US Common Core ELA
— A woman falls through collapsing stairs, her body fragmenting into surreal objects—banjo, Picasso painting, brooms—while she prays not to be seen or painted.
— A car journey through an Indiana wind farm becomes a meditation on movement, shadows, and the hypnotic rhythm of spinning turbines.
— A poem contrasts natural elements with human infrastructure, calling for a shift in how we see and treat the earth's beauty.
— A Jewish girl flees Vienna after Kristallnacht, separated from her family and sent alone to Switzerland while her deported brother's fate remains unknown.
— A child studies their reflection in a mirror, cataloging physical features and noticing how the image mimics every movement and emotion.
— A stone travels through the world, shrinking from road to boot to child's hand, until it becomes a skipping stone dancing across water.
— A lament for lost beauty — stars replaced by planes, fish by empty oceans, trees by barren ground — asking where the world's wonder has gone.
— Through the Korean board game alkkagi, three generations pass down wisdom about patience, timing, and seizing opportunities in both games and life.
— A rhythmic poem follows ogres through their day of stomping and growling until darkness brings quiet dreams of tomorrow.
— A zoo visitor observes how elephant shrews, overshadowed by elephants, still find their way into visitors' memories and diaries despite their smallness.