6 Word Memoirs Kayla Voissem and Scott Vachavake.

6 Word MemoirsKayla Voissem and Scott Vachavake

For sale: baby shoes, never worn.

Ernest Hemingway

What image does this short story create? What emotion is Hemingway trying to convey? Does he accomplish this? How?

Ernest Hemingway

"Extensive Research Reveals Hemingway Probably Didn't Write Famous 'Six Word Story'" LitReactor. N.p., n.d. Web. 16 Apr. 2013.

Voice

Voice is the distinct personality, style, or point of view of a piece of writing or any other creative

work.

"PEN Center USA." Samantha Dunn Recommends Dinah Lenney Essay on Voice. N.p., n.d. Web. 16 Apr. 2013.

The Snake in Tonle Sap

On Tonle Sap Lake, an orphan boy floats on a metal pail. A snake hangs on his shoulders as he smiles to a tourist’s camera and charges “one dollah” per click. Instead, the tourist hands him noodles she bought from a store nearby. They embrace. Smiling, the tourist feels the 60 dollars for the boat ride, noodles, and tip for the guide was worth it. As she leaves, she sees the boy paddle to the store, exchanging noodles for green bills. On her back, where the boy’s hands landed during their embrace, she feels the sting of a snake’s bite.

"The Snake in Tonle Sap." 100Words RSS. N.p., n.d. Web. 16 Apr. 2013.

Turn this short story into a 6 word story. Focus on emotion and recreating the author’s unique voice.

When you are finished gather with a few people around you and share your stories.

Choose the story you feel accomplishes the task the best to share with the class.

What is memoir?

Memoir: [mem-wahr]

1. A record of events written by a person having intimate knowledge of them and based on personal observation.

Brainstorm

Think about important events that have happened in your life that have shaped you into the person you are today.

Generate a list of these events on a piece of looseleaf paper.

Think about…

How those events have changed you

What those events say about you as a person, your choices

Examples

"Tumblr." 6 Word Memoirs. N.p., n.d. Web. 16 Apr. 2013.

"Tumblr." 6 Word Memoirs. N.p., n.d. Web. 16 Apr. 2013.

"Memoir of Transcendence." Memoir of Transcendence. N.p., n.d. Web. 16 Apr. 2013.

"Ursa Eyer Fine Art/Illustration: 6 Word Memoirs." Ursa Eyer Fine Art/Illustration: 6 Word Memoirs. N.p., n.d. Web. 16 Apr. 2013.

"6-Word-Memoir-Senior-Project - Home." 6-Word-Memoir-Senior-Project - Home. N.p., n.d. Web. 16 Apr. 2013.

Think-Pair-Share

What did you notice all the memoir projects had in common?

What made them stand out?

Teacher Examples

Mr. Vachavake: No name papers make me angry!

Ms. Voissem: There is never too much coffee.

Guidelines for the project:

Express yourself.

For your final project you need 2 aspects

A six word memoir

A creative representation of that memoir

DUE: 2 weeks from today, May 7th

Final Class Project

Before you leave…

On a piece of scrap paper write down one goal regarding this project that you want to accomplish by the end of this week.

Put them in the basket on your way out of the classroom.