This Lesson's Title:

Poems of Apology

"this is just to say" that I hope you forgive me

This original writing lesson was created by
NNWP Teacher Consultant Todd Herman.

In 2008, this lesson was presented at
the NNWP's Piňon Poetry Festival.

This on-line writing prompt is based on a poem by William Carlos Williams. Teacher Joyce Sidman, who has her students study and impersonate the poem, created a wonderful collection of poems by her students called This is Just to Say...

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 comparing several of Joyce Sidman’s poems from This is Just to Say with the original poem written W.C. Williams, students will plan an apology poem that asks for forgiveness, even if the asker doesn't really seek forgiveness . Students will list five things they wish they could be forgiven for, or they can make a list of five people for whom they might owe an apology. Then, inspired by the original poem or the poems in This is Just to Say, students will create an original poem of forgiveness. Teachers: click here to read the entire lesson plan.

6-Trait Overview for this Lesson:

The focus trait in this writing assignment is sentence fluency; fitting original words into an original poem's rhythm scheme is a great way to experiment with sentences that flow.  The support trait in this assignment is idea development; encourage your students to choose interesting words to rhyme with as they compose their apology poems explore the topics they choose uniquely and interestingly.

Recipient of the NNWP's
Excellent Writing Lesson Award:

Because of the quality of its resources and ideas, this WritingFix lesson was selected by the Northern Nevada Writing Project as November 2008's Writing Lesson of the Month. It was e-mailed to thousands of teachers who are members of the NNWP's Writing Lesson of the Month Teacher Network.

To find out how to become a member of this free network, click here to visit the NNWP's webpage. You can have a link to a high-quality writing lesson sent to you every month.