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Moses: When Harriet Tubman Led Her People to Freedom

The Sour Grape

The Girl Who Never Made Mistakes

The Bad Seed

How I Meet My Monster

A Bad Case of Stripes

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Writing Workshop Mentor Texts for Grade 1 & Grade 2

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Writing Workshop Mentor Texts for Grade 1 & Grade 2

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Writing Workshop Mentor Texts for 1st and 2nd Grade - Learning at the Primary Pond

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Do you use mentor texts to teach writing? Reading and examining mentor texts with students is a powerful strategy. Just about any book can serve as a mentor text, depending upon what your students' skills are and what you want them to learn about writing!

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Demystifying the writing process via examples students can learn from and emulate.

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Kids have many stories to tell, but teaching narrative writing well takes work. Mentor texts for narrative writing are invaluable for showing kids how it can be done, and for taking their writing to the next level. These are the books you pore over together that both model and inspire. Your writing curriculum probably suggests some old standbys, but new titles always bring new energy and ideas. We've done the work for you to find fresh, diverse, engaging, (mostly) first-person mentor texts for narrative writing that may just become your new favorites. You're welcome!

1. & 2. Together We Ride and Together We Swim by Valerie Bolling

This pair of books takes telling the stories of the classic experiences of learning to ride a bike and learning to swim to the next level. A sister and brother persevere through fears and challenges with the help of their parents. Add these to your mentor texts for narrative writing for younger students who use mostly pictures and a few words. There are so many small visual details to notice that can encourage students to add more to their own drawings.

Buy it: Together We Ride on Amazon

Buy it: Together We Swim on Amazon

3. New Shoes by Chris Raschka

A child discovers his old shoes are too tight and heads to the shoe store to pick out new ones. Use this to show new writers how they can tell a great story with just a few sentences. You can also introduce new techniques for illustrations; all these pictures are delightfully zoomed in.

Buy it: New Shoes on Amazon

4. One Day, the End: Short, Very Short, Shorter-Than-Ever Stories by Rebecca Kai Dotlich

"One day, I lost my dog. I found him. The end." This collection of tiny tales is one of the most perfect mentor texts for narrative writing to introduce kids to the idea that a story is when something happens. Use it with your littles to teach them how to add a sentence or two to their illustrations that tell a story from their lives.

Buy it: One Day, the End: Short, Very Short, Shorter-Than-Ever Stories on Amazon

5. Granny and Bean by Karen Hesse

Granny and Bean go for a walk on a cloudy day. They enjoy all the simple pleasures of the beach, like waves, shells, sand, petting dogs, and seaside snacks. Use this to share an attainable example of a strong narrative for younger writers. Each page has only a short sentence or two, but they manage to tell a beautiful story.

Buy it: Granny and Bean on Amazon

6. Bábo: A Tale of Armenian Rug-Washing Day by Astrid Kamalyan

We love this story of the author's favorite summer chore-helping her grandmother clean the family's rugs-to help kids see stories in their daily lives. From dancing in soap bubbles to scrubbing, sliding, and mopping, the author stretches the experience into a delightful tale. Help kids notice the mix of sentence lengths and unexpected details that give the story its fun energy.

Buy it: Bábo: A Tale of Armenian Rug-Washing Day on Amazon

7. Grandad's Camper by Harry Woodgate

A granddaughter explains all the reasons she loves visiting her grandad's house-most of all, it's because of the stories he tells about the many adventures he and Gramps had in their camper. It hasn't felt the same since Gramps died, but a granddaughter-grandfather camping trip to the beach turns out to be just what everyone needs. This story is lovely for studying how to establish setting in a narrative, and how to include flashback moments effectively.

Buy it: Grandad's Camper on Amazon

8. The Secret Fawn by Kallie George and Elly MacKay

As the youngest sibling, a girl feels like she misses everything-including the deer her family saw in the yard. She heads outdoors to try to see it for herself and ends up having an even more special experience. Use this quiet little story to show kids how to focus their narrative on a small but significant event.

Buy it: The Secret Fawn on Amazon

9. Hiking Day by Anne Rockwell

A girl and her parents take a local hike to enjoy all the sights and sounds of fall. Use this to teach about adding more to a narrative by including details, thoughts, sounds, and dialogue.

Buy it: Hiking Day on Amazon

10. City Moon by Rachael Cole and Blanca Gómez

A boy and his mom take a walk in the city at night to look for the moon. Add this to the mentor texts for narrative writing you use to teach about bringing the setting to life. Also, show students how to stretch one brief experience into a story that feels important.

Buy it: City Moon on Amazon

11. Not Little by Maya Myers

Dot is the smallest person in her family, but she doesn't hesitate to stand up for the new kid when he's bullied in the cafeteria. (Clearly, she is NOT LITTLE!) Use this to teach about strong, impactful sentences. Plus, introduce the technique of using a repeating line to show readers what's important in your story.

Buy it: Not Little on Amazon

12. A-Train Allen by Lesley Younge

Race along with the main character as he dashes to the train station. (Spoiler: At the end, we discover it's so he can be on time to chivalrously meet his grandmother.) This is one of the few mentor texts for narrative writing included on this list that isn't written in the first-person, but it made the cut because it's such a relatable title for showing kids how to bring a small moment to life using impactful verbs. They're conveniently capitalized on every page!

Buy it: A-Train Allen on Amazon

13. My Baba's Garden by Jordan Scott

A boy spends time before and after school with his grandmother each day. He describes his Baba, her tiny house, and her actions with gorgeous precision. This will be one of your new favorite mentor texts for personal narrative writing to show students how carefully chosen words and details can be so powerful.

Buy it: My Baba's Garden on Amazon

14. Grandpa Is Here! by Tanya Rosie

Tap into the excitement so many kids feel about being reunited with a special family member. A girl and her parents meet her Iranian grandfather at the airport and bring him home for a family welcome dinner. Add this to your mentor texts for personal narrative writing that show kids how to include their internal monologue and model "show don't tell."

Buy it: Grandpa Is Here! on Amazon

15. Abuelita and I Make Flan by Adriana Hernández Bergstrom

Anita is excited to help her grandmother make her birthday dessert-so excited that she breaks her grandmother's special plate. Can she help enough to make up for it? Use this to show kids how to add flair to their narratives with speech bubbles, labels, and different types of text. Also use it to encourage kids to try to include the narrator's internal monologue in their writing.

Buy it: Abuelita and I Make Flan on Amazon

16. When Lola Visits by Michelle Sterling

With rich detail, a girl describes how summer smells, tastes, and feels when her grandmother visits from the Philippines. Use this to teach about adding sensory details to narrative writing.

Buy it: When Lola Visits on Amazon

17. Oh No, the Aunts Are Here by Adam Rex

They arrive in a flurry of big purses and hugs, with their coconut scent, spit-polishing thumbs, and big dreams of seeing the Quilt Museum. This hilarious account of a visit from a kid's over-the-top aunts is one of the most fun mentor texts for narrative writing you'll find for teaching students how to bring characters to life in their stories.

Buy it: Oh No, the Aunts Are Here on Amazon

18. The Camping Trip by Jennifer K. Mann

City-dweller Ernestine is so excited to go camping with her cousin. It turns out there are a few parts of the great outdoors that take some getting used to, though. Use this to teach about experimenting with speech bubbles and different page layouts as a way to add interest and detail to narrative pieces.

Buy it: The Camping Trip on Amazon

19. Joy Ride by Sherri Duskey Rinker

Joy finds a beat-up bike and convinces her tinkering granddad to help her fix it up. But when her peers make fun of her new ride, she makes the impulsive decision to push the bike down a steep hill, and then must face the feelings that follow. Use this as a solid example of a more detailed personal narrative that includes dialogue, characters' thoughts and feelings, and interesting language.

Buy it: Joy Ride on Amazon

20. Powwow Day by Traci Sorell

It's the day of the tribal powwow, but River is worried. She's been sick and can't join in as she usually does. The healing dance her friends and family perform inspires her to keep getting better. Use this to model the impact of using different sentence lengths. Intentional line-breaks and onomatopoeia make the text feel almost like poetry too.

Buy it: Powwow Day on Amazon

21. Love Birds by Jane Yolen

Jon doesn't have any friends yet in his new town, but he keeps busy birding, his favorite pastime. A funny coincidence in the woods introduces him to his first new friend, a fellow birder. The author wrote this as a companion to the classic Owl Moon, one of our longtime favorite mentor texts for narrative writing. Use it to model how to include details about sounds and setting.

Buy it: Love Birds on Amazon

22. Soul Food Sunday by Winsome Bingham

Every Sunday the whole extended family gathers at Granny's for a big meal. Today, Granny invites her grandson to help prepare the family's favorite dishes for the first time. From grating the cheese to washing the grit from the greens, he learns about each crucial step. Use this to model how to break down an experience into small parts and describe them in more detail.

Buy it: Soul Food Sunday on Amazon

23. The Electric Slide and Kai by Kelly J. Baptist

As his family prepares to attend a big wedding, Kai desperately wants to impress his granddad with his dance moves so that he'll give him a "dance nickname" like other members of the family. Use this to teach students to add their thoughts, goals, and emotions to their narrative writing, and to show, not tell, using dialogue and characters' actions.

Buy it: The Electric Slide and Kai on Amazon

24. A Thousand White Butterflies by Jessica Betancourt-Perez and Karen Lynn Williams

Isabella recently immigrated to the United States from Colombia and is eager to start school and make friends. But an unexpected snow day changes her big plans. Use this to model writing precise sentences and to show how a character's emotions change during a story. If you have bilingual students, this is also a nice one to show how to weave in words from another language.

Buy it: A Thousand White Butterflies on Amazon

25. A Bed of Stars by Jessica Love

This is one of our new favorite mentor texts for personal narrative writing to share when we're encouraging students to write stories about problems or challenges. When a child feels too anxious to sleep, their dad plans a camping trip in the family pickup truck. Their conversations under the stars help ease bedtime worries. Study excerpts to talk about the power of weaving dialogue into narrative writing.

Buy it: A Bed of Stars on Amazon

26. Heart Berry Bling by Jenny Kay Dupuis

This story of a girl's afternoon spent with her grandmother is ideal for nudging upper elementary students to extend their narrative writing. From Granny's phone chatter to the colors of the beads to the smells and tastes of their fry bread lunch, the sensory details bring Maggie's time beading and chatting to life. Maggie's experience making beaded earrings-including her frustration and, eventually, pride-is a helpful example for kids about how to describe a process within a narrative so readers can imagine it.

Buy it: Heart Berry Bling on Amazon

27. A Space for Me by Cathryn Falwell

An older brother gets tired of sharing his room with his annoying little bro, so he decides to build his own space in his yard. Both brothers learn from the experience and end up finding common ground together. Use this to teach about sticking close to a meaningful theme to write a focused narrative.

Buy it: A Space for Me on Amazon

28. My Papi Has a Motorcycle by Isabel Quintero

A young girl tells the tale of a motorcycle ride around her neighborhood with her Papi. Use this to model ways to characterize an important person throughout a story. It's also great for modeling how to use vibrant descriptions and for building energy across the arc of a narrative.

