(Go to on-line activity) - (Go to lesson plan index)

Materials Needed:

• Small drawstring bag or plastic box
• A book, notebook a sample or starter memoir with photo
• Instruction card with suggestions a variety of books based on memoirs

Objectives:

To involve family members in school activities

To have families learn about each other by reading the memoirs

Activity Description:

If a "memoir" is an autobiographical sketch or a noteworthy account, ask students what they think might be in a "memoir bag"? Explain that the class is going to collect a book of memoirs, or family stories, made up of entries from each of the class families. Write, as a first entry, a story about your family. This story can be from the past or the present. Read the memoir you have written to the class and discuss the model. Where possible, include a photo of the person giving the memoir or of the people discussed in the memoir. Parents might also appreciate a brief instruction card that will also travel home, although after the few entries, people will have plenty of models and ideas.

Each night, one student takes the memoir bag home and has an adult family member write down a family story in the book. (If possible, do this activity with a nice notebook or even a bound book with blank pages -- it makes the whole thing feel special.)

Families are encouraged to read other memoirs before sending the bag back to school the next morning.

Students might also enjoy looking at books of memoirs, such as The Keeping Quilt and Grandfather's Journey.

We four started walking, on a 4 x 4 track,
Up the Yohetta, with packs on our back.

We passed by a tractor and met an old man,
He told us the way thru the unknown land.

"Take the horse trail," he said, "just follow the sign,"
But where the sign was, wasn't clear in our mind.

We had to go back, we thought a long way,
Then Rianne found the path, and mum led the way.

"Hore trail," not horse trail, one only this big.
The sign wasn't later, it was sooner instead.

And then to the lake, where we stayed for the night.
It had tables, and chairs, and we used the airtight.

An otter, an eagle, two loons and the trout,
We went in "buck naked," there was no one about.

At the end of this lake we found the man's cabin,
It was totally awesome, like that we'd move in.

We stopped for a lunch, then went for a swim,
Where beavers had made a good place to jump in.

And then to the path, where the going was rough,
We proved to ourselves we had the right stuff.

At Dorothy Lake, the trail dark and flat,
Made us sing and make noise, because of bear skat.

We camped for this night at a creek called Rainbow,
A waterfall above, clean water below.

In the mud of this creek, Rianne found a stick,
It moved. It's alive. My gosh, what a trick!

On top of old Spectrun, much to our surprise,
We found many gullies, and thousands of flies.

The flowers were blooming, the skies were so blue,
We found our way home because of horse poo.

Rianne Svelnis
General Brock School

---