1. Hole in My Life by Jack Gantos
Memoir
a narrative composed from personal experience
writing about a memory that happened to the author
Memoirs are considered non-fiction, but do you think they are always true?

2. Jack Gantos Born in Pennsylvania
Wrote several children’s books and his true-life memoir, Hole in My Life that won the Michael L. Printz and Robert F. Sibert honors
He decided to become a writer after reading his sister’s diary and thinking he can write better than her.

3. Jack Gantos
Jack in first grade
Jack in fourth grade

4. Hole in My Life by Jack Gantos
Google Maps
Florida
Florida Keys
St. Croix, Virgin Islands

5. What is an allusion?
A figure of speech that refers to people, places, events, literary works, or works of art.
It is a tool that writers use to add depth and meaning to their work
Readers are pushed to make connections between the allusion and the content of the book

6. Example Allusions
“I was surprised his nose was not growing like Pinocchio’s.” This refers to the story of Pinocchio, where his nose grew whenever he told a lie. It is from The Adventures of Pinocchio, written by Carlo Collodi.
“He was a real Romeo with the ladies.” Romeo was a character in Shakespeare’s play, Romeo and Juliet, and was very romantic in expressing his love for Juliet. 

7. Example Allusions
“It is raining so hard, I hope it doesn’t rain for 40 days and 40 nights.” This makes a reference to the biblical story of Noah and the ark he built. He was told by God that it would rain for 40 days and 40 nights and flood the land.
“Beauty and a Beat” by Justin Bieber and Nicki Minaj. This song title makes a reference to the Disney movie, “Beauty and the Beast.”

8. HML Journal Hole in My Life by Jack Gantos Journal
I can write routinely in my journal.
I can select and analyze quotes from a memoir.
I can use a dictionary to learn the meaning of new words.
4. I can identify, explain and analyze allusions.

9. HML Journal Divide a chunk of your journal into 4 sections.
You will enter a submission into each section of the journal for each chapter of Hole in My Life (16 total).
Label each section:
Journal Entries
Intriguing Quotes
Vocabulary Builder
Allusions Tracker

10. HML Journal
For each chapter, you will be expected to submit an entry into all four sections of your journal.
When we are finished with the memoir, your journal will be submitted for a grade.
There will be occasional journal checks to make sure you are keeping up with your entries.
The HML Journal is meant to help you grow as a writer and have a deeper understanding of the text.

11. HML Journal Part 1: Journal Entries Part 2: Intriguing Quotes
free writes and reflections based on your life and the reading
16 total, one page each
Part 2: Intriguing Quotes
log at least one quotation from the chapter with the page number
Write a 3-5 sentence paragraph explaining why you chose the quote (why was it important to the memoir?)

12. HML Journal Part 3: Vocabulary Builder
Log a word from the chapter that you did not know the meaning of, including the sentence it appeared in and the page number
Look up the meaning of the word and write a meaningful sentence using the word
Part 4: Allusion Tracker
Log at least 1 allusion from the chapter, the sentence it appeared in and the page number
Write a description of the context in which the allusion was used
**You will use one of your allusions for the final allusion project