Buy it: My Papi Has a Motorcycle on Amazon

29. A Map Into the World by Kao Kalia Yang

A girl moves to a new house and welcomes twin baby brothers to her family. Next door, an elderly neighbor grieves the loss of his wife. Use this to show students how describing what each character does or says in a situation can help create a complete scene. Also explore strategies for conveying the passage of time.

Buy it: A Map Into the World on Amazon

30. Evelyn Del Rey Is Moving Away by Meg Medina

Two best friends spend a final day together before one of them moves away. This one is full of heart, with equal parts sadness and sweetness. Use this to teach ... well, everything. Model strong leads and endings, how to use small details to create a mood, and how to do justice to a particularly emotional experience by telling it step-by-step.

Buy it: Evelyn Del Rey Is Moving Away on Amazon

31. Watercress by Andrea Wang

When a girl's parents spot watercress growing on the roadside, they pull over to pick it so they can make a meal reminiscent of their native China. The girl hates the whole experience but ends up appreciating it more as she learns what it means to her family. Add this to your mentor texts for narrative writing for when you work on revising for tighter, more precise language. Imagine how this narrative might have started out and compare that to its sparse but incredibly powerful final text. Also, share the author's note, in which she describes the experience that led to this book, to teach about how to choose meaningful narrative topics.

Buy it: Watercress on Amazon

32. On the Trapline by David A. Robertson and Julie Flett

A boy visits his grandfather's old trapline in the northern wilderness, which is steeped in memories. Besides being a beautiful example of personal narrative, this is a fascinating exploration of Cree tradition for kids. Use this to model how to include details and dialogue to explain things to readers and for planning an interesting structure for your narrative. (In this case, it's a repeating line at the end of each section that explains a Cree word.) It's also a nice example of how to weave memories of the past into a present-tense narrative.

Buy it: On the Trapline on Amazon

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32 Fresh Mentor Texts for Narrative Writing in Elementary School

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Update your stack of mentor texts for narrative writing to bring students' stories to life in new and exciting ways.

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Ten Places to Find Mentor Texts-Amanda Write Now

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Ten Places to Find Mentor Texts-Amanda Write Now

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Links to various mentor text sources...

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What is a mentor text anyway?

A mentor text is any text used to model the type of writing your students are learning. Mentor texts are the backbone of writing workshop because students need to see what the pros do, to get inspired in their own writing. Mentor texts can also be called writing samples, or examples.

One of the most challenging parts of being a writing teacher is finding mentor texts. So I've curated a list of my go to places for mentor texts online below.

Before you dive in, I think it is important to remember mentor texts can be found in many, many places. Sometimes I'll roam the class library for my favorite books or use writing from previous years done by students. I also write my own writing samples. You might think about using these strategies too.

But teachers are busy, so having a go to list can help!

Another thing you should definitely do is check out this post about How to Use Mentor Texts.

You can also check out this quick video reviewing ten of my favorite places to find mentor texts...

Thoughtful Learning
This is one of my favorite places to find writing samples written by students because there are many samples for each genre of writing and from students in 1st-12th grade. I link this site to my class website so that students and parents can refer to it throughout the year.

Achieve The Core
This site is an incredibly comprehensive and well organized resource created by non other than the writers of the Common Core! It not only has samples for grades K-12, it also has prompts, lessons, assessments and much more! I highly recommend you peruse this one.

Reading Rockets
This site has Pre-K through 3rd grade writing samples (both hand written and typed). There is also a thorough analysis of what each writer does well and needs to learn next provided with each sample.

Scholastic Write It
This site has loads of writing samples for poetry, essays, short fiction, memoirs, humor and journalism. It is also a place for student writers to connect through a bulletin board chat feature! Students can even publish their work here too!

Completely free and full of high interest nonfiction and fiction for 5th-12th graders. You can sort by lexile level, themes, genres, devices or standards too!

Tween Tribune
This site provides many writing samples to teach information writing in grades K-12 and the articles are even organized by Lexile level!

Awesome site with tons of nonfiction articles written about topics kids care about. Students K-8 can comment or even mail each other articles they think their friend may like. Sort by current events, science, social studies, sports, world, environment or fun. Students can also write book and movie reviews. This feature is for students K-12.

Actively Learn
Sign up for a 30 day free trial and have access to tons of online texts. Not only that you can insert questions, polls, notes and other links for students to interact with. You can also grade student answers and collect data on how long they read, words they looked up, notes they took and parts they didn't understand. Students can listen to texts being read aloud too!

You have to sign up to read full articles but there are a plethora of information articles to choose from and you can have access to the premium version for 45 days. You can add your classes, assign specific articles and track student progress.

New York Times The Learning Network
This site is mainly for middle and high schoolers and has lots and lots of resources. There is a writing competition every year and the pieces written by the winners and runners up are featured here. Showing your students really incredible and powerful writing done by kids can be just the inspiration and motivation your class needs.

Middle School Mentor Texts for All Genres
This is a blog post right on this website. What's awesome about this post is that all the mentor texts are directly linked within the post and every genre is included (except poetry).

There are so many writing samples on this site it is overwhelming! This site does cost money and is definitely worth it if your school or district decides to go for it. My recommendation until then? Sign up for the 14 day free trial and download as many samples as you can!

Moving Writers
This is an awesome site that provides access to a shared Google Drive with many, many mentor texts. Just click the button that says "Click Here to Enter the Mentor Text Drop Box" and you will be transported to mentor text heaven.

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Ten Places to Find Mentor Texts - Amanda Write Now

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What is a mentor text anyway? A mentor text is any text used to model the type of writing your students are learning. Mentor texts are the backbone of writing workshop because students need to see what the pros do, to get inspired in their own writing.

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The Stella Writes picture book series cover opinion, informational, narrative and poetry writing. They are all written from the perspective of an energetic, confident, joyful young writer named Stella working within a collaborative, writing community. Each book motivates students to write purposefully in the genre.  Students love Stella as a thoughtful, inviting peer mentor.  Check out a live interview with the author Janiel Wagstaff from ILA in July, courtesy of Scholastic.

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These are listed by author, title, skill/use, and where it is located in the book. :-)

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(Not Especially WW) - Fave First Week of School Books from Pernille Ripp - July 2018

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(Not Especially WW) - Fave First Week of School Books from Pernille Ripp - July 2018

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(Just had to include this for now!) xo, Amy

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Our Favorite First Week of School Picture Books

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For the past many years, our first day of school has included a read-aloud of a picture book. This central part of our classroom journey starts us off right, inviting students in to share a moment of wonder, of laughter. It starts discussions and sets the tone for the year to come.

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One book for beginning the year, writing about self, getting to know each other in class: 

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One book for beginning the year, writing about self, getting to know each other in class: 

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10 Informational Picture Book Mentor Texts

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10 Informational Picture Book Mentor Texts

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I'm teaching an online graduate course, The Teaching of Writing K-12, for Lesley University this semester. This week my students jump into information writing. Therefore, I thought I'd devote this week's blog post to exemplary nonfiction mentor texts.

As many of you already know, my co-authors and I wrapped-up our "Diving into Information Writing Blog Series" last week. (Click here in case you missed it. - LINK TK) As Anna stated in her post:

[I]nformation writing as any kind of writing with the primary purpose of explaining or imparting information. (Though information writing and opinion/argument writing are often grouped together, the purpose of opinion writing is to convince readers of something, which necessitates a different kind of instruction.) Reports, feature articles, information books, informative websites, and lectures are some of the kinds of writing that fit in the information writing category. This genre is a fascinating one structurally, because it often contains snippets of other genres within it, including small narratives and essay-like sections, making it sometimes hard to recognize and define. The sky is the limit with it comes to information writing, so it's important to balance instruction with a combination of grounding fundamentals and creativity-inspiring tips and mentors.

In primary grades, information writing is often referred to as an "All About" piece (e.g., "All About My House" or "All About Dogs." Other kinds of informational writing include "How To" pieces (e.g., "How to Tie Your Shoelaces" or "How to Travel around New York City"). As students get older, informational writing tends to look more like articles, essays, or reports. As we go through school and enter into adulthood, informational writing is often the most common genre we read on a daily basis. Regardless of what type of piece it is, we know something is information writing because it is meant to explain something or impart information.

The following list of books, all published in 2015, represents a variety of information writing. All of these are texts that can pull double- and even triple-duty in your classroom, thereby allowing you to use a text during a read aloud time, which you can revisit during a writing minlesson and/or in a content area. To that end, I list two or three mentor text possibilities of the picture books below. My "possibilities" are by no means exhaustive. In fact, I only recommend books I feel are worthy of buying and using with students since they can be used as mentors to teach young writers how to do many things.

Publisher's Summary: Aaron Burr and Alexander Hamilton were both fierce patriots during the Revolutionary War, but the politics of the young United States of America put them in constant conflict. Their extraordinary story of bitter fighting and resentment culminates in their famous duel. For young patriots who may not yet know the shocking and tragic story, Aaron and Alexander captures the spirit of these two great men who so valiantly served their country and ultimately allowed their pride and ego to cause their demise.

Mentor Text Possibilities: If you're looking for a book that will help you teach the compare/contrast text structure to your students, then look no further than Aaron and Alexander. Brown spends the first part of the book comparing and contrasting their lives. Even though Aaron Burr and Alexander Hamilton were "two orphans, two patriots, two war veterans and two public servants of the nation" they were vastly different. The structure of the book helps readers better understand their similarities and differences.

Brown embeds full and partial quotes throughout the book (something that's tricky for many kids to do well) in a way that feels natural. This is because the tone of the book is engaging. If your students need assistance with embedding quotations - full or partial - into their writing, then a close study of this book will help them.

Publisher's Summary: At the age of seven, children in eighteenth-century Britain were tried in court like adults. For crimes such as picking pockets or stealing clothes, they could be sentenced to death by hanging or transported to the then-perilous and isolated colonies of Australia. Life in the colonies was often as difficult and dangerous as the poverty from which many of the convicts came, but the dreaded sentence of transportation could also present opportunities. In a fascinating volume filled with historical photos and drawings, today's young readers can consider anecdotes of youthful prisoners from long ago, whose new lives on the shores of Australia ran the gamut from the boy who became the first person hanged on its soil to the girl whose photo is now on the twenty-dollar note. Back matter includes a glossary, bibliography, index, and web resources.

Mentor Text Possibilities:When I think about the kinds of things I would teach upper elementary students in an information writing unit of study I think about all of the kinds of things that make Child Convicts a great read. It starts with a table of contents, headings/subheadings, captions, quotes (full and partial), text features (e.g., maps, photographs, timelines) that enhance the text, strong teaching tone, a glossary, and a reference list that includes a bibliography and image credits. While I love all of the texts on this list - and they all have many things you can teach young writers to do - Child Convicts is the one that has the most nonfiction elements of all.

NOTE: This picture book is for an upper elementary (or older) audience.

Publisher's Summary: In 1957 in Liverpool, England, a young lad named John Lennon and his band played music at a local church fair. In the audience was Paul McCartney, who liked what he heard and soon joined the group. Paul's friend George Harrison kept showing up at rehearsals until the older boys finally let him in. Eventually they found the perfect drummer, Ringo Starr, and the perfect name: The Beatles.

