"The Moment" i.e. Using a snapshot for writing

photo CC Courtesy of Ed Yourdon via Flickr

   I read an article today from the Grantland Sports Blog website (associated with ESPN) by Shea Serrano looking at his rankings of characters from an early '90's baseball movie. While the article was an interesting distraction from my normal educational duties, I couldn't help but like how Mr. Serrano introduced his article by showing a small clip from The Sandlot to emphasize a powerful memory from his younger years.  The introduction brought two ideas to the front of my mind:

1) Isn't it amazing how something so seemingly insignificant can leave such a powerful and lasting impression on children?  As an educator, this is something I need to reflect on and wrestle with more...

2) What a fantastic idea for a writing activity, which I think can span multiple grade levels!  Here's the idea: Have a student write about a powerful moment from a film that inspires, promotes, or speaks into their life in a significant way.  I see students researching the clip on Youtube, introducing "the moment," and blogging about it.  Students then can comment on each other's "moments" and build relationships throughout the building.

These types of writing and thinking prompts challenge our students to be reflective, thoughtful, and evaluative, especially if we put in the time to model and teach those skills.  What writing prompts have you used to get students thinking in powerful and dynamic ways?

What movie moments have spoken to you over the years?