1. Warm-Up
Brainstorm a list of objects in your house. List as many objects as you can. The person with the most objects wins candy!

2. Connect it Back Previously on The Saga of 9th Grade English…
Memoirs, autobiographies, & biographies
Mock writing test/persuasive writing

3. Today’s Agenda Essential Questions: Bag of Objects activity
What do objects tell us and why do they matter in reading and writing?
Can objects tell someone’s life story?
Can a poem tell someone’s life story?
Bag of Objects activity
I Am From poem – read & write
Autobiographical Poems

4. Bag of Objects
If I have this object sitting around at my house, what does that say about me?
In your group, answer the above question about your group’s object.

5. “Where I’m From” by George Ella Lyon
What does this poem tell us about its author?
What does he use besides objects?
Does this poem tell his life story?

6. Autobiographical Poems
P. 278 “Those Winter Sundays” vs. “Papa Who Wakes Up Tired”
Both are memoirs. Is one better than the other?
How do objects contribute to this poem?

7. “Folding Won Tons In” – p. 432
“The Courage That My Mother Had” – p. 461
“The Gift” – p. 468
“Legal Alien” – p. 472
How is this poem autobiographical?
How do objects contribute?

8. Bottom Line:
What do objects tell us and why do they matter in reading and writing?
Can objects tell someone’s life story?
Can a poem tell someone’s life story?

9. Ticket Out the Door Please answer these questions
Ticket Out the Door Please answer these questions. You do NOT have to write the question.
What do objects tell us and why does that matter in reading and writing?
How does this apply to reading an autobiography/biography/memoir?
How does this apply to writing an autobiography/biography/memoir?
How does this apply to reading and writing fiction?
Can a person’s life story be told through a poem? What are the advantages & disadvantages in doing so?

10. Homework
Write your own autobiographical poem