Graphic life map

 This is a prewriting activity for personal memoir or autobiographical writing. Students brainstorm for important memories, create graphics or symbols for their most important memories, and construct a life map on tag board or construction paper, connecting drawings and captions of high and low points with a highway. 

1. Work in groups 3 to 4.
2. Brainstorm important moments, people, and places in their lives.
3. Students do quick-draw graphics for individual memories.
4. Students choose their individual memories and divide them into high points (happy memories) and low points (sad memories).
5. Choose 8 to 10 of the most important memories.
6. Arrange them in chronological order (by the years in which they occurred).
7. On a piece of tag board or colored construction paper, mark these memories – happy memories above the center of the paper and sad memories below the center of the paper.  Connect the dots with a two-lane road or highway.
8. In your groups brainstorm for more symbols for the events on your map.
9. Using markers or crayons, draw your quick draw graphic or other symbol for each event. (Example – symbol of birth could be a stork or baby, Divorce in family could be a drawing of stick people with a lightning strike down the middle.
10. Write a brief caption for each symbol so that people viewing your map will understand the event.
11. Complete map, going over drawings and words and highway until it is clear and easy to read.

13.  Or create your map on your website using a Paint Program

Student sample