Six word memoirs lesson plan

I launched the Six-Word Memoir project in 2006 with a question on what was then a strange new platform called Twitter: “Can you describe your life in six words?” While I suspected that the constraint of six words would fuel creativity, it wasn’t until I was invited to my nephew’s third-grade classroom to talk about six-word storytelling that I got my first glimpse of the format’s powerful possibilities in school.

That morning, a few dozen elementary students shared stories of identity (“Born to be a spy, unnoticeable”), self-worth (“I live bigger than your labels”), agency (“Brainy, talkative, will never be quiet”), and more.

Since then, Six-Word Memoirs has become a valuable tool in many teachers’ toolboxes because it takes away the pressure of a whole blank page while helping kids focus on what’s important in writing: honest and specific storytelling.

And what’s important in any young life: an understanding that no one knows or can t Classroom of the Month: Six-Word Memoirs in Michelle Wolff’s ... TOXYR