This This I Believe mini-unit is a powerful narrative writing journey that centers student voice, identity, and reflection, while still teaching essential writing skills.
 
💻 What’s Included:
✔️ Fully editable Google Slides presentation to guide each part of the unit, including essential questions that can be tailored to connect with other units
✔️ Editable Google Docs for student activities and scaffolding
✔️ A full walkthrough video of me talking you through the unit + sharing teacher tips
✔️ Activities that build toward the final essay, including:
– A name reflection warm-up
– A poetry writing task inspired by Rudy Francisco’s “Honest Poem”
– A personal values inventory
– A mentor text analysis + ranking task
– Guided brainstorming
 
Students love it because they get to write about what they believe, what shaped them, and who they are becoming. It’s short, personal, and low-stakes, which means less groaning and more buy-in. Even your more reluctant writers will surprise you.
 
This mini-unit also provides a lot of pacing flexibility. Whether you want to run this over a quick 1-week sprint or stretch it into a 3-week deep-dive, the materials are designed to be flexible. Extend, remix, or shorten as needed — everything is editable and adaptable for your classroom flow.
 
🎯 Perfect for:
– Back-to-school or end-of-year identity work
– Post-testing creative reset
– Narrative writing units
– ELA classes grades 8–12
– Teachers looking to combine writing instruction with SEL, reflection, and student empowerment