1. 9th grade Core Assessment
Personal Memoir
9th grade Core Assessment

2. Warm-up (Brain Drain)…
Play Rhyme or Reason with yourself.
Start with the word I give you and keep writing continuously until I say stop.

3. Childhood Games…
List as many as you remember.

4. What my Childhood “Tasted” Like
You may be figurative or literal…

5. A Difficult Moment…

6. A “Watermark” Event
This is an event that has been life-changing…

7. Writer’s Notebook Entries

8. Entry #1
1. Look at yourself through a brief moment. Show the moment in detail. Let your reader know why it is memorable. Put your reader right there with you!
Pull an idea
from your brainstorming heart.

9. Entry #2
2. Look at yourself through a relationship with a family member. Use figurative devices to illustrate how this relationship has shaped you into the person you are today.

10. Entry #3
3. Look at yourself through a series of moments that reveal a change in your character. A “clothesline” piece will string together moments that reveal something about you. You might pick two or three stories to string together, ultimately creating one message.
A reoccurring vacation; a few memories from a sport; a few memories with a particular person; a few examples of your ______ ability

11. Entry #4
4. Look at yourself by first analyzing your name, and then transitioning into a story that illustrates the meaning of your name.

12. Entry #5
5. Look at yourself at a younger age when you pretended to be “something.” Think about what this imaginary play says about who you are and what you wanted.

13. Writing an effective lead…
William Zinsser wrote in On Writing Well that “the most important sentence is the first one” when writing creative fiction or nonfiction.
In memoir writing, it is typical to find leads that utilize:
- Setting -Reflection
- Action - Event
- Character - Dialogue

14. “Flowered and striped bathing suit bottoms. Swim trunks. And legs
“Flowered and striped bathing suit bottoms. Swim trunks. And legs. Lots and lots of legs. I saw faces earlier, but now I don’t see them. All these things are blurry. The chorus of voices- reduced to gibberish. I wonder why. Oh, that’s right, I’m drowning.”
“Inevitable Sinking” by Gabrielle

15. “ An instrument case, almost larger than me, a nervous step, and a deep breath. The school sprawls out before me, its door open and welcoming, yet as I go through, anxiety builds and the lights dim. All around is the feint glare of waxed floors and softly hanging from the ceiling is the distant sound of music.”
“The Sound of Music” by Eric

16. “You ready to go?” my brother asked.
“Don’t be nervous; nobody knows if you mess the Hebrew up anyway,” my Uncle Rob advised.
“Do you need anything?” my mom inquired.
As soon as I woke up, everyone was treating me as if I was nervous. Believe me, I was not.
“A Day to Try and Remember” by Michael

17. “Early on I learned, without anyone actually telling me, that in this world it is not enough just to be. You have to be something.”
“Lash La Rue” by Jerry Spinelli

18. “When I was nine or ten years old I couldn’t wait for Saturdays
“When I was nine or ten years old I couldn’t wait for Saturdays. Every Saturday, I got up early, dressed, and rolled my bicycle out of the garage.”
Saturdays and Teacakes by Lester L. Laminack

19. “When I wake up, the other side of the bed is cold
“When I wake up, the other side of the bed is cold. My fingers stretch out, seeking Prim’s warmth but find only the rough canvas cover of the mattress. She must have had bad dreams and climbed in with our mother. Of course she did. This is the day of the reaping.”
The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins

20. “I am running. That’s the first thing I remember. Running
“I am running. That’s the first thing I remember. Running. I carry something, my arm curled around it, hugging it to my chest. Bread, of course. Someone is chasing me. ‘Stop Thief!’ I run. People. Shoulders. Shoes. ‘Stop! Thief!’”
Milkweed by Jerry Spinelli

21. “My arm is lightly slung around Lara’s shoulder, and we have bemused smiles on our faces. Maybe we are pleased to be playing soccer, or perhaps we are just confused. We wear God-awful lime green jerseys made of scratchy synthetic fabric and white socks pulled up to the knees. My hair is messed by the wind, and the thin strands are practically falling out of the ponytail holder. Yet all of this doesn’t really matter.”
“Flight” by Catie

22. “Are you there God. It’s me, Margaret. We’re moving today
“Are you there God? It’s me, Margaret. We’re moving today. I’m so scared God. I’ve never lived anywhere but here. Suppose I hate my new school? Suppose everybody there hates me? Please help me God. Don’t let New Jersey be too horrible. Thank you.” Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret. By Judy Blume

23. “It is the first morning of high school
“It is the first morning of high school. I have seven new notebooks, a skirt I hate, and a stomachache”
Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson

24. “As soon as I got home from school, Aunt Baba noticed the silver medal dangling from the left breast pocket of my uniform. She was combing her hair in front of the mirror in our room when I rushed in and plopped my schoolbag down onto the bed”
Chinese Cinderella by Adeline Yen Mah

25. Memoir Conclusions…

26. “From Lollipops to Lifesaving”
As I look out among the crowd I can see everyone staring and cheering. It brings back the memory of stepping into Hartsville for the first time. As I look out at the sea of faces they trigger my childhood dream to once again resurface. I know I have accomplished above and beyond what I had ever set out to do, and it amazes me that in the ten years since I was five, I have become the idol I once worshiped…With a smile almost breaking my face in half, I stop thinking of my past and focus on the future once again, waving to everyone in the crowd. I’m in my own parade now, and it is a nervous kind of joy. All eyes are on us, but me especially as the only girl in this truck. So I wave and smile, hoping to inspire future firewomen in the little pigtail adorning girls on the side lines… Just in the few short years I went from being a nervous little girl to a strong and capable firefighter. Anything is possible, and I really go for my goals now…

27. “Transcontinental”
My brother slowly blinked the sleep away and sat up. I rubbed my dry eyes. Twenty hours now. As the city of Beijing rolled slowly beneath us, I felt more and more tired. By the time the plane landed, I was too tired to call my mother and gave the task to my brother. I remember seeing my father and getting into the car and passing out for the three hour car ride to the Hangzhou district. It was by far the most arduous, most uncomfortable, most mind numbing and most derogatory journey I had ever taken. But I also realized how easy it was to persevere and hold on to something as long as the end was in sight. A life-long lesson: Never give up; Never back down, from Anything (except maybe your mother).

28. “The Sound of Practice”
That’s pretty much how the rest of the night went. We thanked my teacher for the experience, and then drove back home in silence. Lucky for me no one brought up that I messed up. They were all saving it for a better day. Once we got home I ran up to my bedroom and jumped on the bed. I started to cry. My mom opened the door slowly and looked at me. “Practice makes perfect.” That’s when I realized she was right.

29. Self-Editing…
Read through your story once, and mark spots where you’d like a second opinion. (Showing vs. telling; word choice; verb tense; message; etc.)

30. Peer-Editing… Asking good questions:
Why did you start playing soccer? Can you further explain the reason? I was curious.
What do you mean when you write, “The reason for my quitting was unknown to me”? I was confused. Reword.
Are you going to keeping switching between past and present? If so, I think transitions would be helpful; I was confused about the time period.
Would it be helpful to include a showing snapshot of yourself as a kid? I couldn’t visualize you.
How does your introduction connect to the rest of your story? I totally thought your story was going in a different direction as I listened.