Lesson on How to Outline, Plan & Write a Memoir

Creating a memoir outline is different than outlining for an essay or research paper. Teachers should not expect traditional outlines from students, but guide them in creating an outline appropriate for a memoir. Discuss with students how a memoir’s beginning should grab the reader’s attention. The middle of a memoir shares important actions and details about the experience. While the end, comes after the main action and needs to show what was learned.

• Create an outline for this period of time in your life. Encourage students to outline the events, details and emotions of their life at the time the memoir takes place.
• Outline the memoir in three major parts: beginning, middle and end. Divide the action into three parts and outline for events, details and emotions in each part.
• Customize a blank outline for students to fill-in. This enables students to know exactly what the teacher requires for an outline. Plus, students have an example for future use.

The goal of planning a memoir is the same as outlining, helping students prepare what to write. Planning a memoir is a less traditional method, but a more creative approach to preparing a memoir. Model these techniques for students with an event from your own life. Here are a few ideas for planning a memoir:

• Divide a page into six boxes. On the left side, students write the beginning, middle and end of their memoir in a few sentences to use as a reference. Students share their memoir with a partner, using as many details and as much information as possible. On the right side, the partner asks at least three questions for each section about what else they want to know. These are things the writer can think about and further develop as they begin to write.
• Create a three box planner. Draw three boxes in the middle of the page. In the middle box, draw the most important event of the story. In the first box, draw what happened immediately before the most important event. In the last box, draw what happened immediately after the most important event. Write a one sentence caption under each box. Draw a box outlining the page. On each side of the box, students write key aspects of the memoir such as the setting, emotions felt, important people or key dialogue. These can be adjusted as needed to focus on a specific topic.
• Prepare a graphic organizer with the characteristics of a memoir. Students can write details and information about each box, determining how they will fit into their memoir.