Told through a lyrical text and stunning paintings, this book spotlights four ordinary boys growing up amid the rubble of postwar England who found music to be a powerful, even life-saving, force.

Mentor Text Possibilities: There are many books about the Beatles. Fab Four Friends is an engaging read for kids who are being introduced to the Beatles for the first time. Reich's word choice is deliberate; she explains words by utilizing a glossary in the back of the book, which is something we can teach writers to create if they don't want to disrupt the flow of their writing with definitions.

Reich shares the ups and downs of the Beatles' young lives with readers in a sensitive way. She does this by making deliberate choices about what kind of information to include and then does it with an appropriate tone for young readers. Any student faced with writing about unfortunately incidents in a person's life will benefit from taking a cue from Reich.

Publisher's Summary: Abraham Dee Bartlett knew from a young age that he wanted to spend his life working with animals. But in Victorian London, there weren't many jobs that provided an opportunity to do that. Still, Abraham spent years gaining knowledge and pursuing his dream until he eventually became superintendent in the London Zoo. Driven by his compassion for the animals, Abraham dramatically improved the conditions of the zoo to ensure that the animals could be happy and healthy.

Mentor Text Possibilities: The first time I read through this book, I noticed there was a variety of punctuation (e.g., commas, dashes, and varied end punctuation) that helped include explanations and extra information throughout the text. To that end, the punctuation in this book created a unique voice, which makes for an inviting teaching tone throughout the text.

There's a unique timeline, located in the book's back matter. It has dates and explanations listed in two different colors, one of which represents the main events in Abraham Dee Bartlett's wife and the other that represents the London Zoo and world event. This kind of timeline provides greater context for readers; therefore it can be shown to writers who are attempting to create a more intricate timeline.

Publisher's Summary: In the nineteenth century, North Carolina slave George Moses Horton taught himself to read and earned money to purchase his time though not his freedom. Horton became the first African American to be published in the South, protesting slavery in the form of verse.

Mentor Text Possibilities: Tate chronicles Horton's life in a way that engages readers and makes them think deeply about the extraordinary life Horton as he went from a slave to a free person. Tate does this by using a storyteller's voice, which is something you can study alongside students.

There are several quotations from Horton's poems that are incorporated in the text. You'll find citations for those excerpts in the back matter of the text. Pointing out the quotations and citations are an excellent way to teach students how to attribute credit (in their text and) in a bibliography.

NOTE: Peachtree created a teacher's guide for Poet. Click here to view it.

Swan: The Life and Dance of Anna Pavlova by Laurel Snyder and Julie Morstad (Chronicle Books)

Publisher's Summary: One night, young Anna's mother takes her to the ballet, and everything is changed. So begins the journey of a girl who will one day grow up to be the most famous prima ballerina of all time, inspiring legions of dancers after her: the brave, the generous, the transcendently gifted Anna Pavlova. Swan: The Life and Dance of Anna Pavlova is a heartbreakingly beautiful picture book biography perfect for aspiring ballerinas of all ages.

Mentor Text Possibilities: Every now and then I will read a beautiful, lyrical biography that does not weigh the reader down with dates and facts, but still conveys a rich portrait of a person's life. Swan is one of those books. We learn about Anna Pavlova's life through a poetic text in the body of the book. There is a two-page author's note that conveys the specifics of Anna's life. You could lead an inquiry with some of your more sophisticated writers to study the way Snyder tells the story of Anna Pavlova in a poetic way that employs the present tense, something you don't see regularly in biographies.

Because of this book's unique form, it makes an excellent text for making purposeful word choices (e.g., precise nouns, specific verbs). In addition, the sentence lengths are varied and there is some exquisite repetition in the text.

The Book Itch: Freedom, Truth & Harlem's Greatest Bookstore by Vaunda Micheaux Nelson and R. Gregory Christie (Carolrhoda Books)

Publisher's Summary: In the 1930s, Lewis's dad, Lewis Michaux Sr., had an itch he needed to scratch-a book itch. How to scratch it? He started a bookstore in Harlem and named it the National Memorial African Bookstore.

And as far as Lewis Michaux Jr. could tell, his father's bookstore was one of a kind. People from all over came to visit the store, even famous people-Muhammad Ali, Malcolm X, and Langston Hughes, to name a few. In his father's bookstore people bought and read books, and they also learned from each other. People swapped and traded ideas and talked about how things could change. They came together here all because of his father's book itch. Read the story of how Lewis Michaux Sr. and his bookstore fostered new ideas and helped people stand up for what they believed in.

Mentor Text Possibilities: Readers are introduced to a famous landmark, the National Memorial African Bookstore, and the man behind it, Lewis Michaux, Sr. The narrator's tone is compelling since it comes as the voice of Lewis Michaux, Jr. who was a child during the height of his father's bookstore, which coincided with the time of the Civil Rights Movement. Some of Michaux Sr.'s slogans (e.g., "Knowledge is power. You need it every hour. Read a book!"; "Don't get took! Read a book!") for selling books are featured in bold print throughout the book and are highlighted again on decorative endpapers. That said, if you're looking for a book to help students understand how to craft informational writing that has voice, then this is a book you'll want to study alongside your students since Nelson writes in a way where she creates voice through her sentences, through her use of punctuation, and through the details she chooses to include.

NOTE: The Classroom Bookshelf Blog unpacked this text and has shared many possibilities for using this text with students. Click here to read their post.

Publisher's Summary: At a young age, John Howland learned what it meant to take advantage of an opportunity. Leaving the docks of London on the Mayflower as an indentured servant to Pilgrim John Carver, John Howland little knew that he was embarking on the adventure of a lifetime. By his great good fortune, John survived falling overboard on the crossing of the Atlantic Ocean, and he earned his keep ashore by helping to scout a safe harbor and landing site for his bedraggled and ill shipmates. Would his luck continue to hold amid the dangers and adversity of the Pilgrims' lives in New England? John Howland's tale is masterfully told in his own voice, bringing an immediacy and young perspective to the oft-told Pilgrims' story. P.J. Lynch captures this pivotal moment in American history in precise and exquisite detail, from the light on the froth of a breaking wave to the questioning voice of a teen in a new world.

Mentor Text Possibilities: This 64-page picture book contains the personal story of John Howland who made his way to America on the Mayflower as John Carver's manservant. While the publisher states it's for students ages 7 - 10, I think older students will be intrigued by this first-person account of the journey to the New World. The book reads like a novel in that it has different sections that almost feel like chapter titles (e.g., London, The Mayflower, America). With the exception of the London portion of the book, the Mayflower and Amerca sections of the text contain sub-headings to help readers navigate the text.

When young writers take on writing about someone's life, they're unsure of where to begin and end. This book can help students think about the time frame they wish to focus on in their writing. The book takes place over the course of Howland's first year in America. It ends with him contemplating a return to England via the Fortune, the ship that followed the Mayflower a year later. The book ends with Howland deciding to stay in Massachusetts. It is only in the Author's Note where readers learn it was good he didn't return to England on the Fortune since it was taken by French pirates. In the author's note, we learn that Howland married two years later and lived for 50 more years, having had ten children and 88 grandchildren. It is in the author's note where readers come to understand that Howland, who came to the New World with so little, died with so much.

There are numerous things we can teach students to do as writers since this is a text-heavy picture book.

Publisher's Summary: For most children these days it would come as a great shock to know that before 1967, they could not marry a person of a race different from their own. That was the year that the Supreme Court issued its decision in Loving v. Virginia.

This is the story of one brave family: Mildred Loving, Richard Perry Loving, and their three children. It is the story of how Mildred and Richard fell in love, and got married in Washington, D.C. But when they moved back to their hometown in Virginia, they were arrested (in dramatic fashion) for violating that state's laws against interracial marriage. The Lovings refused to allow their children to get the message that their parents' love was wrong and so they fought the unfair law, taking their case all the way to the Supreme Court - and won!

Mentor Text Possibilities: "First comes love. Then comes marriage." They are phrases we know so well and it's how Alko choose to open The Case for Loving. Readers are immediately brought into the world of the Lovings because the book is based on the fact that love, marriage, and having a family are basic rights which the Lovings were denied. From page one, readers are hooked and invested in this story.

The Case for Loving contains a variety of information like dates, details, examples, and quotes that helps convey information about the Lovings Supreme Court case in a way that's accessible to children. In addition, some phrases in the text are crafted in a way to have a strong effect on readers (e.g., "Brand-new ideas, like equal rights for people of all colors, were replacing old, fearful ways of thinking.").

The back matter of this text includes author's and illustrator's notes, a source list, and suggestions for further reading. The source list, in particular, is worthy of sharing with students since it contains a variety of sources (e.g., magazines, newspapers, books, film, and web).

Publisher's Summary: The World's Fair in Chicago, 1893, was to be a spectacular event: architects, musicians, artists, and inventors worked on special exhibits to display the glories of their countries. But the Fair's planners wanted something really special, something on the scale of the Eiffel Tower, which had been constructed for France's fair three years earlier. At last, engineer George Ferris had an idea―a crazy, unrealistic, gigantic idea. He would construct a twenty-six-story tall observation wheel.

The planners didn't think it could be done. They called it a "monstrosity." It wouldn't be safe. But George fought for his design. Finally, in December 1892, with only four months to go until the fair, George was given permission to build his wheel. He had to fight the tight schedule, bad weather, and general disapproval. Against all odds, the Ferris Wheel turned out to be the talk of the Fair, and proof that dreaming big dreams could pay off. Today, George's Ferris Wheel is an icon of adventure and amusement throughout the world.

Mentor Text Possibilities: This book is a biography, but it's also a text about the first large-scale observation wheel, which was invented by George Ferris. Some of the illustrations almost feel like text features since they include measurements to help readers better understand the scale of the observation wheel George wanted to build. As a result, one could point out some of these illustrations in the text as a means to help writers make deliberate choices about text features they can employ to help them emphasize key points.

I'm always on the look-out for strong leads and endings and this book has both. The lead hooks the reader and gets him/her thinking about a young boy who daydreams about wheels from the first page spread. The ending circles back to a young boy (who we now know is George Ferris) daydreaming about waterwheels. It closes with a message that reminds readers that the world needs people who can turn their dreams into inventions.

Several publishing houses are giving away one copy of each book listed above. Many thanks to Candlewick Press, Chronicle Books, Eerdmans, Lerner Books, Macmillan, Peachtree Publishers and Scholastic for donating a copy for TWT readers.

For a chance to win this copy of one of the titles above, please leave a comment about this post by Monday, November 23rd at 11:59 p.m. EST. I'll use a random number generator to pick the winners, whose names I will announce at the bottom of this post, by Wednesday, November 25th.
NOTES:

I will draw the winners' names and assign the books at random unless you state, in your comment, which books you're most interested in using in your classroom and why. Preference will be given to those (whose names are chosen) who mention specific titles in their comments.

Most publishers only ship books to people in the United States, while others will ship worldwide. Please leave your geographic location, if you do NOT live in the United States and/or have a U.S. mailing address, when you leave a comment.

