Mrs. Sekera's seventh-grade English students at Trafford Middle School recently created and presented memory maps, which highlighted a place that holds special memories for them.
To begin the unit, the students read and analyzed memoir poems and then wrote and presented their own memoir poems that shared some special memories. Students began reading a memoir entitled Marshfield Dreams, in which author Ralph Fletcher displays a memory map of his childhood neighborhood before sharing stories of his childhood.
Using Ralph Fletcher's memory map as a model, students created their own maps and noted at least three special memories on them. Students presented those memory maps to the class, describing their special place and the special memories associated with it. As they continued to read the memoir in class, the students focused on using active reading strategies, identified memoir characteristics, and analyzed basic novel elements, especially characterization.