Six Word Autobiography: A (Very) Short Memoir Assignment

Educate your students on the significance of brevity with this extremely concise memoir task. Perfect as a get-to-know-you exercise or a 1-2 day substitute lesson, this activity encourages your students to express their creativity and craft while simultaneously learning crucial components of autobiographical writing and introspection. The prospect of a six-word writing assignment will pique students' interest, leading them to engage in one of the most profound and intricate exercises in introspection and word choice they will ever experience!

Assigning and assessing this lesson could not be any simpler. Start by going through the introduction sheet that includes plenty of supplemental resources and examples (optional but powerful: write your own!), then give students a class period to work through the provided response page worksheet and artistic illustration template. Then, let them work at your desired pace as they complete their autobiography and explanation paragraph. Optional but powerful: let students share their work in small groups or before the entire class once completed.

Your download will include:

• An introductory sheet for the assignment, providing project inspiration, explanation of the task, tips for planning, writing reminders, links to useful resources, examples, and task descriptions.

• TASK 1: A brainstorming activity worksheet to guide students in formulating their six-word autobiography.

• TASK 2: A response sheet where students can place their written autobiography and accompanying explanatory paragraph.

• TASK 3: A template for artistic depiction where students will display their final autobiography and associated illustrations.

An easy-to-use, scaffolded 40-point grading rubric aligns with 3 ELA Common Core Standards and 1 Arts Standard (CCRA.W.4, CCRA.L.1, CCRA.L.2, and NCCAS.CR.2).

Although this resource can be fitted for any secondary Language Arts classroom, it has been carefully designed to work best in grades 6 through 12. The included rubric is subtly but specifically tied to Common Core ELA Standards for Language (1 and 2) and Writing (4). This resource is provided as a print-ready, bookmarked, and adjustable PDF file.

This resource contains 6 Pages.