Listing the name of the book does not guarantee you'll win a copy of it if your name is one of the ten chosen since multiple people might request the same book(s).

If you are the winner of the book, I will email you with the subject line of TWO WRITING TEACHERS - 2015 NONFICTION. Please respond to my e-mail with your mailing address within five days of receipt. Unfortunately, a new winner will be chosen if a response isn't received within five days of the giveaway announcement.

Comments are now closed.

I used a random number generator to pick the winners for this giveaway. Here's who will be receiving a new book:

Aaron and Alexander: The Most Famous Duel in American History goes to Amy H.

4. Fur, Fins, and Feathers: Abraham Dee Bartlett and the Invention of the Modern Zoo goes to Maureen Lockie.

7. The Book Itch: Freedom, Truth & Harlem's Greatest Bookstore goes to Danielle Mancinelli.

8. The Boy Who Fell off the Mayflower or John Howland's Good Fortune goes to Janie.

9. The Case for Loving: The Fight for Interracial Marriage goes to Julia.

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New Mentor Texts for Information Writing

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The books featured in this post, all of which were published in 2015, represent a variety of information writing. All of these are texts that can pull double- and even triple-duty in your classroom, thereby allowing you to use a text during read-aloud time so you can revisit it during a writing workshop minlesson and/or...

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10 Opinion Mentor Texts for Grades K-3 from BOOKSOURCE

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10 Opinion Mentor Texts for Grades K-3 from BOOKSOURCE

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Top Ten Mentor Texts for Argument Writing in Grades K-3

To teach argument writing, you need a variety of mentor texts that demonstrate the art of persuasion, opinion AND argument. We've built a list of books for grades K-3 (and updated the list for 2017 with even more titles) that do just that. Of course, non-book texts like movie reviews, book reviews and student writing can be great mentor texts for argument writing too!

When Duncan arrives at school one morning he finds a stack of letters, one from each of his crayons, complaining about how he uses them.

When Farmer Brown's cows find a typewriter in the barn, they start writing up their demands and go on strike when Farmer Brown refuses to give them what they want.

As a boy attempts to convince someone else to take his disappointing pet because it can't chase string, play catch or sleep on his bed, he learns to love Norman the goldfish himself.

Need to write an opinion piece but not sure where to start? Just pick a picture! This title introduces opinion writing to children using photographs as idea prompts.

(Grades 1-5, Level S, Lexile 970)

This text highlights the ways human behavior can either threaten or conserve the amazing animals that share our planet.

Should We Have Pets? (Grades K-2, Level N, Lexile NC780)

A second-grade class presents arguments for and against pet ownership.

(Grades P-2, Level I)

Two unseen characters argue about whether the creature they are looking at is a rabbit or a duck.

A young girl uses various arguments to convince her parents to let her have her ears pierced.

(Grades K-2, Lexile AD970)

When he finds that he is home alone for the first time, Joey, a bright eight-and-a-half-year-old boy, informs any monsters that might be lurking in the house that his older brother Dan is worth the wait.

Through a series of brief letters to his parents, Alex presents all the reasons why he should not have to share a room with his younger brother.

More Mentor Texts for Argument Writing...

What Do You Think, Katie? Writing an Opinion Piece with Katie Woo (Grades K-2, Lexile 520L)

Talkin' About Bessie: The Story of Aviator Elizabeth Coleman (Grades K-4, Lexile 1050L)
Discover more books and mentor texts for Reading and Writing Workshop at Booksource.com.
Booksource is a leading distributor of authentic literature for K-12 classroom libraries. With an extensive selection of books from hundreds of publishers, we provide teachers with access to quality books, at just the right level, with something for every student's interests. Our customizable classroom library solutions make it easy and cost effective for educators to build, grow and organize classroom libraries that foster engaged reading in their schools.

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Top Ten Mentor Texts for Argument Writing in Grades K-3

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To teach argument writing, you need a variety of mentor texts that demonstrate the art of persuasion, opinion AND argument. We've built a list of books for grades K-3 (and updated the list for 2017 with even more titles) that do just that. Of course, non-book texts

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10 Ways to Teach Argument Writing with THE NEW YORK TIMES from THE NEW YORK TIMES

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10 Ways to Teach Argument Writing with THE NEW YORK TIMES from THE NEW YORK TIMES

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10 Ways to Teach Argument-Writing With The New York Times (Published 2017)

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Ideas for helping students both read opinion-writing closely and write their own effective pieces on the issues that matter to them.

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List from NCTE - Opinion & Argument Texts

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List from NCTE - Opinion & Argument Texts

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Books, speeches, and other...

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As a follow-up to our November 2017 #NCTEchat, Using Mentor Texts, we asked our social media community to share some of their favorite mentor texts with us. In the first part of this series, we've compiled educators' favorite mentor texts for teaching argument writing. To see the original messages this list is based on, click here.

Did we miss one? Please let us know on Twitter!

Elementary
Should There Be Zoos?: A Persuasive Text by Tony Stead with Judy Ballester and her fourth-grade class
Examines the opposing viewpoints of a fourth-grade class on whether zoos are helpful or harmful to animals; written in
persuasive language.

Hey, Little Ant by Phillip M. and Hannah Hoose, illustrated by Debbie Tilley
What would you do if the ant you were about to step on looked up and started talking? Would you stop and listen?

The Day the Crayons Quit by Drew Daywalt, illustrated by Oliver Jeffers
Poor Duncan just wants to color. But when he opens his box of crayons, he finds only letters, all saying the same thing: We quit! The supporting details are great to get students to think and write about the why instead of just writing a list of demands.

by Judith Viorst, illustrated by Nola Langner Malone
She wants them. She needs them. She loves them. Earrings! What won't a girl do to finally get her ears pierced?
Upper Grades
This I Believe: The Personal Philosophies of Remarkable Men and Women, edited by Jay Allison and Dan Gediman
Based on the NPR series of the same name, This I Believe features eighty Americans―from the famous to the unknown―completing the thought that the book's title begins.

Everything's an Argument by Andrea A. Lunsford and John J. Ruszkiewicz
This bestselling text shows students how to analyze all kinds of arguments-not just essays and editorials, but clothes, cars, ads, and website designs-and then how to use what they learn to write their own effective arguments. Making a Visual Argument: Claire Ironside's "Apples to Oranges" was specifically mentioned.

Dear Mr. President: Letters to the Oval Office from the Files of the National Archives by Dwight Young and Brian Williams
Drawn from the extensive holdings of the National Archives, these carefully chosen letters remind us that ours is a government "of the people, by the people, and for the people," which entitles us to make our views known to our leaders.

Long Walk to Freedom by Nelson Mandela
The autobiography of Nelson Mandela, one of the great moral and political leaders of our time.
Good speeches are exemplars of argument, evidence, genre blending, word choice, and more.
"Give Me Liberty or Give Me Death!" by Patrick Henry, delivered March 23, 1775,
St. John's Church, Richmond, Virginia

" Ain't I a Woman? " by Sojourner Truth, delivered 1851, Women's Convention, Akron, Ohio

" The Destructive Male " by Elizabeth Cady Stanton, delivered 1868, Women's Suffrage Convention, Washington, D.C.

" Toward a More Perfect Union " by Barack Obama, delivered March 18, 2008, The Constitution Center, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Any speech by Barack Obama, Winston Churchill, Martin Luther King Jr., or Franklin D. Roosevelt.

Current events stories tailor-made for classroom use. Indexed by broad theme, stories are student-friendly and can be accessed in different formats by reading level.

The New York Times Upfront Magazine by Scholastic
Upfront gets teens talking about today's most important issues with current events for grades 9-12.

" The Joy of Reading and Writing: Superman and Me" by Sherman Alexie, Los Angeles Times, April 19, 1998

Atticus Finch's closing argument in To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee
Declaration of Independence Abigail Adams's letters to John Adams
Barack Obama's Town Hall response where he compares gun control to auto safety
Book descriptions are taken from the Goodreads website.

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Mentor Texts for Teaching Argument Writing - NCTE

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As a follow-up to our November 2017 #NCTEchat, Using Mentor Texts, we asked our social media community to share some of their favorite mentor texts with us. In the first part of this series, we've compiled educators' favorite mentor texts for teaching argument writing. To see the original messages this list is based on, click here.

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How-To/Procedural Mentor Texts from WE ARE TEACHERS

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How-To/Procedural Mentor Texts from WE ARE TEACHERS

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Our Favorite Mentor Texts for How-To or Procedural Writing

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Kindergarten Mentor Texts from HOLDING HANDS & STICKING TOGETHER

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Kindergarten Mentor Texts from HOLDING HANDS & STICKING TOGETHER

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All kinds!

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As I was reading over some of my Writer's Workshop lessons, I thought I would share the mentor texts that I love to use for some different writing mini-lessons. You probably have seen and use most of them, but every so often you happen to come across a new one you may have SOMEHOW missed. I hate missing out on any good books- and would hate for you to miss out on any either, so just in case... here you go! ( You are welcome, Amazon... )

Before we begin writing, I do lots of sketching and drawing with my class. The children's first book is an "I Can Draw" book. We do lessons on drawing horizontal lines, vertical lines, zig zag lines, curves, and drawing shapes. We draw settings. One day we draw a bedroom with everything we can think of that might be in a bedroom. We do this as an interactive lesson, and label the items with at least one letter by each item. Then, when the children do it on their own, they are in the habit of labeling already. We also draw a kitchen, a farm, a playground- anyplace you can think of that allows for lots of detail.

This book is a wonderful early introduction to Writer's Workshop and sketching:

The children can see so many imaginative ideas to make from a box- or rectangle!

BUT - I discovered it too late. I was ready to do my shape sketching and have the children make wonderful things out of their shapes- and didn't have this book yet. (You can get it from Scholastic, by the way- and I have it ordered.) Thank you, YouTube! Look what I found-

The Dot and Ish are great for your "I can't draw" kids.

(The Dot is on YouTube, too. We watch Ish on Tumblebooks sometimes, too. But it is still fun to READ it to them! :)

I love using the Doodle books. These are great for morning work:

This book looks fun- but I haven't tried it.

INTRODUCING WRITER'S WORKSHOP:
Library Mouse (the original) is my favorite way to introduce to the children that they are authors. I always use it to introduce Writer's Workshop.

I have this box out, just like in the story, and they love to look at the "author" in the mirror. If they get frustrated, I have them go check the box to remind them WHO is an author!

(I just cut a hole in the middle of the shoe box that I covered and put a mirror on the inside.)

CARING FOR MATERIALS:
Harold is a great way to introduce how to care for our materials. He only had his purple crayon and had to be VERY careful of that crayon so that he could create all of his masterpieces and adventures.

This is another fun book to talk about how to use (and NOT use) markers.

I keep five sets of markers, pencils, pens, colored pencils, and crayons in the white bins. I have very little storage in my class ( have I mentioned that a time or two-hundred??) so I keep the writing bins on these wire racks. The top bin has blank books in it. My pictures above are from Erin Dowling's TPT Store. The Math I Can Statements are hers, too. I change them depending on the standards we are working on. I love her things!

This is just a fun story about being an author!

Here are some other topics...﻿

These books are great to teach the students to try their best and not worry about mistakes! Such great mini lessons!

