The Testing

Use this activity to engage all types of learners, while requiring that they refer to and incorporate details from the text over the course of the activity.

“Cia’s Memory Box”

In this activity, students will develop a piece of writing from Cia’s perspective and represent a key memory for Cia with at least one artifact.

In The Testing, memories are key. They offer insights. They direct actions. Then, they are stolen. Cia is not allowed to have a journal with her to preserve her memories, so you will choose a key moment in Cia’s experience and preserve that memory for her.

• Write a journal or letter home in Cia’s voice about what happened in the experience you have chosen. Be sure to include her feelings and thoughts about what happened around her.
• Include at least one additional artifact not included in the text that connects to Cia’s memory: an item, a song, a visual, etc. Compose a journal entry that explains the connection and significance of this artifact and choose a way to represent this artifact physically.

Prepare your comments and present them to your fellow readers. Discuss in small groups: How do the various student-created memories compare? What different “voices” for Cia did this project generate? Of the memories preserved, which ones are perhaps the most important?