Mrs. Nixon’s Third-Graders’ Six-Word Storybook
Sunday, August 3rd, 2008
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.
Thanks for sharing those 3rd grade 6 word memoirs. They are terrific.
Beautiful!
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
[...] You can also see it full-sized here. [...]
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?
Really love the electronic book!!
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
This is the sight that I want to go to in the lab Friday
[...] ones that come from Mrs. Nixon’s Third Graders are also hilarious/awesome/super wise beyond their [...]
Nice outfit, nice jewelry, great dance!
Nicole Langevin :]
Nice outfit, nice jewelry, great dance
[...] the world, students, teachers, churches, and nonprofits organizations with names like the Hypoparathyroidism [...]
[...] 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, [...]
[...] the world, students, teachers, churches, and organizations with names like the Hypoparathyroidism Association (devoted [...]
[...] is a website with some more 6 words [...]
[...] 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 [...]
[...] 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 [...]
Dear Lar,
I love this story!
Love, Mom
thanks for putting it on the website
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.
I’m inspired! Thank you!
hi, bye don’t to cry tell your mother don’t to die
all fun
I’d really like to read this, but I can’t get the book to work. I can see the front and back, but I can’t turn pages.
pages don’t turn, firefox chrome or IE
Found the words fun, funny, surprising!
Point the mouse/arrow on the right, lower corner of the book. The corner “lifts up”. Drag the mouse/arrow left to turn pages….
Enjoy!
[...] especially like the idea that teachers are using this experiment as a writing and discussion project for their students: “I’m [...]
[...] http://www.smithmag.net/sixwordbook/sixword-storybook/ [...]
to open the third grade book…just left click the upper right corner to open the book and turn the pages.
[...] amazing, as talking the third graders about storytelling. The class later sent me their own book of Six-Word Memoirs, Not Quite What We Were Planning: Six-Word Memoirs by Mrs. Nixon’s Class, which I digitized and posted on SMITH. It’s the most amazing document I have from the SMITH [...]
[...] of thousands of people have shared their own short life story at smithmag.net, as well as in classrooms, churches, and at live Six-Word “slams” across the world. The Six-Word Memoir exemplifies the [...]
What program did you use to create this storybook? We are hoping to create something similar with our students. Thanks!
This was a really cool idea, I liked the book so much.
I’ll immediately take hold of your rss feed as I can not find your e-mail subscription link or newsletter service. Do you’ve any?
Kindly allow me recognize so that I may subscribe.
Thanks.
I have been dwelling in Pattaya for 3 months currently.
It is really tremendous, now have a Siamese special lady and have just purchased a sizable home, lifestyle is terrific!
[...] Six Words seems to have taken on a life of it’s own. Google it and you will find all sorts of examples-some very suitable for school and some not so much. Jonathon Olson uses it actively in his classroom. His older students must apply it to various forms of literature and continues questions the Six Word assignment. He continues to discuss how famous philosophers could summarize their findings in six words. Mrs. Nixon tried this with her Third Grade student. Scroll down the page to find an example of the student’s work. [...]