These books are great to teach the importance of using spaces, because the animals don't leave any space on the seesaw. You can have a good conversation about the importance of space on the rug, in line, on the seesaw like the animals, or in writing! They are also similar stories and great to use for making connections.

These are other fun "spacing" books.

﻿﻿

PUNCTUATION:

(All time favorite, yes indeed!

Actually, this book is wonderful for teaching all of the punctuation marks.)

This book is also good to use to make connections with The Little Red Hen.

Ellipsis:﻿ (My kids become a little obsessed with noticing every ellipsis in every book. Maybe because I do, too... I just want to know, "WHAT'S COMING?!)

(You can never, ever go wrong with ANY Piggie and Elephant book.)

Beginning/Middle/End, Retelling, Sequencing:

The Falling Raindrop is a sweet, simply illustrated book that tells the journey of a little raindrop happily falling from the sky- to suddenly horrified that he is falling toward a fire! The simple illustrations show the children that just the little expression on the raindrop is enough for us to know exactly how it is feeling. It is a great little water cycle book, too.

Fun Text! (SIZE, direction, motion...)

(ANY Donald Crews books! I love his BOLD words and sound words. )

Illustrations:
There are so many beautiful books that I love to use for illustrations- so rich and detailed. I love to use Eric Carle and other unique illustrators that the children grow to quickly recognize. This book may be one of my most favorites. You can tell by the cover how beautifully Bob Graham uses color to highlight exactly where he wants his reader to focus. Plus, the book is precious.

Helping Each Other:
I love this story- for Character Education, too. The birds have a contest to see who can fly the highest. While the eagle is sure he will win, the wren sneaks a ride in the eagle's feathers and pops out at the last minute to fly just a bit higher and win the contest. We talk about how reading each other's stories and asking good questions or giving helpful ideas can make us just a little bit better each time- better than we even thought we could be!

Moving Beyond Simple Stories- S t r e t c h i n g:

I hope you found some new books to check out. Sometimes that is just fun!
Enjoy the rest of the week!

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As I was reading over some of my Writer's Workshop lessons, I thought I would share the mentor texts that I love to use for some different writing mini-lessons. You probably have seen and use most of them, but every so often you happen to come across a new one you may have SOMEHOW missed.

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MOVING WRITERS - Mentor Text Blog Post Page

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MOVING WRITERS - Mentor Text Blog Post Page

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Allison Marchetti and Rebekah O'Dell's website full of resources for teaching writing, particularly at the high school level.

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Posts about mentor texts written by Xochitl Bentley, Abigail Lund, megankortlandt, Jay, and Brett Vogelsinger

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List from REALIZING ILLINOIS - Writing Mentor Text Possibilities for Grades 3-5

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List from REALIZING ILLINOIS - Writing Mentor Text Possibilities for Grades 3-5

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Find many mentor texts at the back of this book full of opinion writing lessons and ideas.

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Special Offer: Save 30% off our list price automatically when you buy 15 or more.

Author of Writing About Reading and Writing to the Prompt

Wow! Just Wow! Karen Caine's book on persuasive writing is both a day-by-day practical guide and an inspirational lesson generator. This book will change how you see persuasive writing, how you see your students, and, most important of all, how you see the world. Read it. Study it. Use it today!

Writing to Persuade is your no-nonsense guide to teaching persuasive writing. It's filled with ready-to-use teaching for each stage of the writing process. Karen Caine packs her book with 6 units and 59 minilessons-and great advice on how to use them. Dive into an entire yearlong persuasive-writing curriculum. Pick out a favorite unit. Or dip in for minilessons that slot neatly into your existing units of study.

No matter how you use Writing to Persuade, you'll find well-structured, teacher- and student-friendly lessons. From topic selection, to research, to writing, to editing and revising, you'll find effective instruction for every stage of helping students create successful persuasive writing.

And with Writing to Persuade you'll introduce students to real-world genres such as letters, editorials, and advertisements. Caine even gives teachers advice and specific lessons on persuasive writing for standardized tests. Better yet, she saves you hours of prep time by including examples of high-quality persuasive writing from students as well as real-life examples culled from national sources that are ready to hand out during your lessons.

Get ready for what may be the only resource you'll ever need on persuasive writing. Pick up Writing to Persuade. You'll help your students take a stand and discover the power of persuasion.

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Special Offer: Save 30% off our list price automatically when you buy 15 or more. Author of Writing About Reading and Writing to the Prompt Wow! Just Wow! Karen Caine's book on persuasive writing is both a day-by-day practical guide and an inspirational lesson generator.

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Need some narrative, opinion/persuasive, and informational mentor texts for your Kindergarten, 1st grade, or 2nd grade students?

I've got LOTS of book recommendations for you - you can use these books to teach students about writing genres and specific writing skills!

In this post, I'm sharing 50 great mentor texts, as well as 5 important "how to" tips for using mentor texts in the primary grades!
Photo credit: Tiplyashina Evgeniya, Shutterstock
The books listed below are best for use with Kindergarten, first, or second grade. The ones that are most appropriate for Kindergarten are *starred* (not to say that any of the books would be inappropriate for Kindergarten, but having taught this grade, I know that some books are a little too long for the little ones!).

Within the lists, I've linked to these books on Amazon, so you can quickly and easily add them to your cart or wishlist!

Narrative or Personal Narrative Writing Mentor Texts:

Salt Hands (Picture Puffins) (Jane Chelsea Aragon) - personal narrative

* Fireflies (Julie Brinckloe) - personal narrative

* Bigmama's (Donald Crews) - personal narrative Shortcut (Donald Crews) - personal narrative

Oliver Button Is a Sissy (Tomie dePaola)

Roller Coaster (Maria Frazee) - can be used to teach personal narratives, but not told from 1st person perspective

* Kitten's First Full Moon (Kevin Henkes) - fiction

* Amazing Grace (Mary Hoffman) - narrative

* The Leaving Morning (Angela Johnson) - personal narrative

* Peter's Chair (Picture Puffins) (Ezra Jack Keats) - can be used to teach personal narratives, but not told from 1st person perspective

The Snowy Day (Ezra Jack Keats) - can be used to teach personal narratives, but not told from 1st person perspective

* Whistle for Willie (Ezra Jack Keats) - narrative

* Kitchen Dance (Maurie J. Manning) - personal narrative

One Morning in Maine (Picture Puffins) (Robert McCloskey) - narrative

Mirette on the High Wire (Emily Arnold McCully) - narrative

My Rotten Redheaded Older Brother (Patricia Polacco) - personal narrative

Thank You, Mr. Falker (Patricia Polacco) - narrative / personal narrative

Thunder Cake (Patricia Polacco) - personal narrative

The Relatives Came (Cynthia Rylant) - personal narrative

When I Was Young in the Mountains (Cynthia Rylant) - personal narrative

Too Many Tamales (Gary Soto) - narrative

* Can I Play Too? (An Elephant and Piggie Book) (Mo Willems) - fiction

* Knuffle Bunny: A Cautionary Tale (Mo Willems) - realistic fiction

* A Chair for My Mother (Vera Williams) - personal narrative

* Owl Moon (Jane Yolen) - personal narrative; great for teaching descriptive details

Opinion or Persuasive Writing Mentor Texts:

* One Word from Sophia (Jim Averbeck)

* Click, Clack, Moo: Cows That Type (Doreen Cronin) - can also be used to teach letter writing

The Best Part of Me: Children Talk About their Bodies in Pictures and Words (Wendy Ewald)

Dear Mrs. LaRue: Letters from Obedience School (Mark Teague) - can also be used to teach letter writing

Hey, Little Ant (Phillip Hoose)

Should We Have Pets?: A Persuasive Text (Sylvia Lollis)

I Wanna Iguana (Karen Kaufman Orloff) - can also be used to teach letter writing

I Wanna New Room (Karen Kaufman Orloff) - can also be used to teach letter writing

The Perfect Pet (Margie Palatini)

Earrings (Judith Viorst)

* Don't Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus! (Mo Willems)

* Don't Let the Pigeon Stay Up Late! (Mo Willems)

Informational / How-To / Nonfiction / Expository Writing Mentor Texts:

* All About Sharks (Jim Arnosky)

* Surprising Sharks (Nicola Davies)

Solids, Liquids, And Gases (Rookie Read-About Science) (Ginger Garrett)

* How a House Is Built (Gail Gibbons) - how-to book

The Bicycle Book (Gail Gibbons)

* The Pumpkin Book (Gail Gibbons) - one page has a how-to

* Make a Valentine (Book shop) (Dale Gordon) - how-to book

All Kinds of Habitats (It's Science!) (Sally Hewitt)

Chameleons Are Cool (Martin Jenkins)

The Abcs of Habitats (Abcs of the Natural World) (Bobbie Kalman)

Boy, Were We Wrong About Dinosaurs! (Kathleen Kudlinski)

* What Is Weather? (Ellen Lawrence)

* How to Make Salsa (Jamie Lucero) - how-to book

What Is the World Made Of? All About Solids, Liquids, and Gases (Kathleen Weidner Zoehfeld)

All of these texts can be used with my Kindergarten, first, or second grade writing units or writing bundles. These bundles have lesson plans that show you exactly how to use mentor texts to teach writing! (However, not all of the lessons use mentor texts - many do not. I think it's important to have a balance of both.)

In addition to complete writing lesson plans, the bundles also include:

Writing rubrics / assessments

Printable posters

Kid-friendly writing checklists

Printable writing paper

Read more about the bundles here:

Five Tips for Using Mentor Texts

Now that I've shared some of my favorite mentor texts, let's talk about how to use them effectively in the classroom! Here are five things that I do when working with writing mentor texts:

1. Before utilizing a book as a mentor text, I read it aloud to students for purposes of enjoyment and comprehension. Students need an opportunity to understand, enjoy, and discuss a text before they are asked to think about it as writers. I always read aloud the mentor text a day or two before I use it in a writing lesson.

2. I use modeling and clear, explicit language to teach students how to "read as writers." I explain that people read books for many purposes - for pleasure, to learn, and to grow as writers. I like to read a familiar book aloud to students and think aloud as I "read it as a writer." I comment on what I notice about character development, how the author introduces a problem, the author's word choice, the author's use of punctuation marks, how the illustrations complement the words, and so on.

3. I use the same mentor text for multiple writing lessons. While it's helpful to expose students to many different mentor texts, you can also use a single text for multiple minilessons. In my second grade writing workshop curriculum, for example, I use the book Amazing Grace (Mary Hoffman) to teach students how to include a problem in a story, write a strong ending, and incorporate dialogue. This saves us time, because students are already familiar with the text so we can dive right into the teaching point of the minilesson.

4. I use mentor texts to guide my own planning. When I sit down to plan a writing unit, I sometimes struggle to determine what, exactly, I want my students to be able to do as writers of the genre we're working on. When this happens, I spend some time carefully examining mentor texts on my own. For example, if I'm planning a nonfiction unit, I take out a couple of children's nonfiction books and pay attention to how the authors convey information. Are examples given? Does the author provide definitions of important works? Is the information organized into categories - and if so, how? These are all strategies that I can teach students to use as they learn nonfiction writing.

