Fifth graders share memoirs with USN community

Students in Fifth Grade English Teacher Kevin Foster’s class wrapped up a lesson on storytelling and personal reflection by sharing their stories with members of the USN community.
By Ian Dinkins, Assistant Director of Marketing and Communications

Fifth graders at the University School of Nashville recently wrapped up a memoir-writing unit by sharing their personal stories with classmates, families, and members of the USN community in Gordon Multipurpose Room. The project, guided by Fifth Grade English Teacher Kevin Foster, invited students to turn moments from their own lives into written works of art.

The memoir project grew out of the larger goal of helping Middle Schoolers deepen their sense of personal identity.

Foster said that this unit served as both a creative and reflective milestone for his students.

“A huge part of the Middle School experience is the deepening of personal identity,” he said. “Storytelling is one of our great tools for understanding and articulating ourselves. Fifth graders read a work of realistic fiction in first person over the summer, and we used that as a model for writing techniques and style. This project brought together a lot of content and important themes.”

Throughout the process, students explored how to structure their narratives, incorporate vivid detail, and use literary techniques like dialogue and sentence variation to bring their memories to life.

The project helped Aaron Wilson ’33 reconnect with some of those memories. 

“I did enjoy writing a story about my life because I was really able to relive the moments I shared with my family,” Aaron said.

Choosing what to write about was also an important part of the process.

“I thought about what things have importance to me and my family,” Aaron explained. “I wrote a couple down and chose the one I think I could best depict in 3–5 pages.”

For Foster, one of the most meaningful takeaways from the project was helping students see value in their everyday experiences.

“Sometimes students feel that the only stories that matter are the big ones,” Foster said. “It was amazing for students to see how strongly their audience responded to stories about small, joyful moments in life, executed with strong technique and lots of detail.”

That realization came full circle when students presented their memoirs aloud, transforming personal reflections into performances that resonated with their listeners.

“The things we are learning in Mr. Foster’s class are how to use different types of writing and include them in our stories,” said Aaron. “For example, using different things like short, simple sentences and dialogue.”

For Aaron, the highlight came during the event, when his story brought laughter from the audience.

“Presenting in front of different families and friends was a lot of fun because my story was a little bit humorous at the end, and it was funny how everyone at the end laughed at the final statement,” he said.

Beyond the craft of writing, the memoir unit encouraged students to pause and make sense of their experiences.

“Young people have so many new and complex experiences,” Foster said. “Through reflection, students make sense of these experiences and, in time, develop a sense of agency in how to live life.”

Hearing students who are typically reserved share their stories with classmates and family brought Foster the most joy throughout the experience.

“[My favorite part was] listening to students tell their stories with confidence, especially those who had expressed nervousness about it beforehand.”

The memoir unit serves as a foundation for the writing and reading that students will continue throughout the year.

“We’ll return to narrative writing several more times and build on the skills we developed in this unit,” Foster said. “I also hope students will continue to develop a sense of the power of story, both as readers and as writers.”

Through this memoir project, these students learned not just how to write, but how to own their stories and share them with confidence.
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