The Use of the Memory Kernel

The Use of the Memory Kernel

We tried out the memory kernel from the work of Gretchen Bernabei from her work inReviving the Essay and Crunchtime.  At first we referenced a book called What You Know First  by Patricia MacLaughlin and then I referenced photo with a truism.  I used a photo from Gretchen's photo driven work called Lightning in a Bottle.  The two go together.  Then I gleaned a truism from both. I wrote it on the chart paper and then thought of a memory that would go with that.  The participants did the same thing.  After I thought a memory that would go with the truism, I sketched the scene out in my mind.  Then I asked the participants 5 questions and asked them to write down just one sentence leaving space to answer and then space to flesh out the ideas.
The questions are simple:

• Where were you and what were you doing?
• What is the first thing that happened?
• What is the next thing that happened?
• What is the last thing that happened?
• At that moment, what were you thinking and feeling?

Here is my version. Please excuse the poor handwriting. I also should have used better markers. Discupleme, por favoricto.

Truism, Memory and Sketch

Sketch, 1st Thing and Next with Ideas Fleshed Out In Second View-The red print is the first sentence originally written . The green print is when the writer went back and added ideas the second time through.

Sketch, Next and Last Thing That Happened.  The red print shows the original idea from the questions-what is the next thing that happened and what was the last thing that happened. The green print shows where the author fleshed out the  moment by adding ideas. By using the different colors, the reader can track the movement of the author's mind.

This is the last question with a sketch. The writers sketch out the memory first to give themselves a place to gather and visualize that moment.  You can sketch what you see.  The last question to consider in this memory kernel is: At That Moment, what were you thinking and feeling?  The red print shows the last sentence written in the memory kernel.  The green shows how the writer then went back and added ideas. We call this fleshing out the kernel. It is not complete but has some ideas in which to play with. The writer would then read the composition outloud and revise with RADAR.  For more about RADAR revision see Kelly Gallagher's book Write Like This . He worked with Jeff Anderson breaking down the processes revision. Check other posts.  There will be more upcoming.  The writers then share their work from the foundational kernel, to the fleshing out the ideas into the revision in peer conferencing formats such as Pointing or Say Back. This comes from the work of Dr. Joyce Carroll who wrote the book Act of Teaching .