1-Pager
Plan
By Phase By Day Calendar
Launch
Students will launch the narrative and visual storytelling project by exploring turning points, studying mentor-text craft, gathering first feedback from peers and community voices, and producing early portfolio artifacts that set up later research, drafting, revision, and symbolic design work.
Days 1 - 8
Research & Empathy
Students will gather and analyze feedback from peers, adults, and community partners to understand what makes a personal turning-point story meaningful to readers and listeners. They will practice close reading of mentor texts, conduct interviews and story circles, sort evidence into patterns, and create an empathy artifact that captures audience needs, emotions, and memorable craft moves before moving into defining a focused narrative direction.
Days 9 - 21
Define & Frame
Students will turn interview notes, story-circle evidence, and mentor-text analysis into a focused narrative design brief for a personal turning-point story. They will define audience-centered criteria for what makes a meaningful narrative, test their assumptions against Fish in a Tree and other mentor texts, frame a clear How Might We statement, and produce a first narrative direction with revision based on peer, teacher, and community feedback.
Days 22 - 34
Generate Narrative Concepts
Students will generate several possible directions for a personal narrative about a turning point, test those options against audience needs and mentor-text craft, and select one concept to carry into drafting. Across the phase, they will sketch alternative structures, tones, and symbols; gather peer and community feedback; and document why one narrative path is the strongest fit for meaning, clarity, and audience impact.
Days 35 - 47
Prototype & Test
Students will turn selected narrative concepts into low-fidelity story prototypes, test how clearly readers understand the turning point and emotional shift, and use peer, teacher, art teacher, and community-partner feedback to complete multiple documented revisions before moving into final refinement.
Days 48 - 60
Refine & Showcase
Students will refine their personal narrative and supporting visual artifacts through targeted revision, final reader validation, and stakeholder-ready documentation. They will prepare a polished narrative, a symbolic piñata, and a process vision board that show how mentor-text craft moves, feedback, and design choices shaped their work before the public exhibition phase.
Days 61 - 72
Showcase
Students will present their published personal narratives, process vision boards, and symbolic piñatas to families, peers, the art teacher, and community partners; gather and analyze audience feedback; make final audience-centered revisions to their oral and written explanations; and document how their writing, design choices, and identity work developed across the project.
Days 73 - 80