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This resource will be used at the very beginning of the unit to introduce and review concepts of writing a personal narrative. The Gallery Walk is a way for students to move around the classroom and discuss content from diverse examples using academic language and vocabulary with their peers. Once they have finished the walk, they are submitting a reflection/exit ticket about what they noticed during the activity. The Gallery Walk posts will each have discussion sentence frames and sentence starters for all learners.

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Use a Gallery Walk format for students to get feedback on their work. Hang student products, such as drawings, visual representations, poster projects, etc. Students, individually or in groups, rotate around the room and provide feedback to the creator of the work.

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I will be including a few vignettes from this novel as examples for students to discuss what they notice in the writing during the gallery walk. This is a great resource for students to look through as an example of how they want to structure their narratives. This serves as a multicultural text as it showcases the experiences of a young chicana growing up in Chicago.

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Read 15.3k reviews from the world’s largest community for readers. Acclaimed by critics, beloved by readers of all ages, taught everywhere from inner-city …

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This resource is yet another example of a personal narrative the classroom can analyze as we look at the elements of a story and the structure of a narrative for first drafts.

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To some people - most people, perhaps - we may all look the same, speak the same language, eat the same things, and come from the same place. But let's just pretend for the duration of this essay that placing all Asian Americans into the same racial category isn't the norm.

Let's also pretend that everything else people might believe to be true about Asian Americans - that we are docile, compliant, nerdy, fragile, quiet, exotic - are also not commonly-held assumptions.

I'm Gosei, meaning my great-great-grandparents immigrated to Hawaii from Japan in the early 1900s, which is actually earlier than many white Americans can trace their stateside heritage back to. To put things in perspective, my family has been "American" for more than a century. But, to us, traditions you'd call "Japanese" were as normal as peanut butter and jelly sandwiches are to others.

Though I didn't notice it at the time, I now realize that Hawaii was a true melting pot of diverse cultures - and many people around me looked like me and had an inherent understanding of the traditions and values I grew up with. No one ever asked about my last name, or questioned whether nattō was a normal after-school snack. During my childhood, being Asian in America had nothing to do with being Asian. It just was.

Fast forward to my first week of college orientation. I had just moved to the mainland to attend college at the University of San Francisco, and I was sitting on the floor of the basketball court with a bunch of other college freshmen, engaged in an awkward icebreaker exercise.

"Oh, you're from Hawaii? Do you surf?" someone asked me.

"No, I actually have terrible upper body strength. I've probably only tried it once and was terrible at it."

"Well, do you dance hula? Live in a grass hut? Do you guys have cell service in Hawaii?"

"I used to dance when I was younger, but I've stopped. My friend has a grass hut on her watercress farm, but we have houses with electricity and running water. Just like you."

It was the first time that someone had encapsulated my entire personhood into one word: "Asian." Whether this blanket label was meant to be a conversation starter or just straight-up ignorance, it was hard to navigate through my feelings while being classified by my cultural background at such a broad level for the first time. I remember thinking to myself, "You've never been called Asian before. Not even your Asian friends have called you Asian. There's zero chill to this."

It was the first time that someone had encapsulated my entire personhood into one word: "Asian."

It might not seem like a big deal, being cast as the other and lumped in with the rest of the Asians on the planet, but I now realize it made a huge impact on how I decided to dress, talk, and act.

After repeatedly hearing things like, "Oh yeah, he has a thing for Asians, so you might have a chance," and "I don't mean it in a racist way! You know what I mean!" I started to subconsciously search for ways to hide the parts of me that made me Asian. That meant trying to be white.

Being 2,000 miles away from home without any relatives nearby, you find ways to adapt to find comfort. Being considered "different" from all the white kids, I wanted to remove from my identity all parts of me that were ethnically different. I took an interest in things I had no actual interest in (sorry, country music) to try to fit in. It sucked.

It wasn't until recently, after a handful of identity crises, that I had a serious talk with myself and allowed myself to rediscover the Asianness that I wanted to reject so I'd be considered American. After spending seven years in the Bay Area, I got the opportunity to move to New York City for work. Being thrust into a city where everyone's looking to be an individual, I had the chance to evaluate what was actually important to me, who I truly was, and who I wanted to be. Now that I was even farther away from home, I yearned for the familiar - the recipes my grandmother used to type out on index cards with her typewriter, the samurai TV shows that my grandfather used to watch, the language we rarely exchanged (but pretended like we knew, because we're too proud to admit that we can't fluently speak Japanese because it wasn't passed down to us #AmericanAssimilation).

