Your Life At-A-Glance: Connecting Personal Milestones to Historical Moments (One of My Favorite Writing Assignments for All Ages)
What if the timeline of your life could tell a bigger story—one that connects your personal milestones with the history unfolding around you? In this reflective and analytical writing prompt, Your Life At-A-Glance (Moments from History), students begin by mapping out five significant life events. Then, they explore how these moments overlap with world, national, cultural, and local events. The goal? To select one historically significant moment that holds an argument or debate, and craft a compelling argumentative paragraph through the lens of their own experience. This activity not only builds historical thinking and writing skills, but it also helps students see their lives as part of a broader narrative—where their voice and story matter in the context of history.
Project Inspiration
This project is adapted from Story Matters by Liz Prather, a powerful resource that invites students to blend narrative, argument, and information into meaningful writing. One of the most compelling assignments from her book asks students to consider their own lives alongside major historical events—an exercise that naturally fosters both relevance and critical thinking. I was drawn to this assignment because it opens the door for interdisciplinary connections and project-based learning, allowing students to see how their personal stories are part of something much bigger. This makes it perfect for upper elementary through college-level classrooms. Liz provides a step-by-step guide for implementing the assignment, and below, I share examples of how I’ve used it in professional development workshops and within my writing models for students.
Story Matters: Teaching Teens to Use the Tools of Narrative to Argue and Inform
When we read a nonfiction text, what is the difference between one that keeps us interested and one that merely informs? Especially when the topic may be a bit, well, dry? The difference is narrative. The writer who threads a story throughout her text – using the tools of human connection, of narrative – is the writer who brings information to life. The argument she makes is compelling and real, because we care about the story within her story. This writer understands the power of narrative.
In Story Matters, Liz Prather provides activities, lessons, exercises, mentor texts, and student samples to help teens learn to seamlessly weave narrative into their nonfiction writing. She provides concrete ideas for using the tools and techniques of narrative, including:
• finding stories within any topic
• using characters
• creating tension
• exploring structure
• selecting details
• crafting words and sentences.
Give Liz’s ideas a try and watch your students’ writing rise to new levels. Because story matters.
Assignment Directions
Students begin by brainstorming at least five significant personal life events—moments that shaped them or stood out. Then, they create a table that organizes these events by year, alongside world events, national news, cultural shifts, and local happenings from the same time periods. Once the table is complete, students choose one event that overlaps with a larger historical debate or argument. Their task is to write an argumentative paragraph analyzing that event, using the claim-evidence-reason format. The key is tying their personal lens to the historical context, blending narrative and argument into one powerful paragraph.
Slides from Teacher Professional Development
When I introduced this project during a professional development session, I used a slide deck to guide teachers through the lesson step-by-step. We explored how to help students brainstorm effectively, organize timelines, and develop strong argumentative writing from historical perspectives. The slides also included sample tables, writing scaffolds, and classroom discussion prompts. Teachers were excited by how adaptable the project is—it can align with ELA, history, or even science/social issues depending on the context.
Teacher as Writer Example
Participating alongside students is one of my favorite ways to introduce this assignment. I always provide a teacher example throughout all of the writing process steps because it demonstrates buy-in and creates an opportunity for connection. In my example below, I have linked three different life events: Moving into a fire station as a child, marrying my husband, and the birth of my daughter. I always mention during this step of the writing process that teachers may want to spend some time defining what “counts” as a world event, national event, cultural event, and local event. I also recommend using a brainstorming prompt like a life map or a heart map to get started. In my paragraph example, I chose a personal event that overlapped with a major cultural moment. I walked students through my brainstorming process, how I connected that moment to a national issue, and how I developed a claim supported by evidence and reasoning. Modeling the writing process in real time helps students feel more confident and reminds them that all writers revise, rethink, and make connections along the way.
Read More >> Unlocking Creativity: Using Heart Maps for Generative Writing in Secondary Classrooms
Grab the Student Template
To make it easier for students to dive into this assignment, I created a printable and digital template that walks them through the steps. The template includes space to brainstorm personal events, a fillable table to compare events across different contexts, and a structured outline for the argumentative paragraph. You can grab the free template to use in your own classroom. It’s flexible enough to be used in a writing workshop or as a cross-curricular project.
A Note on Grading
You are more than welcome to make a copy of my rubric here. This project works best when the focus is on growth and reflection rather than perfection. I use color-coded highlighting as part of the revision and feedback process, asking students to mark their claim, evidence, and reasoning. This not only gives them a visual cue of how their paragraph is structured, but also helps them take ownership of their work. Many students notice gaps—like a missing elaboration or a weak argument—and are eager to revise. I assess based on clarity of the argument, use of historical context, and thoughtful personal reflection, with an emphasis on the writing process itself.
