Not Quite What I Was Blogging

Mrs. Nixon’s Third-Graders’ Six-Word Storybook

Sunday, August 3rd, 2008

By Larry Smith

Since we launched the six-word memoir challenge on SMITH in late 2006 and then published a book of our favorites, we’ve seen amazing things happen that, literally, were not quite what we were planning. From a reverend in North Carolina who preached six-word prayers to a midwestern book blogger who created a six-word memoir “meme” that still races across hundreds of thousands of personal blogs, six-word memoirs have taken on a life beyond our wildest expectations.

But nothing has been as inspiring as the stories of six-word memoirs being taught in classrooms around the world. And it’s one thing to get an email from a high school teacher in Ohio; it’s another to head to school yourself. This spring, my nephews invited me to come speak to a couple of their classes. I spent the day back in my South Jersey hometown, walking the same halls from three decades ago, and talking to a shockingly attentive bunch of kids about why storytelling is awesome. I was reminded that teaching is really tough—and just why people do it. I saw that six graders are intense and intelligent little beasts, and that third graders are simply brilliant (”Always in trouble, not really troubled”—and this from an eight-year-old boy on the spot). Click below for a book that emerged from my nephew Noah’s classroom. There’s nothing I cherish more in this wonderful world of six.

23 responses

  1. hazel says:

    Thanks for sharing those 3rd grade 6 word memoirs. They are terrific.

  2. param3d1c says:

    Beautiful!

  3. Treasures By Brenda says:

    This is fantastic! I’m going to add the information about your Grade Three book to the page I have written about the book http://www.squidoo.com/yourlifesentenceinsixwords.

    Brenda

  4. Mrs. Nixon’s Third-Graders’ Six-Word Storybook | Not Quite What I Was Blogging says:

    [...] You can also see it full-sized here. [...]

  5. Mrs C says:

    Our grade 5/6 really enjoyed this book - we were impressed with some of the language used by grade 3 kids.
    We were wondering though, how did you make the electronic book? Is it an online site?

  6. - says:

    Really love the electronic book!!

  7. Jody Collins says:

    Amazing……….! I’m an ESL teacher assistant in Junior High. What a BRILLIANT idea…brought tears to my eyes.
    I will pass this on.

    Jody Collins
    Seattle WA

  8. Lanetta Lyles says:

    This is the sight that I want to go to in the lab Friday

  9. When I Grow Up - The Blog » Blog Archive » Your Life Sentence: The Six-Word Memoir says:

    [...] ones that come from Mrs. Nixon’s Third Graders are also hilarious/awesome/super wise beyond their [...]

  10. nicole556784 says:

    Nice outfit, nice jewelry, great dance!
    Nicole Langevin :]

  11. nicole556784 says:

    Nice outfit, nice jewelry, great dance

  12. “Despair is a funny, beautiful thing” — Six-Word Memoirs from the Amazing Kids at Writopia | Not Quite What I Was Blogging says:

    [...] the world, students, teachers, churches, and nonprofits organizations with names like the Hypoparathyroidism [...]

  13. “Fat man eats pie then farts”—Six-Words in Hospitals | Not Quite What I Was Blogging says:

    [...] Six-Word Memoirs takes on a life bigger than Hemingway or SMITH Magazine could have imagined. From classrooms to funerals, sports sites to spinning classes, theater groups and churches across the land, [...]

  14. » “Despair is a funny, beautiful thing” — Six-Word Memoirs from the Amazing Kids at Writopia » SMITHTeens says:

    [...] the world, students, teachers, churches, and organizations with names like the Hypoparathyroidism Association (devoted [...]

  15. 6 words memoirs | Robert’s Blog says:

    [...] is a website with some more 6 words [...]

  16. “Urban Hippie Loves Sunshine and Rain”—Six Words in My Old High School | Not Quite What I Was Blogging says:

    [...] three classes of sixth graders and Mrs. Nixon’s third graders, which created this amazing six-word memoir book of their own, I was asked to talk to students at my high school in Moorestown, NJ. It’s [...]

  17. » “Urban Hippie Loves Sunshine and Rain”—Six Words at My High School » SMITHTeens says:

    [...] three classes of sixth graders and Mrs. Nixon’s third graders, which created this amazing six-word memoir book of their own, I was asked to talk to students at my high school in Moorestown, NJ. It’s [...]

  18. Carol Smith says:

    Dear Lar,

    I love this story!

    Love, Mom

  19. noah michaud says:

    thanks for putting it on the website

  20. seth says:

    Loved what I could read, but can’t read book properly.

    I’m a teacher of the children of incarcerated parents. I’d love to show them this book and do one like it. Trouble is, I can’t display it on my machine (mac 10.4 with safari or firefox). Any chance I could get my hands on a pdf version.

  21. emily says:

    I’m inspired! Thank you!

  22. njksg says:

    hi, bye don’t to cry tell your mother don’t to die

  23. njksg says:

    all fun

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