“My Favorite Mistake”
lesson
A creative nonfiction model
And the name of a song by Sheryl Crow
Chorus:
Did you know when you go
It's the perfect ending
To the bad day I was just beginning
When you go all I know is
You're my favorite mistake
Model text
 “A Mistake That Should Last a Lifetime”
by Jessanne Collins
 Let’s read it.
Questions/Comments
 What is the writer’s mistake?
 What details does she recall leading up to the mistake?
 Looking back at the event, what are the writer’s
thoughts today?
 What lasting impressions does the writer take from the
experience?
Color-code with highlighters
 Yellow: indicate where the author recalls (expresses)
the incident
 Pink: indicate where the author reflects on what the
incident means to her today.
AW #4: My Favorite Mistake
 Start a new page and label it.
 Create a graphic organizer like this:
What was my mistake?
Expression
What details do I recall
surrounding that mistake?
(before/during/after)
Reflection
Looking back at the event,
have I learned from the
experience? What do I take
from the mistake?
(Reflective ideas go here)
(Bullet a list of details
here)