There is something so special about memories.
A favorite family vacation. Baking cookies with Grandma. A funny day at school. A birthday celebration. Playing with a best friend. Even an ordinary afternoon can become something a child remembers for years.
That makes memories such a meaningful topic for young learners—and a wonderful way to bring together literacy, comprehension, speaking and listening, family traditions, and personal writing.
That was my goal when updating my Memory Jars resource.
Rather than simply reading a sweet story and completing a few activities afterward, I wanted children to really think about:
What is a memory?
Why are memories special?
How can we save and share them?
How do traditions help us make memories?
So I organized the learning around two guided literacy lessons:
Day 1 — Memories & Story Retelling
Day 2 — Memories, Traditions & Personal Connections
Teachers can use the lessons on two consecutive days or choose the activities that work best for their K–2 learners.
Day 1: Begin with the Children’s Own Memories
Before opening the book, begin with something children already have—memories of their own!
The Circle, Color, Write & Draw opener invites students to think about special experiences with their families.
Children consider things that can become special memories, how memories can make us feel, what helps us remember special times, and whether they would rather look at family photos or listen to someone tell a family story. They also write about something their family enjoys doing together.
For Kindergarten, this doesn’t have to be an independent activity at all.
Read the questions aloud, talk about the pictures together, and let children share their ideas with partners.
Right away, you’re building background knowledge, oral language, personal connections, and vocabulary.
🫙 But What Exactly IS a Memory?
Before asking children to talk or write about memories, I think it’s important to make sure they understand the concept.
The What Is a Memory? anchor chart introduces a simple K–2 definition:
A memory is something we remember from the past.
From there, children discover that memories can be made with family, at school, with friends, on special days, on vacations, and while doing activities they enjoy.
They also explore the feelings connected to memories and different ways we can save and share them—through pictures, stories, journals, keepsakes, memory jars, and drawings.
I love the opportunity this creates for conversation.
Ask:
Can an ordinary day become a special memory?
Do all memories make us feel the same way?
What is something you hope you never forget?
Suddenly, memory becomes much more than another vocabulary word.
📚 Bring in the Read-Aloud
Now students are ready for the suggested read-aloud, Memory Jars by Vera Brosgol.
Before reading, spend a little time looking closely at the cover.
What do students notice?
Why are there so many jars?
What might someone put inside a memory jar?
Why might the book be called Memory Jars?
Introduce important vocabulary students may encounter and then enjoy the story!
You don’t need to stop on every page and turn the read-aloud into a quiz. Instead, encourage children to listen for important events and details they will need when they retell the story afterward.
🧠 Teach Retelling with Somebody–Wanted–But–So–Then
After reading, move into one of the main literacy focuses of the lesson:
Somebody • Wanted • But • So • Then
For young readers, this provides a simple structure for deciding which story events are most important.
Ask:
Somebody — Who is the story mostly about?
Wanted — What did the character want?
But — What happened?
So — What did the character do?
Then — How did the story end?
Rather than expecting children to complete a retell independently right away, work through the thinking together first.
The resource includes a picture-supported Story Recall activity as well as a more open-ended Story Retell organizer, giving teachers choices for different learners.
Kindergarten students might draw and orally retell.
First graders may draw and add words or sentences.
Second graders can provide a more detailed written retelling.
Same comprehension skill—different levels of support!
💛 Day 2: Connect Memories to Family Traditions
Day 2 takes the learning in a slightly different direction.
Begin with the Good Morning activity, where children correct a sentence and think about something their family celebrates each year.
At the bottom of the page is an important little sentence:
This is called a tradition.
And that’s the perfect bridge into the day’s learning.
🎂 What Is a Family Tradition?
For K–2, keep the definition simple:
A family tradition is something a family does again and again.
Maybe a family takes a picture on the first day of school every year.
Maybe they choose a special birthday dinner.
Perhaps they carve pumpkins every Halloween, visit the same cottage each summer, bake a special recipe, or celebrate a holiday in a particular way.
Students can examine different examples and decide which activities could be family traditions and which are simply one-time events.
And then comes the connection I especially want children to understand:
Traditions help us make memories!
Something a family does year after year can become part of the memories children carry with them.
That opens the door to some wonderful speaking and listening:
What does your family do again and again?
What memories have you made because of that tradition?
Why do you think families continue traditions?
🫙 Now It’s Time to Fill Our OWN Memory Jars!
After spending two days talking about Freda’s memories, family traditions, and ways people remember special experiences, children are ready to think about the memories they would like to save.
The resource includes several My Memory Jar options so teachers can differentiate without changing the learning goal.
Children might simply draw a special memory, draw or write something to place inside a jar, complete “I remember when…”, or fill several jars with memories they want to keep.
I especially like asking:
If you could save ONE memory in a jar forever, what would you choose?
There are usually some pretty wonderful answers!
✏️ Turn a Memory into Personal Narrative Writing
For older or more independent learners, the memory work can naturally grow into writing.
The A Fun Memory organizer helps children plan a personal piece by thinking about:
What happened?
What are two things you did?
What was the best part?
Students begin with “I remember when…” and then use their ideas to create a finished piece on one of the differentiated writing pages.
Now the read-aloud has become an authentic springboard for personal narrative writing.
📖 Add Informational Reading with a Memories Mini-Reader
The learning doesn’t have to stop with the read-aloud.
The included Memories mini-reader reinforces the idea that memories are things we remember from the past and gives children opportunities to think about different kinds of memories.
Children explore memories made:
with family • with friends • at school • doing things they love • on vacation
Use the reader during guided reading, small groups, partner reading, or independent literacy time.
For younger children, read it together.
For first- and second-graders, encourage students to make connections as they read:
“This reminds me of…”
That’s exactly the kind of thinking we want young readers to begin doing naturally.
🔤 Don’t Forget the Word Work!
There are plenty of activities in this resource, but that doesn’t mean they all need to be completed during the two main lessons.
Vocabulary, ABC order, syllables, word search, and Making Words activities can easily move into literacy centers, morning work, small groups, or another part of your week.
The resource includes vocabulary connected to both the story and the larger concepts of memories and traditions, including words such as memory, jar, blueberries, jam, gran, grandpa, tradition, family, together, and share.
Choose what your students need and leave the rest for another time!
❤️ End by Returning to the Big Idea
At the end of the second lesson, the Memory Jars Exit Ticket brings students right back to the essential understanding:
A memory is something we remember from the past.
Then children finish one final thought:
One memory I want to remember is…
It’s a simple ending, but I think it’s an important one.
Because after all the reading, retelling, vocabulary, traditions, drawing, and writing, children leave the lesson understanding something bigger:
Memories are special because they help us hold onto the people, places, and moments we care about.
And that’s what makes Memory Jars such a wonderful starting point for meaningful K–2 literacy learning.
Read • Remember • Retell • Make Memories! ❤️
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