Two Book Reviews & an Activity Suggestion:
In the book, My Life in Dog Years, Gary Paulsen recounts periods of his life by which dog was present at the time. Gary has kept track of special moments in his life by realizing that there was always a dog present to share those moments with. I really like his dedication to his dog, Cookie, in which Gary believes Cookie is the only reason he is still alive today. I think Paulsen’s organization and idea development is well-written in this his story.
I have my students chose one item that is very close to them and write about memorable scenes from their life from the viewpoint of that item. The dogs in Gary’s life keep track of his life well. The students write about moments when they wore their favorite pair of jeans, or the student’s life in shoes. What would all of their shoes tell is if they were telling us a story? They students can bring in a picture of that object, although Gary had sketches of the different dog breeds he had owned. The students could put together a few longer pieces as a sequencing of their life and develop their own memoir.
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