Tapestry of Faith: Exploring Our Values Through Poetry: A Program for High School Youth

Faith In Action: Belated Thanks

Activity time: 15 minutes

Materials for Activity

  • Blank note cards
  • Pens or pencils
  • Optional: Art materials such as pastels, markers, charcoal, or crayons
  • Optional: CD player and music

Description of Activity

Each participant writes a thank-you note to a teacher in his/her past.

Have participants consider the various teachers that have come into their minds during this workshop. Suggest that they think about a traditional teacher such as a parent or kindergarten teacher; a stranger who spoke helpful words at the right moment; or a nonhuman teacher, such as an intense experience, from which they learned a lesson.

Direct participants to choose a teacher and write a thank-you note. Make art materials available if you want to offer the option of decorating the cards. Consider playing background music while youth work.

As participants begin writing, suggest that they consider what they might do with their finished thank-you notes. Will they send them? Not send them? Turn them into poems?