This Is Just To Say; Poems of Apology and Forgiveness by Joyce Sidman

In This is Just to Say: Poems of Apology and Forgiveness, Mrs. Merz's sixth grade students make apologies through poetry. The variety of offenses and poetry forms make for delightful reading. Even though they weren't really written by 6th graders, they certainly feel like they could have been, and may inspire your students to write poems of apology as well.

Possible Strategy Instruction:

• C: Use prior knowledge to connect with text
• C: Make a picture or mental image
• C: Ask questions throughout the reading process
• C: Recognize and explain cause and effect relationships

• F: Adjust and apply different reading rates to match text
• F: Use punctuation to enhance phrasing and prosody (end marks, commas, etc.)