I Remember…

1. I Remember… Thanksgiving

2. My Favorite Thanksgiving Memory • “It’s not easy to travel back into your memory and gather details. But it’s worth it. The details help you remember the very important chapters in the story of your life.” – Sandy Asher, Author. • When you write a short story about something that has happened in your life – an experience, event, or a special time – you are writing a personal narrative. • A personal narrative should have a beginning, a middle and an ending. The story should be organized in time order: what happened first, second, third, and so on. • Today, you will be writing a personal narrative about your favorite Thanksgiving memory.

3. My Favorite Thanksgiving Memory • During the Great Depression of the 1930’s, President Franklin D. Roosevelt started the Federal Writer’s Project (FWP). • These writers collected personal narratives from people from all around the country. • Some of the people they interviewed told stories of their most memorable Thanksgivings. • You can find many of their stories in the Library of Congress. On the next three slides, you will see some examples of personal narratives written by the writers in the FWP and from a more recent magazine article…

4. My Favorite Thanksgiving Memory In 1938, Mrs. Hulda Esther Thorpe remembered the dangers that settlers faced on the prairie in the 1800s, and the many reasons settlers had for giving thanks: “One of the best Thanksgiving dinners we ever knew of was when a family of settlers had their nice wild turkey dinner taken by the Indians, who came in silently and just shoved the folks back and ate it up. “They did not harm the settlers though and after they were gone the women made a big corn bread and with what few things the Indians left, they had a feast. Their daughter said that it was the best Thanksgiving dinner she ever ate. This was because they were so happy and thankful that the Indians spared them.”

5. My Favorite Thanksgiving Memory In 1939, Mrs. Mabel Bradley remembered a Thanksgiving party held during her childhood in the latter part of the 1800s: "One Thanksgiving night there had been a big celebration and a dance. My older sisters, Sally and Fannie, each about sixteen, argued about who was the most popular among the boys at the ball. Sally had two dresses and Fannie had three, and in between dances, they would rush to their rooms and change quickly, hoping that after each switch of costume, the change would add to their attractiveness and popularity with the young men present. The quarrel lasted into the following day, and while they were in the kitchen, they got to fighting, pulling each other's hair, and scratching faces. "Word was brought to father and he took my brother, James, and went to the scene. He spoke to Sally and Fannie, but they kept right on, evidently intending to fight to a finish. Father told James he was going to whip them and make them behave themselves, as he could not permit fighting among his children. "I was only about six years of age at the time, and did not witness the whipping, of course, but I overheard the conversation as father told mother about it.”

6. My Favorite Thanksgiving Memory A mother remembered Thanksgiving, then and now in a magazine article written in 2007: In 1962, I was so proud to be a member of the Charleston High School Marching Band leading off the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade and then playing a halftime show for the New York Jets. I don't remember if we even had any dinner but the knowledge that the entire State of West Virginia was watching on TV just thrilled me to the core. My second favorite Thanksgiving was watching the Macy's Thanksgiving Parade and seeing my son marching with his high school band in 1993, 31 years later. He's now a high school band director in West Virginia and he remembers trying to march and play perfectly because he knew his mother was watching. There was a real bond between mother and son to have performed live on TV before the entire nation 31 years apart. That's a Thanksgiving memory not too many people can have...now we make it a point to watch the parade together each and every Thanksgiving...cause we've been there, done that.

7. Your Turn… • First, organize your thoughts • You can brainstorm and make a list of ideas that pop into your head about your favorite Thanksgiving memory or try clustering • You can use the “5 Ws” and answer the questions – Who?, What?, When?,Where?, and Why? • You can use a graphic organizer, like a story map (here’s another story map), a time-order chart, or a personal narrative planner.

8. Make You Story Come Alive • Describe what you remember about your favorite Thanksgiving: • What did you see, hear, feel, smell, taste? • Compare it: • What was it like? • What was it different from? • Tell why it is your favorite Thanksgiving: • What makes this Thanksgiving so special? • Tell your story in the correct sequence – or time order (the order in which things actually happened). You may use words like first, then, next, and finally.

9. The Beginning • The beginning is your opening paragraph, or introduction. The first thing you need to do is make your reader interested in reading the rest of your story. You can do this by using a “hook” – for example: • Ask the reader a question • Have you ever…? • Would you…? • Can you…? • Use a catchy phrase or quote • Captain John Smith said, “He who does not work, will not eat” and my mother says the same thing every Thanksgiving. • Create a tongue twister • Succulent, scrumptious, and satisfying would describe my Thanksgiving dinner. • Begin with an interesting fact about your subject • The first Thanksgiving may have been in 1621, but the best Thanksgiving was definitely in 2002, the year my family started our crazy Thanksgiving tradition. • Make an exclamatory statement • Last year we had the greatest Thanksgiving ever!

10. The Topic Sentence • Your “hook” can combine with your topic sentence in your introduction or can be just before your topic sentence. The topic sentence tells the reader what the paragraph is about. Each paragraph in an essay should have a topic sentence. • A good topic sentence names the subject and gives the focus or main point. • Formula: An interesting subject + a specific focus or main point = a good topic sentence. For example: • Trees (an interesting subject) may be the most important form of plant life on earth. (a specific focus)

11. The Middle • The body, or middle, provides support, details, and examples. • Your story should be organized according to time (first, next, then, finally) • Use specific details – examples: • Without details: • My cousin is nice. • With details: • My cousin Lucy loves to write friendly notes to her classmates. • Use colorful adjectives – examples: • Not-so-good adjective use: • My mom made some good spaghetti sauce. • Colorful adjective use: • My mom made some delicious, spicy spaghetti sauce. Better! Better!

12. A Word on Time Order • It is easy to follow ideas in a story when the facts are explained in the order in which they happened. Here is a very brief example of a story about building a tree house told in time order: First we used a rope to raise the wood up into the tree. Next, our parents helped us make a frame for the floor. We nailed boards to the frame. Then the walls and roof went up. Finally, to celebrate, we had a picnic in our new tree house!

13. The Ending • The ending, or conclusion, wraps up or sums up your thoughts and ideas – your main points. • For example, the essay we read about the mother who remembers Thanksgiving then and now has an the following conclusion: That's a Thanksgiving memory not too many people have. Now we make it a point to watch the parade together each and every Thanksgiving because we've been there, done that.

14. Why Write Your Story? • Many people write stories about their lives. These are called autobiographies, or memoirs. • Writing stories about your life is something everyone should do! • If you write your story well, it may become a treasured family heirloom. • These stories can be like home movies in print form! • So…let’s get started!!! Backgrounds by PoweredTemplates.com