Telling OUR story!

What powerful words!

The fifth graders are wrapping up their last unit in writing: memoirs! This is our favorite unit to teach and the kids definitely love it! It is their chance to tell their story. Their chance to express themselves and their struggles. Their chance to celebrate a victory, no matter how small or to share their successes in life so far. For some, it is their chance to get things off their chest. Their chance to open up and really share with the world some lessons they have learned in life.

It amazes me how much these kids have learned and how they are able to take everything they have learned in writing this year through our narrative and opinion units and apply it to their memoir. We started by talking about the aspects of a memoir and the differences between a memoir and a personal narrative. The kids started writing small moment stories about big issues or themes in their lives. They started coming up with their "6 word memoir," or a phrase that really shows the theme they want to address. Here are some of the phrases the kids have come up with.

"If 'I love you' was a promise,

Would you break it if you're honest."

One student painted this picture to go with her issue:

People aren't worth crying over.

After determining their message, the kids started to tell their story. Here are some excerpts from a few memoirs in our fifth grade class. It amazes me how much the kids are SHOWING and not TELLING their emotions so far.


“Daddy I don't feel so good” six words you never understood.
“I will never let you go” five words you barely say. I laugh alone like nothing's wrong the weekend has never felt so alone.
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My early years of my life, I thought life was perfect but at age 10 everything changed for me. I started to think a lot about myself, like: "Who am I?"

I would always answer, "I don’t know" and that has stuck with me for over a year. It has affected my life, my sleep, and my mood. Like for instance, before I thought of this, I used to be one of the happiest people ever. I still put a smile on my face but inside I don’t have a smile. I wish I did, but I don’t. It’s not depression, I don’t know what is. It all started when I was little.

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People aren't worth crying over. Every other Friday or holiday. Why can’t you tell the truth? This has gone on my whole life. I Am not blind. So stop lying. I am not a baby that you can lie to anymore. Dad, father, or just a parent? Another piece of my life you missed, another piece of my heart broken off because you can’t do your job.

“Hi, Mom,” I said on a normal day after school in 1st grade when I got home on a Friday.

“Hi, how was school?” My mom would always ask me with her sweet and welcoming smile.

“Good” I would always tell her. “When is my dad coming to pick me up?” I would ask this every other Friday because I would go with my dad for the weekend. Well at least I was supposed to.

”About that you aren't going this weekend your dad said he couldn’t get a car again.” she said.

My heart melted. Again? I thought. Then after hearing this I would cry till I had no more tears left. Well that was 1st grade. Now I am in 5th grade. I have gotten used to it. I choose not to call him because to me there is no point.

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A unit like this one is SO important to the curriculum. It gives the kids a chance to express themselves and their struggles or successes in a creative format. I love ending the year with this unit, but I almost want to have it first, because I learn SO much more about these kids. I am so proud of the work they have done and the honesty and REAL feelings that are shining through in these memoirs. I cannot wait to see the finished products!