Deborah Rhem Presentation, Memoir Writing," at the Microsoft Flagship Store
Reading and writing teacher at PS 108 in the Bronx, Deborah Rhem (standing second from left) taught students through the fifth grade how to keep a writing journal. Her aim was to teach the children how to keep a writing notebook starting with memoir writing as their first genre. Some of the topics Ms, Rhem covered were: Key Elements of a Good Task, Qualities of Good Writing, Creating Narrative Paragraph, Turning Big Ideas into Small Moments, How to Fix a Piece.
Ms. Rhem referred to three books that are memoir writing to motivate the students to write about their own lives: "The House on Mango Street" by Sandra Cisneros, "Honey, I Love and Other Poems" by Eloise Greenfield and "In the Year of the Boar and Jackie Robinson" by Bette Bao Lord. Ms. Rhem's presentation was an inspirational, formal guide for teachers to motivate children to express themselves in writing.