In the almost two years that I've been here in NYC, I've started to take Japanese language classes, and to wear the clothes and accessories I used to deem "too Asian." I've even learned the basics of taiko - a wide range of Japanese percussion instruments. I'm making more efforts to connect with the Asian American community in NYC through social media, and am taking strides at work (especially during Asian Pacific American Heritage Month) to make sure our stories are heard - to let the other others know that it's time to stop accepting the wildly inaccurate stereotype that all Asians are the same.

Because when you lump us together, you're disregarding the deep, rich, and complex cultural backgrounds we individually come from. You're also lumping together all the really cool stories we have to tell (and really want to share).

So if the current me had the opportunity to speak up for the college me at orientation, I'd say something along the lines of, "I'm Japanese, I'm Asian American, I'm American, and I'm Lindsay. Next question? "

In celebration of Asian Pacific American Heritage Month this May, we're sharing stories about the rewards, challenges, and realities of straddling two identities - especially when the compatibility of the two has recently come under attack.

Follow along on social with #AcknowledgeIsPower.

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Why It Took Me 25 Years To Come To Terms With Being Asian American

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"I started to subconsciously search for ways to hide the parts of me that made me Asian. That meant trying to be white."

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Within the 10 years of my experience as a teacher, there has been an abundance of Ukrainian and Russian immigrants on our campus. This multicultural text will serve as the example for students to discuss ideas and elements of a story in a think-pair-share activity after the Gallery Walk.

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Sophia*,16, does her make up in the room she shares with her grandmother in western Ukraine. Sophia enjoys doing make- up as it helps her to calm down. Photo taken on January 16, 2023 by Olena Dudchenko / Save the Children

For our village in eastern Ukraine, the beginning was on February 17, 2022. I was having physics classes online when we first heard explosions ten kilometres away. They then began to land on nearby streets. Our teacher instructed us to rush to the shelter. When I got to the corridor, I heard a loud explosion. I only managed to sit next to the wall, close my ears, and open my mouth to avoid being shocked by the blast wave. We then dashed to the basement, closing the door only to have fragments fly across the basement, the roof, and the asphalt. I sobbed. It was a typical morning, and here we are.

The shelling continued in the days that followed. On February 21, I awoke to the most powerful explosion. Just a big bang. The birds flew, and then there was silence. It felt like the end of the world. We didn't have time to go to the basement, so my grandmother and I hid behind two walls.

Later that day, we had a session with a psychologist at the village club when we heard a loud explosion. I realized it was somewhere around my house. I remember everything in bits and pieces: how I got to my yard, how there were no windows in the summer kitchen, how a window in the house completely fell out with all the panes, how I entered my room and saw a small shrapnel piece that had pierced the window and was hanging on curtains.

A close-up photo of Sofia*, 16, standing on the stoop of the house she shares with her grandmother in Western Ukraine after fleeing her village in Eastern Ukraine due to shelling last February. Photo taken on January 16, 2023 by Olena Dudchenko / Save the Children

We then went to hide in the basement of an apartment building. Beds, a stove, and a table had been arranged there since 2014 when hostilities first started in our region. I was in the 2nd grade then. I remember how it was in our village, with tanks firing from our streets. I recall how happy we were as children sitting in the same basement when a lady brought us cooked corn. It was like a game where tanks appeared to be cool. We became accustomed to something flying over us. There was nothing we could do.

But this time I got stronger. I contacted volunteers, and we agreed that they would take me and eight other children out with the parents' permission. On February 23, we walked around Kharkiv like the happiest children, and we even went to the zoo. However, we heard explosions late at night. "C'mon, it's Kharkiv, there can't be any explosions," I reasoned at first. But then we realized there was shelling going on

From Kharkiv, we drove for nearly five days to western Ukraine to settle in a hostel. I thought I was leaving home for two weeks. I expected everything to be over in a month.

When we arrived here in March, I started to help at a humanitarian aid point by registering people. Shampoo, shower gel, and other necessities were requested. One woman in summer flip-flops was relieved to receive shoes. I realized that people had nothing. I realized I had left on time.

I begged my grandmother, who was staying at home, to leave because I was alone and worried that I wouldn't be able to handle everything mentally. She has been my main caregiver since I was five. Grandma arrived to me in western Ukraine on April 4. In mid-May, we discovered that only two walls of our house remained. And by now, there is nothing but stones. I spent my entire 16-year life there, and it was all destroyed in a matter of months.

Ruins of a school in Chernihiv, Ukraine. This is one of two completely destroyed schools after missile attacks in the city. Photo taken on January 25, 2023 by Oleksandr Khomenko / Save the Children

At the end of May, we were told that my father was gone. We didn't sleep for two days because we were crying. Then, on June 2, my father called to tell that he was fine, although injured and getting treatment in the hospital.

