me, I fill out the same four questions as listed above in Lesson 3b. I then read it myself, editing for grammar and punctuation errors. If the student makes the same mistake repeatedly, then we discuss the issues. Never make the esteem-squashing mistake of telling a student what to add or change. Instead, formulate questions that allow the student to tell you about his or her choices. If what the student tells you is not evident in the text, then you can direct him or her to expand a portion of their writing.
Lesson Series 4: How Can Students' Work Impact Other People?
The final step in the writing process is publication. If this step is not reached, the student will not understand the power or pride of authorship.
Lesson 4a
Students will be asked to choose one of their revised memoirs and audio record themselves reading it. Each recorded memoir will be added to an 'Audio Anthology.'
Lesson 4b
During our final two classes, students will listen to one another's readings and write "reviews" of each author's work that includes a statement about how the 'truthfulness' has impacted them.
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