Writing a life : teaching memoir to sharpen insight, shape meaning-- and triumph over tests

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Title:

Author:

Bomer, Katherine.

ISBN:

9780325006468

Personal Author:

Bomer, Katherine.

Publication Information:

Portsmouth, NH : Heinemann, c2005.

Physical Description:

xiv, 209 p. : ill. ; 24 cm.

Contents:

Why teach memoir? : reasons that will change your teaching and your life -- Week-by-week plans : a map to guide you through a genre study in memoir -- How to read memoir to learn to write it : essential structures and provocative questions for discussion -- Rafting down rivers of memory : getting ideas going in the memoirist's notebook -- Making meaning of memories : selecting, collecting, and layering -- Shaping the story : dozens of possibilities for structure -- Recognized lives : secrets for successful conferring with children writing memoir (and a "cheat sheet" just in case) -- Revising a text, revising a life : five sledgehammers and nineteen nails for making the memoir even better -- Answering test prompts by drawing on best memoir writing.

Subject Term:

Autobiography -- Study and teaching.

Biography as a literary form -- Study and teaching.

Electronic Access:

Table of contents http://www.loc.gov/catdir/toc/ecip0512/2005012488.html

Copies:

Available:*

Library	Material Type	Item Barcode	Shelf Number	Copy	Status
Searching... 1:IIEMSA	1:GEN-BOOK	33168020374506	809.93592 B695W 2005	1	Searching... Unknown

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Summary

Memoir is more than writing down memories; it's a powerful motivator for children to write and revise. Working with familiar material, students explore their lives, learn new and sophisticated elements of craft, and engage deeply with content to uncover personal and universal meaning. By teaching with memoir, you can help students exceed official standards for writing, both in class work and on tests, while also giving them a tool for making sense of their place in the world.

In Writing a Life , Katherine Bomer presents classroom-tested strategies for tapping memoir's power, including ways to help kids generate ideas to write about, elaborate on and make meaning from their memories, and learn craft from published memoirs. She describes dozens of ideas for minilessons, teacher-student conferences, peer conferences, writing activities, prompts, and revision strategies. She then crosses the literacy spectrum to show how studying mentor memoirs can enrich students' reading by building strong reading-writing connections. In addition, Bomer presents a curricular unit that prepares students for writing tests by systematically and explicitly helping them transfer the content and skills they develop in writing memoir to the demands of standardized assessments.

Every student has a story to share. With Writing a Life , you'll have the inspiration, the strategies, and the materials you need to help them write it beautifully.