The region where I live now is rather safe. I was able to spend the entire summer hanging out with my new friends. I moved with my grandmother from the hostel to a house in July where we now live for free. In the autumn, I began my senior year of high school and will be taking exams to study journalism at a university. I want to get a good education.

However, I am still affected by the war. I haven't heard anything from my mom in eight months. It would be a huge relief to learn that she is alive and well.

There are also power outages, making communication difficult. One morning I saw some sad news reports from the city where my father now lives. I wanted to check on him, but there was no signal and no power. Situations like this make me sick.

There is also a sense of nostalgia. What if I didn't sit here right now and instead went for a walk in the park back home? Or else I'd be sitting in my room? We completed its renovation just before the war.

Now I live by the rule "be yourself and do what you like." If you enjoy drawing, do so. And it appears to me that it will be very useful even during this war. Children who enjoy drawing might become architects who will rebuild everything destroyed by the war.

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A Year in My Life: A Ukrainian Teenager Shares Her Story of Surviving War

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A teenager shares her story of surviving the war in Ukraine.

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This is a great video for students to watch when brainstorming ideas for their writing, specifically a first draft. Each student in the video shares ideas from their own multicultural and diverse backgrounds.

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Eight Videos With Writing Advice for Teens, From Teens

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Past winners of our student contests share their best writing moves.

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This novel is a great window and mirror text for students to interact with in a jigsaw type activity for students to discuss elements of a story because it is multicultural and brings focus to human beings who experience anxiety and spiraling thoughts.

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This is not only my number one book for this year, but one of my top five favorite books of all time. I think what I loved most about this book was that it portrayed anxiety and OCD without romanticizing them. John Green also placed more importance on the friendship featured in this novel than on the romantic interest, which I always appreciate. Recommended By Brenna M., Powells.com

All the feels. Yes, this was hard to read, and will be a hard read for anyone who has experienced even the smallest bit of anxiety or OCD. However, it's also a healing and reflective book. The story is all life, all truth, and all yearning to find meaning. John Green, thank you for sharing this part of yourself. You've done it again. Recommended By Andy A., Powells.com

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Aza Holmes never intended to pursuethe disappearance of fugitive billionaire Russell Pickett, but there's a hundred-thousand-dollar reward at stake and her Best and Most Fearless Friend, Daisy, is eager to investigate. So together, they navigate the short distance and broad divides that separate them from Pickett's son Davis.

Aza is trying. She is trying to be a good daughter, a good friend, a good student, and maybe even a good detective, while also living within the ever-tightening spiral of her own thoughts.

John Green is the award-winning, #1 bestselling author of Looking for Alaska, An Abundance of Katherines, Paper Towns, Will Grayson, Will Grayson (with David Levithan), and The Fault in Our Stars. His many accolades include the Printz Medal, a Printz Honor, and the Edgar Award. John has twice been a finalist for the LA Times Book Prize and was selected by TIME magazine as one of the 100 Most Influential People in the World. With his brother, Hank, John is one half of the Vlogbrothers and co-created the online educational series CrashCourse.

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Turtles All the Way Down by John Green available in Trade Paperback on Powells.com, also read synopsis and reviews. The critically acclaimed, instant #1 bestseller by John Green, author of The Anthropocene Reviewed...

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This resource includes diverse student narratives that can be paired with a graphic organizer when norming the checklists for a rubric as a whole class discussion. Students will work in small groups to discuss their opinions on grading before they submit their final drafts.

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The Winners of Our Personal Narrative Essay Contest (Published 2020)

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We asked students to write about a meaningful life experience. Here are the eight winning essays, as well as runners-up and honorable mentions.

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A Ted Talk from a multicultural perspective as a way for students to showcase their personal narratives through a video/visual aspect. This resource is a great way for students to visually comprehend the necessities for a personal story. Students will also be told to keep in mind that if they do choose to present their personal narrative through a video, it will be shared with the class.

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The Power of Personal Story: Ian Esquibel at TEDxABQED

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"Fish Cheeks" by Amy Tan will be used a multicultural text for students to annotate after learning the elements of a story. They will be asked to identify and justify the elements in relation to the story as a small group before a whole class discussion.

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This narrative poem by Gwendolyn Brooks is an example for students to discuss as we learn about the different ways personal narratives can be written. While this poem does not meet the length expectations, it can be a great multicultural example.

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We Real Cool by Gwendolyn Brooks | Poetry Magazine