5. I teach students to learn about writing from the books they read independently. I show students that, as they read, they can also grow as writers. You might have students keep a list of interesting words they find in books, and then encourage them to share these words with the class and try them out in their own writing.

Last but not least, if you'd like to grab some FREE writing printables that include alphabet charts, kid-friendly checklists, and more, get my writing folder tools freebie here!

Do you have any favorite mentor texts or tips for using them? Please comment below - I'd love to hear your thoughts!
Disclosure: Amazon affiliate links are included in this post.

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Writing Mentor Texts for Kindergarten, First, and Second Grade - Learning at the Primary Pond

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In today's post, I'll share a list of outstanding writing mentor texts, grouped by genre. I'll also share five important tips for using mentor texts to teach writing in the primary grades, so be sure to read to the end of the post!

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List from NCTE - Narrative Mentors (Picture Books, Short Stories, & More)

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List from NCTE - Narrative Mentors (Picture Books, Short Stories, & More)

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As a follow-up to our November 2017 #NCTEchat, Using Mentor Texts, we asked our social media community to share some of their favorite mentor texts with us. So far, we've shared our community's recommendations for mentor texts to teach argument writing and chapter books to teach narrative writing.

In the second part of this blog on mentor texts for narrative writing, we'll be focusing on picture books, short stories, and more. To see the original messages this list is based on, click here.

Did we miss one? Please let us know on Twitter!
Picture Books
The Harmonica by Tony Johnston, illustrated by Ron Mazellan

When the Nazis invade Poland, a family is split apart. A harmonica keeps a boy's hope alive. The story is inspired by the life of a Holocaust survivor.
Good for use with middle grade students
Night Driving by John Coy, illustrated by Peter McCarty

A father and son drive into the night. As the sky turns shades of deep blue and purple, they watch for night animals, swap baseball stories, and keep a lookout for eighteen-wheelers. But they have miles to go before they can sleep, and it's a real challenge to stay awake for a whole night of driving.

The Memory String by Eve Bunting, illustrated by Ted Rand

Each button on Laura's memory string represents a piece of her family history. The buttons Laura cherishes the most belonged to her mother.
Good for use with middle grade students
Smoky Night by Eve Bunting, illustrated by David Díaz

A young boy and his mother are forced to flee their apartment during a night of rioting in Los Angeles. Fires and looting force neighbors-who have always avoided one another-to come together in the face of danger and concern for their missing pets.

Fly Away Home by Eve Bunting, illustrated by Ronald Himler

A homeless boy who lives in an airport with his father, moving from terminal to terminal trying not to be noticed, is given hope when a trapped bird finally finds its freedom.
Good for use with middle grade students
Rollercoaster by Marla Frazee
The roller coaster car is going up, up, up to the highest spot. And at least one of the people in the car has never ridden on a roller coaster before . . . ever. Wheeeeeeee!

Saturday and Teacakes by Lester L. Laminack, illustrated by Chris K. Soentpiet

Every Saturday, the narrator, a young boy, rides his bicycle up and down country roads past farms, a graveyard, and a filling station, until he reaches his beloved Mammaw's house.

by Jane Yoon, illustrated by John Schoenherr

Late one winter night a little girl and her father go owling. The trees stand still as statues and the world is silent as a dream. Whoo-whoo-whoo, the father calls to the mysterious nighttime bird. But there is no answer.

Ralph Tells a Story by Abby Hanlon
Although his teacher insists there are stories everywhere, Ralph cannot think of any to write.

Our Very Own Dog by Amanda McCardie

There's nothing more exciting than getting a dog! Join Sophie's new human family as they prepare their home for her and introduce her to life as a beloved pet.

by Rebecca Young, illustrated by Matt Ottley

A boy must leave his home and find another. He brings with him a teacup full of earth from the place where he grew up, and sets off to sea.

We Had a Picnic This Sunday Past by Jacqueline Woodson

Teeka's family had a picnic this Sunday past. Everyone was there, from mean old cousin Terrance who put fake flies on the sweet corn, to Bible-toting Reverend Luke to Auntie Kim (Teeka's all-time favorite).

Baseball Saved Us by Ken Mochizuki, illustrated by Dom Lee

Shorty and his family, along with thousands of Japanese Americans, are sent to an internment camp after the attack on Pearl Harbor. Fighting the heat and dust of the desert, Shorty and his father decide to build a baseball diamond and form a league in order to boost the spirits of the internees.

Of Thee I Sing: A Letter to My Daughters by Barack Obama, illustrated by Loren Long

In this tender, beautiful letter to his daughters, President Barack Obama has written a moving tribute to thirteen groundbreaking Americans and the ideals that have shaped our nation.

One hot summer night in the city, all the power goes out. The TV shuts off and a boy wails, "Mommm!" His sister can no longer use the phone, Mom can't work on her computer, and Dad can't finish cooking dinner. What's a family to do?

Jabari Jumps by Gaia Cornwall

Working up the courage to take a big, important leap is hard, but Jabari is almost absolutely ready to make a giant splash.

by Derek Munson, illustrated by Tara Calahan King

It was the perfect summer. That is, until Jeremy Ross moved into the house down the street and became neighborhood enemy number one. Luckily Dad had a surefire way to get rid of enemies: Enemy Pie.

Those Shoes by Maribeth Boelts, illustrated by Noah Z. Jones

All Jeremy wants is a pair of those shoes, the ones everyone at school seems to be wearing. But Jeremy's grandma tells him they don't have room for "want," just "need," and what Jeremy needs are new boots for winter.

The Relatives Came by Cynthia Rylant

In a rainbow-colored station wagon that smelled like a real car, the relatives came.

Come On, Rain! by Karen Hesse, illustrated by Jon J. Muth

"Newbery Medalist Karen Hesse recreates the body and soul-renewing experience of a summer downpour after a sweltering city heat wave. Lyrically written and lovingly illustrated." - School Library Journal

All the Places to Love by Patricia McLaughlin

Within the sanctuary of a loving family, baby Eli is born and, as he grows, learns to cherish the people and places around him, eventually passing on what he has discovered to his new baby sister, Sylvie.

Why should you teach this book? The text-to-self connections students make to the text and vivid word choice and voice of the text make it a classic for personal narrative for all students from K to 12.

by Alice McLerran, illustrated by Barbara Cooney

Marian called it Roxboxen. There across the road, it looked like any rocky hill-nothing but sand and rocks, and some old wooden boxes. But it was a special place. And all children needed to go there was a long stick and a soaring imagination.

The Other Side by Jacqueline Woodson, illustrated by E. B. Lewis

Clover's mom says it isn't safe to cross the fence that segregates their African-American side of town from the White side where Anna lives. But the two girls strike up a friendship, and get around the grown-ups' rules by sitting on top of the fence together.
Short Stories and Essays
"Eleven" by Sandra Cisneros

"Salvador, Late or Early" by Sandra Cisneros, Woman Hollering Creek and Other Stories
Recommended to teach imagery
"Fish Cheeks" by Amy Tan
Recommended to teach m etaphor
"The Joy of Reading and Writing: Superman and Me" by Sherman Alexie, Los Angeles Times, April 19, 1998

"My Indian Education" by Sherman Alexie, The Lone Ranger and Tonto Fistfight in Heaven

"Salvation" by Langston Hughes, The Big Sea

"Shooting an Elephant" by George Orwell, Shooting an Elephant and Other Essays

"Memento Mori" by Jonathan Nolan, Esquire, March 2001

"Black Men and Public Space" by Brent Staples, Harper's Magazine, December 1986

"Learning to Read" by Malcom X, The Autobiography of Malcolm X

"A Plate of Peas" by Rick Beyer, NPR's "All Things Considered"
Poems
"So What Are You, Anyway?" by Lawrence Hill

"Mississippi Mud" by Jessica Piper

" Annabel Lee " by Edgar Allan Poe
Other
" In the Waiting Room " by Elizabeth Bishop

"I was a Skinny Tomboy Kid" by Alma Luz Villanueva
2013 Apple Christmas Commercial Authors
Humans of New York
Photos, interviews, and videos of residents of New York City, plus stories from twenty different countries

Former Students' Narratives

Sandra Cisneros

Jacqueline Woodson

David Sedaris

Patricia Polacco
Book descriptions are taken from the Goodreads website.
Eve Bunting

Tobias Wolf

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Mentor Texts for Teaching Narrative Writing: Picture Books, Short Stories, and More - NCTE

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As a follow-up to our November 2017 #NCTEchat, Using Mentor Texts, we asked our social media community to share some of their favorite mentor texts with us. So far, we've shared our community's recommendations for mentor texts to teach argument writing and chapter books to teach narrative writing.

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Mentor Texts to Support Writing Workshop

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Mentor Texts to Support Writing Workshop

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Each listed is listed by skill, along with the name of book and author. :-)

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Comedy writing is probably the most overlooked genre in schools. This book gives 51 simple lessons to find the funny in any subject, complete with mentor texts to support each lesson.

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51 Wacky We-Search Reports: Face the Facts With Fun

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51 Wacky We-Search Reports: Face the Facts With Fun [Barry Lane, Miles Bodimeade] on Amazon.com. *FREE* shipping on qualifying offers. 51 Wacky We-Search Reports: Face the Facts With Fun

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10 Mentor Texts to Lift the Level of Students' Narrative Writing

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10 Mentor Texts to Lift the Level of Students' Narrative Writing by Stacey Shubitz

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As an educator, I've come to believe it's important to know a small collection of books intimately. Not only does this make sense financially, but having a handful of mentor texts you know well allows you to use them with students for many purposes. When I was selecting fiction and nonfiction texts to feature in...

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This is a beautiful animated short. I'm using it to explore the development of primary, secondary, and tertiary characters with teen writers, but if you watch, I know you'll find other uses for it. https://vimeo.com/9862439

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This new blog features writing lesson ideas using mentor texts.  There are ideas for different lessons using the same text; this allows students and teachers to immerse themselves in a book, making it a strong mentor text.

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Author and educator Tanny McGregor shares a long list of wordless and nearly-wordless books here at her website.

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http://www.amazon.com/Of-Primary-Importance-Essential-Teaching/dp/1571103740

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This book contains mini lessons and lists of mentor texts for grades K-8.

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JoAnn Portalupi likes to introduce herself as a mother, teacher, writer, and artist. Each of these roles informs the work she does in the field of teaching writing.

She began her career in education as a fourth-grade teacher in Epsom, New Hampshire. "I was bit by the writing bug my second year of teaching when I was lucky enough to attend the University of New Hampshire's first Institute on Teaching Writing where I met and worked with Tom Newkirk, Lucy Calkins, Donald Murray, and Donald Graves. In that summer I discovered a pedagogy that resonated with my own belief about teaching and learning: that a strong teacher-student relationship lies at the heart of both." Since then she has worked in education as a classroom teacher, a staff developer at Teachers College Writing Project, a university professor at the University of Alabama at Birmingham, and most recently as an independent consultant. JoAnn is also the co-author with her husband, Ralph Fletcher, of numerous professional books and videos.

