A Study of Memoir

This was an excellent article explaining memoir.  I enjoyed reading how Arnberg taught memoir.  I thought it was wonderful how she let the students search for the meaning of memoir as she had them gather books.  She immersed them in great memoirs as they were discovering what a memoir is.  This reminded me how Dr. Frye told us to immerse or marinate our students, for example, in I Poetry. I believe this is the key to student’s understanding – to immerse them in whatever it is.   They were able to differentiate between an autobiography and memoir eventually after searching. The students discovered that a memoir needs memory as well as the author’s feelings about the memory.  Next, she conferred with the students and taught mini-lessons throughout.  It was helpful to read how she handles embellishment and voice.  I like how the students chose their own mentors to help them in their writing of memoir.  As time went on, Arnberg took her students through writing memoir as poetry, letter writing and picture book.

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