US Common Core ELA

Story·Pauline McAndrew, age 9 — A girl arrives at a family gathering in North Carolina, plays with cousins, collects wood for a fire, and finds home in the sensory details of the reunion.

Story·Morgan Biagioni — A girl arrives at a family gathering in North Carolina, plays with cousins, collects firewood, and finds home in the sensory details of the reunion around a bonfire.

Story·Charlie Kubica, age 11 — A Polish boy moves to Miami with his father and grandmother, facing language barriers and bullying before finding community with other immigrant students in ESL class.

Story·Alejandro Lugo Saavedra, age 13 — A boy named Gabriel dreams of his Arizona childhood, navigates Pennsylvania middle school, then learns his family must move to Florida.

Story·Allie Aguila, age 13 — A man seeking escape from anxiety tries experimental goggles that restore childlike imagination, but stays too long and encounters darkness that threatens to consume him.

Story·Marlena Rohde, age 12 — Two sisters discover magical golden seaweed that cures illness, but when a greedy friend threatens them for it, they escape to join an underwater community of glowing creatures.

Story·Benjamin Mitchell, age 13 — In a post-apocalyptic Nevada compound, Oswald attends a mandatory festival where the High Chancellor reveals the entire climate disaster was an elaborate government hoax to test survival protocols.

Personal Narrative·Marco Lu, age 11 — A young naturalist explores the remarkable adaptations of saguaro cacti after encountering them in Arizona, detailing their growth patterns, water storage, and survival strategies.

Personal Narrative·Kyle Wu, age 9 — A nine-year-old experiences his first total solar eclipse from a South Carolina balcony, mixing scientific facts with sensory details and family moments.

Personal Narrative·Taryn Morlock, age 11 — Scientists are using gene-editing to modify pig organs for human transplants, removing problematic sugars and viruses that cause rejection.