Assignment 1

(This is from the New York Times The Learning Network, Common Core Practices)

Narrative Writing

Sports: “Don’t Let Your Signed Memories Turn Into a Plot Twist”
Common Core Standards: RI3, RI4, W3, W4, RH4, WHST4, WHST10

You know the plot: the main character has a valuable signed baseball that he, or she, cherishes. And then something happens. Maybe the dog eats it, maybe a child takes it outside in the mud. But the result is always the same — a lost piece of memorabilia and a devastated collector.

Your Task: Compose a one- or two-paragraph scene in which a valuable signed baseball is destroyed. Be sure to use precise words and phrases, telling details and sensory language to convey a vivid picture of the events.

Before you do the task, you might…

• Brainstorm a list of ways that a signed baseball might be lost. Try to think of the most humorous ways it might happen.
• Make a list of descriptive words about your setting. Be sure to use precise words and sensory details.
• Find a way to describe why the baseball was so important to its owner. Why was this object cherished?