US Common Core ELA

Personal Narrative·Viviana Perez — A girl says goodbye to her great-grandmother's apartment in Michigan, cataloging memories of family gatherings, walks to the lake, and the feeling of having a family home.

Poetry·Madeleine Palter — A prose poem captures the sensory landscape of a neighborhood street through wind, racing cars, crunching leaves, gossip, and flickering streetlights.

Poetry·Ian Maduff — A kinetic poem follows a car journey across the Bishop Ford bridge, past landmarks and exits, building speed toward a hidden quarry pit.

Personal Narrative·Rachel Jess Bueker — On a windy gray beach day, a girl transforms driftwood into a pirate ship, discovering sea glass and the power of imagination along the way.

Poetry·Satya Villacorta — A rock on a cliff observes the forest through a day, finding richness in stillness as the world below bustles on.

Story·Eleazar Reiner — A girl watches a mysterious violin player who controls the seasons, inherits her legacy when she dies, and years later discovers her own way to keep the music alive through...

Personal Narrative·Mia Xu — A girl who missed last year's snow savors an early morning walk with her dog through fresh snowfall, reflecting on how scarcity makes things precious.

Poetry·Bryson Mendolera — Sand becomes an eagle flying across the desert, forming mountains and ripples, until drought-stricken cacti are blessed by sudden rain.

Story·Nate Varga — A lost British soldier stumbles upon a Bedouin camp in the Arabian desert and is led to witness the rare blooming of the Queen of the Night flower, triggering memories...

Story·Translated from Urdu by Zahraa Haq, Art by Karuna Yang — A forgetful servant trying to remember the word for salt keeps adopting new phrases from people he meets, creating misunderstandings until a cobbler accidentally reminds him.