This Lesson's Title:

Writing a Backwards Poem

using verbal irony as poetic inspiration

This lesson was developed for WritingFix after being proposed by NNWP Teacher Consultant Kelly Nott.

The ideal "mentor text" that can be used when teaching this on-line lesson is the chapter book Holes by Louis Sachar. Before writing, students should listen to and discuss the writing style of this book's author, especially from chapter 1 of the book.

Click here to view this book at Amazon.com.

If you are a Washoe County teacher, click here to search for this book at the county library.

Three-Sentence Overview of this Lesson:

After listening to excerpts from Holes, students will discuss ways that author Louis Sachar uses irony, antonyms and vivid vocabulary to develop his story.   Using a graphic organizer, students Compare and Contrast these characters/places with their names (for example:  Camp Green Lake is actually a dried up lake that is a detention center for delinquent boys).  The interactive button game below will provide and/or inspire students with creative, interesting options for contrasting character traits/names and setting descriptions/place names in order to create a “backwards poem.” Teachers: click here to read the entire lesson plan.

6-Trait Overview for this Lesson:

The focus trait in this writing assignment is word choice; playing with words (through irony and oxymoron) is the inspiration of this lesson.  The support trait in this assignment is voice; using humor smartly is a skill that writers should practice as they discover their own voices in writing.