Write a Six-Word Memoir

Last winter, my daughter, one of her friends and I wrote six-word memoirs to sum up our days. This exercise was based on the very popular book called “Not Quite What I Was Planning: Six-Word Memoirs by Writers Famous and Obscure.”

I found it a challenging and interesting way to review my day. We shared news about a sister’s engagement, acceptance at graduate school and other big and small events.

I’ve since used Six-Word Memoirs to help groups sum up their discussions as I was facilitating character education programs for the Institute for Character Development. I find that it helps people really focus on the central idea, and saves giving lengthy reports on discussions.

These free Teaching Guides are fun too. Check out Assignment Redux. I hope you’ll try some of the ideas from our colleagues at the University of Iowa. They include–

  • Assignments
  • Icebreakers
  • Reflections
  • Collaborative writing

And here’s a place to post your own six-word memoir.

Discussion Topics

Okay, I put it out there–What are some good discussion topics for middle school girls? Here is the first response I got on Facebook–
–music, clothes, dance, friendship and who’s cute-circa 1970’s
–music, clothes, dance, friendship and who’s cute -using cellphones, social networking, text, -circa 2009

Here are some more–

  • Media portrayal of girls/women
  • Cliques
  • Movies
  • Books
  • School
  • TV shows
  • Pets
  • Scars
  • Why you have your name
  • Grooming, cleanliness and makeup
  • How to pick out a good fitting bra and dressing for your body type