MUSEUM INDIANS

MEMOIR BY SUSAN POWER

Gateway International Montessori School
Grade 8 – English Language Arts
Ms. Nour Ali
By the end of the lesson, students should
be able to:
1. Explain the featurs of a memoir.
2. Identify figurative language.
3. Cite textual evidence.
 Memoir
◦ A memoir is a narrative form of writing in which the writer relates
a true event, incident, or experience in his or her own life.
◦ A memoir focuses on four elements:
◦ (1) the people (who was involved in the event?)
◦ (2) the setting (where and when did the story occur?)
◦ (3) the action (what exciting or important thing happened?)
◦ (4) what were your thoughts and feelings about the event?
What is figurative language?
◦ Whenever you describe something by comparing it with
something else,
you are using figurative language.
Types of Figurative Language
◦ Imagery
◦ Simile
◦ Metaphor
◦ Alliteration
◦ Personification
◦ Onomatopoeia
◦ Hyperbole
◦ Idioms
Hyperbole
◦ An exaggerated statement used to heighten effect. It is
not used to mislead the reader, but to emphasize a
point.
Example: She’s said so on several million occasions.
Imagery
◦ Language that appeals to the senses. Descriptions of
people or objects stated in terms of our senses.
• Sight
• Hearing
• Touch
• Taste
• Smell
Metaphor
◦ A figure of speech which involves an implied comparison
between two relatively unlike things using a form of be. The
comparison is not announced by like or as.
Example: The road was a ribbon wrapped through the dessert.
Personification
◦ A figure of speech which gives the qualities of a person to an
animal, an object, or an idea.
Example: “The wind yells while blowing."
The wind cannot yell. Only a living thing can yell.
Simile
◦ A figure of speech which involves a direct comparison
between two unlike things, usually with the words like
or as.
Example: The muscles on his brawny arms are strong as
iron bands.
While reading…
◦ Make sure to take notes of the important
events
◦ Character description
◦ Description of setting
◦ Use Cornell Note Taking System when
summarizing the text.
◦ Answer the questions at the end of every
section.
◦ Summarize the text in your own words.
Check your understanding
◦ Line(s) 5, how would you describe the
mother’s response? What does the response
reveal about the mother?
◦ Review lines 21–28, in which the author
describes the stories she told about her mother.
Why would she have told these stories?
◦ What does the analogy in line 30 reveal about
the author’s self-image?
◦ Line(s) 51 – 59 Find examples of the
narrator’s desire to accept an “alternate”
version of the truth.
Check your understanding
◦ Line(s) 60 – 68, Describe the mother’s
outlook on life. What text evidence
supports or refutes this?
◦ Line(s) 97 – 103, Find evidence that might
explain her reaction. Why is she so angry
when she sees the buffalo?
 HOMEWORK DUE SUNDAY 15TH OF
ASSIGNMENT NOVEMBER.
Write an informational text about a group of refugees in egypt. You can choose any
group. Make sure that you include:
Why they immigrated from their country?
How they adapted to the Egyptian culture?
What culture did they bring with them to Egypt?
How are they treated in Egypt?
What could be done in order to ease their accomodation in Egypt.