Slice of Life: remembering my great-grandmother

(This is part of the Slice of Life project)

Next week, in our final lessons around paragraph writing, my students are going to be creating short digital stories around narrative paragraph writing. Their aim is to find a physical object, and write about the strong memories attached with that object. It could be a souvenir from a vacation, something handed down from a family member, a trophy or medal from a competition, etc.

Yesterday, I began by reading Wilfred Gordon McDonald Partidge by Mem Fox, a wonderful picture book about a little child who helps an eldery friend “find” her memories by giving her a series of objects. OK, the book is for younger kids, but mine were quiet and interested and attentive as I read this one aloud to them, and talked about our own relatives who have lost their memories over time.

This led to me sharing my own narrative paragraph story about a tea cup that used to be my great-grandmother’s. It reminds me still of her, many years later.  This was first a podcast from last year, but I merged that old audio with some pictures. My students loved it and I hope it moves them to create their own wonderful narratives.

Next week, we move into Photostory for creation. This week, they find their objects, and their memories.

Here is my story:

Peace (in memories),
Kevin

6 Comments
  1. Perfect timing Kevin! I can’t wait to share this with my DS Dover team. I remember beginning my Newburgh project with family objects, and some kids used them to start their pieces, but I like the object as the focus.
    Will you post your student DS pieces here as well?
    Bonnie

  2. Thanks for sharing this. We all have memories like this and I can see so many possibilities here. What if someone photographed and recorded narratives for someone’s b’day or for a relative far away. You could use objects, pieces of music, a favorite or memorable spot you shared… How about a class story done this way sharing memories of their years in the school. (Talk about a tear jerker.)

  3. I love “Wilfred Gordon…” It is a great book and I use it when I teach memoir. Thank you for posting this. I am trying to figure out what digital storytelling is, exactly. You and Bonnie both talk about, but I don’t know anyone else who is doing it.

  4. What a treasured memory. Obviously you had a special connection with your grandmother.
    I hope I can figure out to load a video like that on my page soon. So far I can just type.

  5. Beautiful use of voice-over and photos, Kevin. And what a cute Irish boy you were…and still are, of course!
    ~Tina

Leave a Reply to Kimberly Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *