fbpx

KidsKonnect

Memoir Facts & Worksheets

A memoir is a type of narrative where the author writes about their own memories and experiences. Unlike fiction, memoirs are based on real events and are considered to be factual. While biographies and autobiographies cover a person’s entire life, memoirs focus on specific parts of a person’s life, like a certain period of time or a significant event.

Search for Worksheets

Worksheets /English Language Arts /Memoir Facts & Worksheets

Premium
Not ready to purchase a subscription? Click to download the free sample version   Download sample

A memoir is a type of narrative where the author writes about their own memories and experiences. Unlike fiction, memoirs are based on real events and are considered to be factual. While biographies and autobiographies cover a person’s entire life, memoirs focus on specific parts of a person’s life, like a certain period of time or a significant event. Memoirs are written by memoirists, and they often highlight important moments or changes in the author’s life.

See the fact file below for more information about ELA: Memoir or you can download our 22-page Memoirs worksheet pack to utilize within the classroom or home environment.

Key Facts & Information

HISTORY

  • The history of memoirs goes way back to the ancient times, around 3,000 BCE, when people wrote about their lives on clay tablets or papyrus scrolls. 
  • Famous philosophers like Plato and Aristotle shared their personal stories during this time.
  • In the Middle Ages, people started writing diaries and letters to record their experiences.
  • Earliest examples of memoirs include famous works like St. Augustine’s “Confessions” and Julius Caesar’s “Commentaries on the Gallic Wars”.
  • Augustine’s writing, even though it’s considered an autobiography, was groundbreaking because the piece got really personal about his thoughts and feelings.
  • During the Renaissance, a man named Michel de Montaigne wrote essays about his thoughts and experiences.
  • People like Geoffrey of Villehardouin and Margaret of Valois added their own stories to the mix.
  • Later, in the Enlightenment period, Jean-Jacques Rousseau wrote about his life in “Confessions.”
  • Memoirists like Louis de Rouvroy, duc de Saint-Simon, and François de La Rochefoucauld made memoirs even more interesting with better storytelling during the Age of Enlightenment.
  • Japan had its own version called the “Sarashina Nikki” during the Heian period.
  • As time went on, memoirs branched out into different types.
  • The 1800s saw memoirs about slavery, like Frederick Douglass’ “Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass,” while others were travel stories like Robert Louis Stevenson’s “Travels with a Donkey in the Cévennes.”
  • The 20th century saw a lot of memoirs about wars, like Robert Graves’ “Goodbye to All That” about World War I, and Anne Frank’s diary from World War II.
  • These books gave firsthand accounts of what it was like to be in those conflicts.
  • Some authors, like Ernest Hemingway, mixed real events with fiction in books like “A Moveable Feast.”
  • People also started writing memoirs about their own lives to keep a record of their personal stories.
  • They share their stories on blogs, social media, and through self-publishing.
  • Spiritual memoirs, like Anne Lamott’s “Traveling Mercies” and Elizabeth Gilbert’s “Eat Pray Love,” became popular.
  • More books were published in that style, which were often called “schtick lit”, such as Gretchen Rubin’s “The Happiness Project” and Julie Powell’s “Julie & Julia: My Year of Cooking Dangerously.”
  • Bestselling memoirs like “Becoming” by Michelle Obama show that personal stories are still important today.
  • At one point, there was a group called the Association of Personal Historians that helped people write their life stories.
  • However, by 2017, this group stopped, showing how things were changing in how memoirs were made and shared in the digital age.

TYPES

  • Most memoirs fit into a few big groups, but they can also overlap.
  • An autobiographical memoir is a memoir that tells the story of someone’s whole life, from when they were young until now.
    • It talks about their experiences, challenges, and what they’ve learned as they grew up.
  • In a thematic memoir, the author focuses on one specific topic, like overcoming difficulties or nuances about their culture.
  • A travel memoir is all about someone’s adventures and trips to different places.
    • They talk about what they saw, who they met, and how travel changed them.
  • A historical memoir is a type of narrative where the author shares personal experiences during important historical events, like wars or movements. 
  • A confessional memoir is a type where the author talks about deep feelings, secrets, and things they might not usually tell other people, like stories about trauma and other personal crises.
  • In a spiritual memoir, the author shares personal stories about finding meaning and discovering their spirituality.
  • When a famous person writes their stories about how they became famous and their work, that book is called a celebrity memoir.
  • A medical memoir is a type of memoir that centers on a person’s experiences dealing with health issues.

