Me In This Moment is a personal narrative writing project. Over the course of six lessons, young people will tell the story of a memorable moment in their lives.
Lesson One – A timeline of memorable moments
In the first lesson, we hear from acclaimed author Jason Reynolds, who explains his thinking behind how he wrote a memorable moment in the book Ghost. Ms. Kyley then guides us in thinking about five memorable moments in our lives.
Lesson Two – making a writing plan
In this lesson Ms. Kyley guides us through making a plan for our story, using the structure the emotion starts, the emotion gets bigger, the emotion wraps up. Before doing this lesson, you should read this excerpt from Ghost by Jason Reynolds, our mentor text.
Lesson Three – using a checklist
In this lesson Ms. Kyley shows us a checklist that includes different things we can do to make our story compelling, and gets us ready to write our first draft.
Lesson Four – see what I saw, feel what I felt
In this lesson, Ms. Kyley guides us in revising our writing. We go back over our draft and to find places where we can add more description that will help the readers see what we saw, and feel what we felt.
Lesson Five – using dialogue and internal thinking
In this lesson, we continue to revise our writing, looking for places where we can add what characters were saying and thinking.
Lesson Six – How did I do? Self-assessment
In the final lesson, we read our writing, then take a look at the checklist to see how we did. We use that to put any final touches on our writing.
“Me in this Moment” is a personal narrative writing project meant to support students in telling the story of a memorable moment in their lives. Writing personal narratives, particularly now, is a vehicle for healing, processing, and making meaning of the world.
826 New Orleans can support schools, and their young writers, both synchronously (via zoom) and asynchronously (via pre-recorded lessons), as it makes the most sense for each site. This project is most appropriate for students in grades 5-12.
Young writers will produce a compelling story aligned to the following goals:
Creating a structured piece that unfolds an event in an engaging way
Including details that paint a vivid picture for the reader
Using dialogue and internal thinking to drive the story
Additional support includes:
An online writing notebook for young writers
Individualized feedback for each writer
Pre-selected mentor text aligned to the project
Narrative writing rubric for assessment
Student-facing writing checklist for self-assessment
William Carlos Williams’ poem “This Is Just to Say” is a short, accessible poem that’s well known and easily adaptable. You may have even encountered poems inspired by “This Is Just to Say” on the radio, around the web, or even on Twitter. Written as though it were a note left on a kitchen table, Williams’ poem appears to the reader like a piece of found poetry.
This Is Just to Say
I have eaten
the plums
that were in
the icebox
and which
you were probably
saving
for breakfast
Forgive me
they were delicious
so sweet
and so cold
Write your own poem and include ONE line from “This Is Just to Say” (this is called a “ghost line”). Use similar organization, structure, and style. Brainstorm some ideas by free writing about how “This Is Just to Say” makes you think, feel, and/or remember. Write without stopping, using sentences or not, about whatever comes to mind.
Then, using ideas from your free writing, use one of three options to start writing your poem:
Start with your “ghost line.”
Start with a clear image the reader can picture.
Start with a strong image.
Use the same organization and format of “This Is Just to Say.”
Here’s an example poem by Daniela:
This Is So You Know
I have not worn
the clothes
that still sit
in my closet
the dresses
I once loved
spent
good money on
I forgive
my changing body
so strong
and so bold
You can find more resources for this writing prompt on 826 Digital. Interested in using this Writing Prompt Wednesday or other writing activities in your classroom? Create a free account on 826 Digital, which provides engaging, adaptable, standards-based resources designed to captivate young writers and empower their educators.
Are you interested in becoming an inventor? Now’s your chance! This Writing Prompt Wednesday, we’re inventing miracle elixirs.
A miracle elixir is a liquid that can cure any illness or transform any object into something amazing through magic. One of the very first miracle elixirs ever invented could turn ordinary metal into gold. A miracle elixir can also be a medicine. A liquid that when you drink it, can cure any illness you may have.