Her four sons have given JoAnn plenty of opportunity to refine her thinking about teaching writing. "Raising school age boys gave me a panoramic view of teaching. Engaging as a parent at home continually challenges me to think about the responsibility of teaching another parent's child. Discovering up close the four distinct personalities in my own children is a constant reminder of the diversity of each and every learner."

After years of traveling to work with teachers, JoAnn prefers putting her time into two new endeavors that continue to inform her thinking about education. She currently serves on the Oyster River Cooperative School Board. "My experience as a board member allows me to work with a fine group of administrators, teachers, and staff in the exciting and complex task of building and maintaining an excellent school district."

Her newest classroom is her own artist's studio. "After years of wanting to learn to paint, I finally took myself seriously. I built a studio, found a teacher, and have been painting for the last seven years. Standing in front of a blank canvas reminds me of all the excitement and frustration of being a novice and has ushered in new insights about what it means to be a learner. Maybe these ideas will make their way into a book someday, but for now I'm just trying to keep my brushes wet."

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Craft Lessons Second Edition: Teaching Writing K-8

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Amazon.com: Craft Lessons Second Edition: Teaching Writing K-8: 9781571107060: Fletcher, Ralph, Portalupi, JoAnn: Books

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This book is full of mentor texts and mini lessons for teaching the craft of informational writing.

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Writing nonfiction represents a big step for most students. Most young writers are not intimidated by personal narrative, fiction, or even poetry, but when they try to put together a "teaching book," report, or persuasive essay, they often feel anxious and frustrated.

JoAnn Portalupi and Ralph Fletcher believe that young nonfiction writers supply plenty of passion, keen interest, and wonder. Teachers can provide concrete strategies to help students scaffold their ideas as they write in his challenging genre.

Like the authors' best-selling Craft Lessons: Teaching Writing K-8, this book is divided into sections for K-2, 3-4, and middle school (grades 5-8) students. These divisions reflect various differences between emerging, competent, and fluent writers. In each section you'll find a generous collection of craft lessons directed at the genre that's most appropriate for that particular age. In the K-2 section, for example, a number of craft lessons focus on the all-about or concept book. In the 3-4 section there are several lessons on biography. In the 5-8 section a series of lessons addresses expository writing. Throughout the book each of the 80 lessons is presented on a single page in an easy-to-read format.

Every lesson features three teaching guidelines: Discussion--A brief look at the reasons for teaching the particular element of craft specifically in a nonfiction context. How to Teach It--Concrete language showing exactly how a teacher might bring this craft element to students in writing conferences or a small-group setting. Resource Material--Specific book or text referred to in the craft lesson including trade books, or a piece of student writing in the Appendixes.

This book will help students breathe voice into lifeless "dump-truck" writing and improve their nonfiction writing by making it clearer, more authoritative, and more organized. Nonfiction Craft Lessons gives teachers a wealth of practical strategies to help students grow into strong writers as they explore and explain the world around them.

Be sure to look at the When Students Write videotapes too.

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Nonfiction Craft Lessons: Teaching Information Writing K-8

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Amazon.com: Nonfiction Craft Lessons: Teaching Information Writing K-8: 9781571103291: Portalupi, JoAnn, Fletcher, Ralph: Books

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Mentor text resource for grades K-6.[PDF]

Citation from the Web:

Mentor Text List Kindergarten - Educational Service District

amaesd.net/media/TWP/Mentor Text List.pdf

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This book is full of mentor texts and craft strategies for a variety of genres.

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Newspaper and magazine articles are my favorite go-to mentor texts.  Perhaps it's because I want to write like this when I grow up! So many examples of great writing - all right there on the printed page.  All you need to do is tear it out (I'm old school and still take the newspaper) or bookmark it for future use.  Here's a link to "Quick as a Breeze, Here's Autumn," an all-time favorite by columnist Ron Judd, clipped from The Seattle Times eight years ago!
- Ramona Behnkhe
http://www.seattletimes.com/life/outdoors/quick-as-a-breeze-heres-autumn/

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We're both shivering. Her, from chills. Me, from anticipation. It happens every year around this time, sometimes in a moment so definitive and clear you can...

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We're both shivering. Her, from chills. Me, from anticipation.

It happens every year around this time, sometimes in a moment so definitive and clear you can write down the time.

You find yourself caught out in the dark one night - a dark that seems to arrive so much earlier, and descend so much faster, than even the night before.

You plunk into the Adirondack chair on the deck where you've been perched all summer, in bright sunshine, to consume the morning coffee and newspaper and feel a touch of dew against your shorts.

You look across the living room at 7 p.m. on a Sunday night and see your partner - or at least much as you can see of someone who's watching a football game on TV wearing a Marmot parka that's zipped all the way up to the top - bracing herself.

It dawns on you: autumn.

"Should I turn on the furnace?" I asked the zippered one, hands thrust in her pockets, head sunk into her collar up to her nose.

"No," she responds resolutely through at least two layers of the highest-quality living-room weather protection. "We have to wait until at least October."

For most people, that's probably the official start of fall - the ceremonial changing of the air filter, firing up of the furnace. Or the sacred relighting of the noneternal pilot-light flame in the gas fireplace.

Whatever moment suits you, or whichever one you honor, the point is this: It's a moment. A real happening. A bookmark in time that you tend to remember.

That's the magic of the dawn of autumn. It's a seasonal gear change made by a cranky old, worn-out clutch, not the smooth, seamless, hyperglide motion of spring to summer or fall to winter.

Ka-thunk.

There's no way to ease into fall. You get knocked there, on your backside, where you lie prone for a day or two, clutching for polar fleece with which to cover your naked parts.

You've got to love that. Or not, if you're Emjay, who, having spent entirely too much sun-baking time in Florida and Colorado, is still undergoing the Great Adjustment. She sees the days grow shorter and hunkers in dread. I see the nights grow longer and feel my mood rise and bloom, like a reverse skunk cabbage.

I try to sympathize. I promise we'll get out of the cloud cover at least once a month by escaping to Kauai or Chewelah or Penticton or Tahoe or Somewhere, Anywhere Dry.

But she's not buying it, because she sees right through me, to the inextinguishable glee lurking beneath the surface. She either envies this, or just resents it. Who wouldn't?

So I feel badly about that. But it can't be helped. It's a locals thing - a Northwest thing - that a lot of newcomers just never fully understand.

They don't get how two otherwise like-minded people can go out for a walk at dusk on a Sunday night in mid-September, feel the cool moisture sweeping off the saltwater, hear the splashing of the season's first minor mud puddles underfoot, sense the soft touch of those brave, advance scouts for the falling-leaf squadrons, and come to completely opposite conclusions.

They can't grasp the upside-down logic of embracing with open arms an entire half-year of cool, dark wetness. They don't get the buzz of slipping into those Capilene long johns and old, comfy Sorels for the first time in six months. They can't appreciate the beauty of a good old OR rain hat.

And that's OK, because from a practical standpoint, they're on the side of sanity. Clearly, there's something abnormal - or at least maladjusted - about a mindset that welcomes blankets of fog, clumps of moss and cases of the damp shivers.

We're all aware of this, and on the surface, have to admit it's true. But we know that some part of us welcomes the fall. Loves it. Needs it.

Since you're among friends here, admit it: Sometime in the last week or so, you literally felt the seasonal tipping point. And some part of you was jazzed.

Sure, the reasonable part of you tried to suppress it, reminding the illogical subconscious that nobody in their right mind embraces the clamato cocktail of wintry weather we sometimes endure around here.

And on a surface level, it probably was successful.

"Yeah, it's a bummer," you said to a pal, a clerk at the grocery store, or your significant other. "It's gonna be a long time before things warm up again."

But a half-hour later, outside, away from the naysayers, with only you and the newly nipping evening chill around to share the conversation, you abandoned your pretense, reverted to who you really are, and let your native soul do the talking.

And the only words you could find for the wind and the cool and the mist on your face and the delicious near-darkness were as unexpected as they were heartfelt.

"Welcome back, old friend."
Ron Judd's Trail Mix column appears here every Thursday. To contact him: 206-464-8280 or rjudd@seattletimes.com.

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We're both shivering. Her, from chills. Me, from anticipation. It happens every year around this time, sometimes in a moment so definitive and clear you can...

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One old favorite, one I keep buying to give to teachers who don't have it. This book not only includes many poems to share with students, but is divided into sections to help teach what poems do, what's inside a poem, & special kinds of poetry: KNOCK AT A STAR (X.J. Kennedy & Dorothy M. Kennedy)

For older students: IMPORTANT WORDS: A BOOK FOR POETS AND WRITERS(beautiful topics and poetry examples)

More recent: All the POETRY FRIDAY ANTHOLOGIES edited by Sylvia Vardell & Janet Wong. Treasures of poems with lessons that will help.

Online: Poetry 180, started by Billy Collins, a poem a day for high school students. I used them with middle school ages, too. Link is attached below.

Final note: using student work is always a good way to go!

- Linda Baie

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Welcome to Poetry 180. Poetry can and should be an important part of our daily lives. Poems can inspire and make us think about what it means to be a member of the human race. By just spending a few minutes reading a poem each day, new worlds can be revealed.

Poetry 180 is designed to make it easy for students to hear or read a poem on each of the 180 days of the school year. I have selected the poems you will find here with high school students in mind. They are intended to be listened to, and I suggest that all members of the school community be included as readers. A great time for the readings would be following the end of daily announcements over the public address system.

Listening to poetry can encourage students and other learners to become members of the circle of readers for whom poetry is a vital source of pleasure. I hope Poetry 180 becomes an important and enriching part of the school day.

Billy Collins
Former Poet Laureate of the United States
Learn more about Billy Collins

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Poetry 180 | Poet Laureate Projects | Poet Laureate | Poetry & Literature | Programs | Library of Congress

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In an effort to make poetry an active part in the daily experience of American high school students, this project, launched in 2002 during Billy Collins' tenure as Poet Laureate, gives students a chance to read or listen to a poem on each of the 180 days of the school year.

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A site filled with many short wonder-informational-texts. Great practice in nonfiction reading, but why not make your own Wonder by using the entries as mentor texts? http://wonderopolis.o

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What is a multiple?

How do multiples get used in everyday life?

How can you determine a number's multiples?

Find it out

Who was Mary Anning?

What did Mary Anning discover?

What is Jurassic Coast?

Find it out

Have you ever tasted an Arab taco?

When was the Arab taco invented?

What is shawarma?

Find it out

How are currency exchange rates determined?

What was the gold standard?

Which type of currency exchange rate system does the U.S. use?

Find it out
Which of the following is usually NOT a factor in determining currency exchange rates?

Test your knowledge

How can I use Wonderopolis?

What are the parts of a Wonder?

How do writers make a Wonder?

Find it out

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Where the Wonders of Learning Never Cease | Wonderopolis

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Where the Wonders of Learning Never Cease

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My students and I use the books that line the walls of our classroom for mentor texts on a daily basis. Need a great lead? Great ending? Idea on how to punctuate dialogue? Use a book. For example, we just finished a unit on writing personal narratives. KNUCKLEHEAD by Jon Scieszka and MARSHFIELD DREAMS by Ralph Fletcher were just two of the books we turned to on a regular basis. We also pull "mentor sentences" out of books all the time. Beautiful sentences that we want to study the moves the writing made while crafting. I got that idea from Jeff Anderson's books: EVERY EDITING and MECHANICALLY INCLINED.

