This past weekend my family celebrated the 4th of July. We started telling stories of past 4th of July memories and the stories just kept coming. It got me thinking about how important dates, those dates we mark on our calendar and celebrate year after year, are the perfect place to go when trying to think of small moment narrative ideas. Instead of just thinking about it, I tried it and sure enough … the stories were endless.
First I thought about “my dates” or the dates special across my calendar year. Some of the dates were those that many others around me also celebrate … New Years, Halloween, etc. Others were dates that might not mean anything to others but mean something to me … my birthday, the anniversary of my dad’s death, etc.
After thinking about each date, I started thinking across the years and paused when I got to a year that lead to a strong memory, a memory that I can vividly remember. This left me with a list of so many stories to share. I can’t wait to get some of them on paper. Not to mention it was pretty fun thinking about some of these dates over the years.
This would be great to do with your students at the start of the year and your model could be a great way to connect with new writers in just a few short months. Try it and let me know how it goes, Happy Writing! Happy Writing!