What kind of problems would you like to solve? Think about the biggest problem that the world is facing and invent an imaginary elixir that would fix it. Here are some questions to get you started:
What’s the biggest problem that the world is facing?
Whose lives are affected by this problem?
What will happen if no one fixes this problem?
Why do you care about this problem?
What is the Inventor of this elixir named?
What is this elixir called?
How do you use it? Write down instructions on how to use the elixir.
Who should use the elixir?
What’s in it? Write a list of ingredients for your miracle elixir.
You can find more resources for this writing prompt on 826 Digital. Interested in using this Writing Prompt Wednesday or other writing activities in your classroom? Create a free account on 826 Digital, which provides engaging, adaptable, standards-based resources designed to captivate young writers and empower their educators.
Write a creative recipe for something! What are the “ingredients” in your life that make you you? What are the “ingredients” that make something you love amazing or special? Create your own recipe!
Once you’ve chosen a topic for your recipe, start by choosing at least six ingredients. Then use cooking verbs to write an explanatory sentence for each ingredient, which you’ll use for the “Directions” section of your recipe.
In the example poem below, cooking verbs are in bold. Use these same verbs or look up other recipes to incorporate cooking language into your recipe.
Recipe for Basketball Bliss
Ingredients:
Basketball signed by Stephen Curry
Teammates with heads that can turn 360 degrees.
Lightning-laced sneakers
Velvet springs inside that help you dunk
Basketball jerseys that smell like rotten eggs
Nose plugs for just your team
Crowd of super-fans
Half-time show with Beyoncé and Jay-Z
Directions:
For a game of pure basketball bliss, do the following steps. First, sauté a basketball signed by Stephen Curry and sprinkle in teammates with heads that turn 360 degrees. This way, your teammates will always see you’re open. Next, fold in lightning-laced sneakers. On a fast break, you’ll sprint down the court so quickly that the audience will get whiplash from watching you. Toss in velvet springs inside your sneakers. How else will you dunk even though you’re only 5’7”? Stir in basketball jerseys that smell like rotten eggs. Your opponents will never dare to get close enough you to guard you. Blend in nose plugs for your team. Sprinkle in a crowd of super-fans. They will roar like lions each time you score. Mix in a half-time show with Beyonce and Jay-Z and bake everything at 350 degrees.
Need some ideas? You could write a recipe for peace, for happiness, for a fantastic year, for the best day ever, for the perfect birthday, for the most wonderful school trip, most amazing brother, or something completely different!
You can find more resources for this writing prompt on 826 Digital. Interested in using this Writing Prompt Wednesday or other writing activities in your classroom? Create a free account on 826 Digital, which provides engaging, adaptable, standards-based resources designed to captivate young writers and empower their educators.
Begin by creating a collage using magazine pictures (National Geographic or travel magazines are a great place to start!). Once you find a photo you like, use it as the starting point for creating a new world and setting for an original character. Is your character a human? A monster? A person with super powers?
Use the questions below to round out how this setting should inspire your story:
What is this place called?
Pick a specific location that your story will take place. (Example: A submarine, a cave, ancient ruins, etc.)
Use the five senses to describe what this place is like. (Example: A rusty, miniature submarine that constantly smells of rotten eggs and is filled with framed portraits of fluffy kittens in teacups.)
What are a few details about the LARGER world this story’s setting is within? Is this submarine on Earth? Beneath Chicago? On a distant planet far, far away?
What are the rules/boundaries of this world? Do inhabitants have magical powers? Are there inherent dangers to this world?
What sort of people/creatures live in this world? What are their daily lives like?
Consider including an unexpected “rule” of this new world. Do fish turn to paper when it snows? Does everyone turn into a rainbow-crying fairy at midnight on Halloween? Does everyone use magic? All of the rules of a story can be written through the setting!
