I just noticed a couple of links referring to the book Not Quite What I Was Planning: Six-Word Memoirs by Writers Famous and Obscure. “Everyone has a story. Can you tell yours in six words?”
Here’s the book preview from Vimeo:
Six-Word Memoir book preview from SMITHmag on Vimeo.
NPR also has set up a related gallery of images.
Great idea. I am not sure how original it is, but I would love to see what students could produce related to their own young lives or referring to other individuals (famous others, or family & friends). This could be a wonderful exercise.
We often have student summarized an article or a reading assignment in a 25 word abstract. My use “the, a, and” as many times as they wish. Start individually and then have them work in small groups. Eventually the class is able to craft a concise and memorable summary of the reading.
Did you see this from an English teacher at my school?
http://jclarkevans.blogspot.com/2008/02/six-words.html