A Summer Memory That Means Something Different Now

Let students pick the topic that fits a real memory. Use the rubric for peer feedback between the draft and the final copy.

Contrast a summer memory then and now and write 12 lines that end with a reflection from today. The directions on the page read: Read the topic. Fill in the Then box in Step 1 and the Now box in Step 2. In Step 3, write 12 lines that tell the memory as a story and end with a reflection from the present.

Yes, both. We made it for 8th grade narrative writing, and it works the same at home or at school. At home, a student can work through it alone and then go over it with you, which shows quickly what is solid and what needs another look. In class it works as independent practice, homework or a warm-up, and you can print one copy or a full set.

Topics here include a summer memory that means something different now, sharing a custom with a newcomer, planning someone else's birthday and a mistake someone helped you fix. Each sheet plans the story in boxes before students write.

An action beat is a short action written next to a line of dialogue to show who is speaking and how they feel. Personal Narrative on an Unlikely Friendship has students draft six lines with action beats.

A strong ending reflects on what the experience means from where the writer stands today. Several sheets, such as A Summer Memory That Means Something Different Now, ask for a reflection from the present.