Writing Workshop Mini-Lessons Day 5 (Exploring Memories)

This was one of the best mini lessons we’ve had on writing.  The kids still talk about how much they enjoyed sharing their memories and writing about them. They’ve asked me when we can do this again.  I call that a successful day!

If you’ve missed the previous posts in this series, I would suggest you go back and start with them, though honestly, you can do any of these lessons in any order. They are just topic suggestions.

You’ve set up a good writing space, have your supplies – pencils, journals, resource materials. Now what?!! This is the second in a series of 5 posts with lesson ideas to help young writers get started on their writing journey. Be sure to read the introduction to this series in How Do I Help the Kids to Start Writing?! Day 1. (We have moved to homeschoolden.com)

Here are some of our first mini-lesson topics. I used mentor texts and picked them apart to help the kids see some of the elements that make for good writing.

In this series I’ll go into more detail on each one:

1. What makes a good book or story?
2. Make your story come alive with details and description.
3. Creating Interesting Characters
4. Story Openings: Set the mood or feeling of your story
5. Gathering story ideas from your own life
6. Alliteration and more

You can use these lessons in any order.

Writing Workshop, Day Five: Exploring Memories; Gathering story ideas from your own life.

Read Aloud with the Kids:

We started this day reading Wilfrid Gordon McDonald Partridge. (This is an affiliate link.) It was about a young boy who befriends an old lady. She has begun to lose her memory.  The little boy brings her all kinds of treasures he has gathered to help her find her memory. As she goes through the basket and pulls out the items one-by-one she is reminded of incidents from her own childhood.

Activity:

I told the kids to go gather 3-5 things that were special to them and had good memories. The kids ran off really excited!  DD said, “Oooh this is just like show-and-tell!”  I too went off find a few things to share with the kids.

Just like the story, we all had a lot of memories to share!  I think the best moment for me was when the kids wanted me to put them in the sling that I had carried them around in when they were babies and toddlers.  Even LD (age 9 at the time) wanted a turn!  I was surprised to find just how easy it was to hold my 65 pound boy on my hip!

After talking and sharing (for quite a long time I might add!), we all went off to write.  I loved LD’s description of his two blue puppies, Thunder and Lightning. “What I like about them is not that I had them in Australia, but all the memories I have because they came with me on so many trips… Nashville, Williamsburg, fossil hunting, California.”

As I said above, the kids were very inspired by this book and mini-lesson! DD has begged me to do this again.

You can download and printout a copy of this mini lesson by printing on the link below.

Writing MiniLessons Day 5– Exploring Memories

Do you want to learn more about starting your own Homeschool Writing Workshop? Here are some related posts:

• Creating a Homeschool Writing Workshop – Post #1 — How/Why we needed a change in our writing program
• Creating a Homeschool Writing Workshop – Post #2: Creating a Writing Workshop Area and Materials to Have on Hand
• Creating a Writing Workshop Post #3: This post is about Mini-Lessons during writing time, mentor texts and includes reviews of 8 or 9 writing books that you might find helpful.
• Writing Resource Pack: This is a post about the 30-page pack I made for our writing workshop. Reference pages on the 6 +1 Wri ting Traits, Mini-Lessons, the types of writing, creating a powerful beginning, techniques for ending a story/paper, and so forth. (These writing resources are free to download.)

• Writing Workshop: Dr. Seuss Style: The kids and I had fun writing in the style of Dr. Seuss!
• Biography Research Paper Resource Pack

• Wonderful Free Writing Resource for Young Writers

• Practical Pointers for Working with a Reluctant Writer (or any Writer)
• Writing Activity to Spark Kids’ Imagination!
• 40 Journal Writing Prompts (Free Printable)
• Animal Portfolio Project: writing, art and geography activities that go with any animals… With many activities to choose from. Writing activities include both fiction and non-fiction suggestions such as
  • Write a speech or a letter to the president on why your animal needs protection in the wild.
  •  Menu: Create a humorous menu at a restaurant where your animals would like to eat.
•  WWII Portfolio Project

• Writing Workshop Rules! Why the Writing Workshop continues to work so well in our homeschool.

Mini-Lessons to Use in a Writing Workshop (in any order):

• Writing Workshop Mini-Lesson: Rules for Writing and the Story Writing Process — Have your kids read the Plot Chicken? We started our Writing Workshop this year off with this book. What a great buk, buk!!  In fact, I liked it so much that I created a chicken writing rules printable to go along with the book!

• What makes a good book or story?
• Make your story come alive with details and description.
• Creating Interesting Characters
• Story Openings: Set the mood or feeling of your story
• Gathering story ideas from your own life
• Alliteration and more
• Adding Details Exercise Don’t miss this one, the kids LOVED this activity!!
• Writing Workshop: Conflict in Literature (Man vs. Man, Man vs. Self, etc)
• Writing Workshop Discussion Questions
• Writing Workshop Mini-Lesson: Rules for Writing and the Story Writing Process
• Writing Scary Stories
• Writing: Literacy Depth and Complexity Icons and More

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