Ninth Grade English Creates and Shares Graphic Memoirs

After studying graphic novels and reading I Was Their American Dream by Malaka Gharib, Grade 9 English classes, taught by Katie Stutz and Clare MacKenzie, created their own mini-graphic memoirs. The graphic memoirs, made entirely by hand, focused on identity – passions, familial relationships, growth, immigration within families, or the influence of media or pop culture on the student’s identity. 

The goal of the project was to use concepts learned throughout the semester to properly craft a storyboard that suited the story the student was telling. Their style was to be intentional in communicating the senses and emotions of the characters and occurrences in the story. Following the creation of the memoirs, the two classes joined together for a project-sharing period to review and reflect on each other’s work. In a round-robin style, students circulated to read through the memoirs and then craft their own reflections on the work and the story told.