“This is the story of a lifetime, starting in the village called Dullahan Village. The village was a kingdom ruled by a king. The village was made up of brick houses, a forest, mountains, and a huge waterfall. The village was like a festival, full of decorations, pearls, crystals, and jewelry. All of the Dullahans were half-man, half-horse, with no heads. They wore decorations like rings, headbands, bracelets, and necklaces. All the jewelry gave them great powers like magic defense, magic attack, and magic strength. They were fearless.”
Interested in using this Writing Prompt Wednesday or other writing activities in your classroom? Create a free account on 826 Digital, which provides engaging, adaptable, standards-based resources designed to captivate young writers and empower their educators.
Have you ever done a bag skit? It’s a drama exercise where a team of actors is given a bag that contains a variety of unrelated objects, and they must create a short skit that makes use of all the objects in a sensible or funny way.
Write your own Grab Bag Story
Grab Bag Stories are the writing equivalent of a bag skit. Use the three objects in the prompt above (stopwatch, a loaf of bread, a globe), or choose objects from your surroundings. Use these items as a starting point and write a story that uses all of them.
Need more of a push? Here are some questions to get you thinking:
What kind of person would have all of these objects?
Are the objects close to each other in physical space, or are some of them elsewhere (like part of a memory)?
Is your story from the perspective of one of these objects?
Is the object important to the plot or narrative, or just part of a scene?
Haiku is a form of poetry, first made popular in Japan, which conveys a vivid message in only 17 syllables. Haiku are valued for their simplicity, openness, depth, and lightness. Haiku poems can describe anything but are usually simple and easy to understand.
Many haiku have a main idea that appeals strongly to one of the five senses. Traditional haiku focus on a season of the year by describing an element from nature. For example, blossoms can indicate spring, snow can evoke winter, or mosquitos can imply summertime. A haiku’s seasonal words aren’t always obvious, so sometimes the reader must consider the theme of the poem to discover the season. For example:
Clouds appear and bring
to men a chance to rest from
looking at the moon
The seasonal word in this haiku is “clouds,” indicating the rainy season.
Try writing your own haiku.
Use exactly 17 syllables
Arrange syllables in three lines of 5-7-5
Avoid similes and metaphors
Make your haiku a traditional, seasonal one by referring to a season of the year OR write a modern haiku about the last thing you ate
It can be cracked.
It can be made.
It can be told.
It can be played.
What is it?
A joke!
A Riddle is a type of poem that describes something without actually naming what it is, leaving the reader to guess. A riddle is a light-hearted type of poetry which involves the reader.
How do you write a riddle poem?
Riddles can be about anything, from riddles about animals to riddles about objects. They can rhyme or not rhyme. Have your students select a subject, and list words or phrases to describe it. Have them name the subject at the end. Easy peasy!
We are now accepting submissions for the 5th Annual Pizza Poetry Project. Consider having your students try to write a riddle poem and submit it for consideration!
Getting things done.
Their nails and eyebrows
slayed, ‘cause if you’re not
slayin’ then what you saying.
Getting new clothes
and shoes, but those
new hairdos are the best;
it’s better than the rest.
I love the mall
because I love the shopping and the clothes,
and the mall loves me.
Me and the mall,
both so happy.
—Carmen, Grade 6, ARISE Academy
An ode is a poem of praise. They often highlight “ordinary” things, things that don’t typically get praise. Last year Carmen charmed us with her Ode to the Mall, and the things that made her happy about that special place.
How do you write an ode?
Odes do not have a set structure. To help students start their odes, have them pick a subject and brainstorm:
The reasons why they praise the subject
Feelings the subject gives them
Adjectives to describe the subject
Actions the subject does
Have students circle words and phrases that stick out to them from their brainstorms to include in their poem. Ask students to try writing directly to their subject:
Oh ice cream,
You are cold and delicious
I love you on a hot day.
We are now accepting submissions for the 5th Annual Pizza Poetry Project. If you are not able to bring us to your classroom for a free workshop, consider having your students try to write an ode and submit it for consideration!