KEY ELEMENTS AND STRUCTURE

  • Every memoir has an exciting personal story that grabs the attention of readers.
  • This story usually focuses on a main theme or adventure that keeps the narrative moving forward.
  • It could be about surviving a tough situation or discovering who a person is through various experiences.
  • Memoirs also talk beyond just personal stories, and delve into themes about family, love, and the meaning of life.
  • To make the memoir come alive and help readers picture the story, authors use detailed descriptions in their narrative.
  • The author, being the main character in the story, must present a compelling character arc.
  • Good memoirs show how the author changes, what they struggle with, and what they learn along the way.
  • Memoirs can be organized in different ways.
  • Some go in order from the past to the present, showing how things happened over time.
  • Others focus on themes and group memories together.

NOTABLE MEMOIRISTS AND THEIR WORKS

  • Maya Angelou talks openly about being Black in America and how that has shaped her life in her 1969 memoir “I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings” and subsequent volumes of her autobiography.
  • Anne Frank’s diary, written during her time hiding from the Nazis in Amsterdam, was published posthumously in “The Diary of a Young Girl” in 1947.
  • Nelson Mandela’s memoir “Long Walk to Freedom” (1994) tells the story of his life, including his fight against apartheid in South Africa and his long imprisonment.
  • Malala Yousafzai details her advocacy for girls’ education in Pakistan and her survival after being attacked by the Taliban in her 2013 memoir “I Am Malala: The Girl Who Stood Up for Education and Was Shot by the Taliban”.
  • Augusten Burroughs talks about mental health and finding oneself as he gets real about his chaotic upbringing in “Running with Scissors” (2002).
  • Tara Westover’s memoir “Educated” (2018) recounts her journey from a sheltered upbringing in rural Idaho to achieving a PhD from Cambridge University.
  • Frank McCourt’s memoir “Angela’s Ashes” (1996) describes his poor childhood in Ireland, with central themes such as poverty and resilience.

Memoir Worksheets

This fantastic bundle includes everything you need to know about Memoirs across 22 in-depth pages. These ready-to-use worksheets are perfect for teaching kids about Memoirs. While biographies and autobiographies cover a person’s entire life, memoirs focus on specific parts of a person’s life, like a certain period of time or a significant event. Memoirs are written by memoirists, and they often highlight important moments or changes in the author’s life.

Complete List of Included Worksheets

Below is a list of all the worksheets included in this document.

  1. Memoir Facts
  2. Correct Choice
  3. Author to Theme
  4. Cover from Scratch
  5. Define the Type
  6. Evolving through Time
  7. From Anne’s Diary
  8. Relating to Maya
  9. From Page to Screen
  10. My First Draft
  11. Behind the Book

Frequently Asked Questions

What are memoirs?

Memoirs are autobiographical accounts that narrate the experiences and reflections of a person’s life, focusing on specific events, relationships, or themes that hold personal significance. Unlike an autobiography, which typically covers a person’s entire life, memoirs tend to be more selective, emphasizing particular aspects or periods.

What makes memoirs different from other forms of autobiographical writing?

Memoirs distinguish themselves by their focus on subjective experiences and personal reflections rather than a comprehensive chronology of events. They often delve into emotional truths and personal insights, offering readers a more intimate glimpse into the author’s life and perspective.

Why do people write memoirs?

People write memoirs for various reasons, including the desire to share their unique stories, preserve their personal history for future generations, process and make sense of their experiences, and connect with readers on a deeply human level. Additionally, writing memoirs can be a therapeutic outlet for authors to explore and understand their own lives more deeply.

What are some famous examples of memoirs?

There are numerous acclaimed memoirs across different genres and cultures. Some notable examples include “The Diary of a Young Girl” by Anne Frank, “Angela’s Ashes” by Frank McCourt, “Eat, Pray, Love” by Elizabeth Gilbert, “The Glass Castle” by Jeannette Walls, and “Educated” by Tara Westover.

What should readers expect when reading a memoir?

Readers should anticipate a deeply personal narrative that offers insights into the author’s life, values, and perspectives. Memoirs often blend storytelling with introspection, inviting readers to empathize with the author’s experiences and contemplate universal themes such as resilience, identity, and human relationships. While memoirs are rooted in truth, it’s essential to recognize that they represent one person’s subjective viewpoint and interpretation of events.

Link/cite this page

If you reference any of the content on this page on your own website, please use the code below to cite this page as the original source.

Link will appear as Memoir Facts & Worksheets: https://kidskonnect.com - KidsKonnect, May 8, 2024

Use With Any Curriculum

These worksheets have been specifically designed for use with any international curriculum. You can use these worksheets as-is, or edit them using Google Slides to make them more specific to your own student ability levels and curriculum standards.

Related Resources