US Common Core ELA

Poetry·Caroline Lunt, age 12 — A child climbs to a tree house and observes the small details of nature—an ant carrying a leaf, a bird taking flight—before settling down to read.

Story·Angela Chang, age 9 — A girl watches from her backyard as a male blue jay sings to attract a mate, then observes the pair fly away together into the sky.

Story·Allison Armstrong, age 13 — Eight-year-old Suzy discovers a calico kitten at the Humane Society and works doing chores to prove she's responsible enough to adopt it.

Poetry·Ash Berger, age 12 — A mountain biker becomes one with the trail, feeling every bump and curve while nature cheers them on through forest and stream.

Story·Genevieve Anderle, age 13 — A family's annual Jersey Shore tradition of catching, killing, and cooking crabs becomes a multigenerational ritual of teasing, swimming, and feasting on homemade Italian gravy.

Story·Amanda Kneppel, age 13 — A girl reluctantly follows her friend out her bedroom window at midnight to explore a moonlit field, discovering freedom and wonder in the darkness she once feared.

Poetry·Ella Csuros, age 8 — A bilingual poem where water becomes the island where grandmother lives, with bears, ocean lullabies, and uncle's fishing boat.

Poetry·Madeline Snigaroff, age 11 — A catalog of simple sensory pleasures builds to an unexpected direct address, transforming observation into intimate connection.

Story·Schuyler Mitchell, age 12 — A farm girl secretly nurses an injured wild foal back to health, then releases him to freedom when discovery threatens.

Story·Joyce Chen, age 13 — A fourth-grader dreads wearing her new glasses to school but discovers both clear vision and unexpected acceptance from classmates when forced to put them on.