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For the past 25 years, Jeff has worked with writers and teachers of grades, K-12, inspiring them about the power and joy of the writing process. He has written four books for Stenhouse Publishers: Mechanically Inclined, Everyday Editing, 10 Things Every Writer Needs to Know and his latest book with Dr. Deborah Dean of BYU Revision Decisions: Talking Through Sentences and Beyond (November 2014). He also has two middle grade novels, Zack Delacruz: Me and My Big Mouth (Sterling, 2015) and Zack Delacruz: Just My Luck (Sterling, October 2016).

Jeff grew up in Austin, where he learned to love writing through journaling, a bit of positive reinforcement, and writing stories and dramas to entertain his friends on the phone. He wanted to become a teacher early on, but his parents tried to convince him otherwise. "They wanted me to make more money." During an internship visit to a local elementary classroom, he made up his mind. "When I saw those curious eyes, kids raising their hands, asking questions, I lost all track of time and from that moment on, I was a teacher. I want to create environments that feel safe for learners at the elementary, middle, and university levels and during professional development for teachers. Working together we figure out things, surprise each other, find our strengths, and experience the joy it is to be a learner and teacher. We are students and teachers to each other."

Jeff specializes in writing, revision, and grammar. "I love the ability to spark curiosity and creativity and to support students in finding their voices. That's pure joy." When it comes to his own professional development, he wants to explore things that have meaning to him in the classroom. "I want to find out things I didn't know, be affirmed or reminded of what I do know, and be energized by thinking and action, reflection and application. Since that's what I want, that's what I give teachers. Something they can take, shape, and make their own. Something they can use right now."

Jeff's first book Mechanically Inclined, came to life from what he didn't know and what he needed to know. "I read, tried things out, played in my head and in my classroom, and read some more, permutating and refining. I thought about what worked and what didn't, as well as what sound pedagogical principles are used in other disciplines."

His other books also came from his work in his own classrooms and those across the United States. The invitational process Everyday Editing is built around was first shared in workshops until teachers wanted another book on grammar. 10 Things was Jeff's chance to share what his experience had taught him are the essential things every writer needs to know and be able to do. In his first collaboration, Jeff and Debbie came together to tackle a sentence combining and its larger effects on revision and writing.

In his free time, Jeff walks his dogs Carl and Paisley or sits on the deck with his partner Terry. When he's not doing that he reads middle grade novels and his new addiction is nonfiction.

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Everyday Editing: Inviting Students to Develop Skill and Craft in Writer's Workshop

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Everyday Editing: Inviting Students to Develop Skill and Craft in Writer's Workshop [Anderson, Jeff] on Amazon.com. *FREE* shipping on qualifying offers. Everyday Editing: Inviting Students to Develop Skill and Craft in Writer's Workshop

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Pinterest Board - "I CAN WRITE A BOOK LIKE THAT" - Picture Book Mentors 

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Pinterest Board - "I CAN WRITE A BOOK LIKE THAT" - Picture Book Mentors 

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Here are a few picture book mentor texts to use with our youngest writers. "I Can Write a Book Like That" (a Pinterest board kept by Cathy Mere) features picture books that provide structure, patterns, and ideas helpful for young readers.

(There are many other great mentor text Pinterest Boards, and we can add them here. Please feel free to share on another entry, and I will combine. - Amy)

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Many Websites - #PB 10 for 10 (Picture Book 10 for 10)

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Many Websites - #PB 10 for 10 (Picture Book 10 for 10)

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For five years now (2011 - 2015), teacher/author/bloggers Cathy Mere and Mandy Robek have hosted #pb10for10. This is an annual blog roundup on August 10, inviting folks to share 10 picture books around a theme.

Here are some bloggers who have shared Top 10 Lists around writing workshop mentor texts.

This Google Community is filled with mentor texts thanks to Mandy Robeck and Cathy Mere.

Link to August 2015's list:

https://plus.google.com/communities/109747361653807401083

In February there is a nonfiction focus. Here's the link to Feb. 2015

https://plus.google.com/communities/109747361653807401083/stream/7e4b1df2-a752-413b-9ac2-69b5114ebbf0

More coming...

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Book - IN PICTURES AND IN WORDS: TEACHING THE QUALITIES OF GOOD WRITING THROUGH ILLUSTRATION STUDY - by Katie Wood Ray

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Book - IN PICTURES AND IN WORDS: TEACHING THE QUALITIES OF GOOD WRITING THROUGH ILLUSTRATION STUDY - by Katie Wood Ray

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In this book, readers learn how the illustration moves that young writers make translate directly to the moves authors make when crafting texts. Examine particular books and pictures and learn from mini lessons about the craft of illustration and how it informs writing.

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In Pictures and In Words: Teaching the Qualities of Good Writing Through Illustration Study

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Amazon.com: In Pictures and In Words: Teaching the Qualities of Good Writing Through Illustration Study: 9780325028552: Ray, Katie Wood: Books

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Book - CRACKING OPEN THE AUTHOR'S CRAFT: TEACHING THE ART OF WRITING by Lester Laminack

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Book - CRACKING OPEN THE AUTHOR'S CRAFT: TEACHING THE ART OF WRITING by Lester Laminack

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A great book for specific craft moves- 15 lessons and a DVD.

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Book - WHAT A WRITER NEEDS by Ralph Fletcher

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Book - WHAT A WRITER NEEDS by Ralph Fletcher

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This book is a classic when it comes to learning from mentor texts. The new edition is filled with excerpts from texts and thoughts about having these conversations with students.

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"This is no recipe book: I have tried not to be formulaic. Rather, I want to suggest the richness of options, the myriad possibilities open to the writer at any given moment. Young writers need to know what can be done with language."
-Ralph Fletcher

For more than 20 years, Ralph Fletcher's What a Writer Needs has been a beloved bestseller, trusted in classrooms, district inservices, and teacher-preparation programs across the U.S. Now Ralph's second edition makes What a Writer Needs an even more powerful tool for turning students into writers-and for teachers to improve their own writing.

In What A Writer Needs, Ralph presents a crash course on the elements of writing, with chapters on how to create vivid details, compelling voice, a sense of place, believable characters, tension, engaging leads and endings, just to name a few. Readers will develop a deeper, more profound knowledge of writing and will find the book eminently practical as well. In fact, Ralph has added two entirely new chapters on revision and nonfiction writing that are immediately useful for meeting Common Core writing standards. It also includes a completely updated list of suggested mentor texts, handpicked by Ralph, and sorted by the craft element each demonstrates.

What A Writer Needs, Second Edition, is a desert-island book for any writing teacher. Personal and anecdotal, it includes a wealth of lively writing samples drawn both from student writers and professionals. Experience Ralph's keen instructional insight, his careful attention to students and their work, and his experienced-honed wisdom about the essentials of great writing. Discover the pleasure of reading and teaching from What a Writer Needs. You'll soon find out why Ralph Fletcher's timeless classic is more timely than ever.

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Amazon.com: What a Writer Needs, Second Edition: 9780325046662: Fletcher, Ralph: Books

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Newspaper/Web: Poetry Pairings via the NY Times

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Newspaper/Web: Poetry Pairings via the NY Times

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A gorgeous poem, paired with texts and artifacts published by the Times.

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A digital collection of beautiful books. Full access!

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Links to phenomenal mentor text lesson plans and some great book recommendations!

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The fine folks at NPR continue to curate powerful stories that capture the human experience. Users can read, listen, watch, and even record their own.

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Stories from people of all backgrounds and beliefs

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Website - MENTOR TEXT DROPBOX by Rebekah 

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Website - MENTOR TEXT DROPBOX by Rebekah 

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Authors (WRITING WITH MENTORS, see other entry here) and high school teachers Rebekah O'Dell and Alison Marchetti have collected many mentor texts around topics, technique, genre. Many are short texts or bits of longer texts from online sources.

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The 826 National folks are well-known for their work in larger cities like 826Valencia in San Francisco (one of the first 826 locations) and 826LA. The idea behind their concept is to have after school programs wherein the participants walk through a liminal space (pirate shop or a time-travel mart) in order to enter a writing space. This is really what writing with a mentor text can be, yes?

In DON'T FORGET TO WRITE, there is a prompt wherein the authors ask writers to draw a crocodile from memory. This will probably present an amount of failure for many to remember details and to draw accurately a crocodile. When the workshop leader presents a stuffed crocodile, the idea of using mentor texts as a model becomes clear.

This is just one of many writing invitations in this particular book. It is one of my favorites for use in the secondary classroom.

Another publication from these 826 National folks is STEM TO STORY which encourages writing within the sciences. This book goes beyond lab reports to encourage poetry, narrative, and other invitations to write within STEM-related courses.

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This book by author of picture books, novels, poetry, and books about writing is full of short mentor texts and notes from Ralph about his process.

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This blog has so many amazing resources for mentor texts in all genres. Here (blue link) is one example of a post full of texts with teacher tips on how to use them in writing workshop, and if you click the picture below, you will go to a larger collection of mentor text ideas. https://twowritingteachers.wordpress.com/2014/11/06/work-smarter-picture-books/

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Posts about mentor texts written by Kathleen Neagle Sokolowski, Stacey Shubitz, Betsy Hubbard, twtguestauthor, BethMooreSchool, Deb Frazier, Lanny Ball, Lisa Keeler, Dana Murphy, and Melanie Meehan

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Website - Collection of Mentor Texts for Different Purposes and Levels

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Website - Collection of Mentor Texts for Different Purposes and Levels

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This page at the Los Angeles Unified School District site offers many suggestions for writing mentor texts.

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Summer is the perfect time to embrace the great outdoors and take learning beyond the classroom. Let's embark on exciting educational adventures that inspire, educate, and create unforgettable memories!

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Corona Avenue Elementary is located in Bell, CA.

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Book- FINDING THE HEART OF NONFICTION by Georgia Heard

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Book- FINDING THE HEART OF NONFICTION by Georgia Heard

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Find examples of personal essays. There is a text and an audio version of most essays, and you can search by age of writer or theme. Don't miss seven-year-old Tarek's thirty beliefs - inspirational and great for young writers exploring their own idea-making.

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The celebration of quinceañera is a tradition among people of Latin American heritage that marks a 15-year-old girl's transition from childhood to womanhood. The festivities can include a religious ceremony, elaborate gowns and tuxedoes, a lavish party, and a special dance of the quinceañera and her court. Such a major turning-point in a young girl's life can evoke a range of emotions and inspire a number of beliefs. Click here to read what these essayists feel about this important rite of passage.

It's amazing the effect that one simple act of kindness can have both on the giver and the receiver. Greeting a stranger with "hello" or letting a fellow driver merge ahead of you may not change the world, but it can make living in that particular moment more pleasant. Click here to read some meditations on kindness.

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A public dialogue about belief - one essay at a time

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The celebration of quinceañera is a tradition among people of Latin American heritage that marks a 15-year-old girl's transition from childhood to womanhood. The festivities can include a religious ceremony, elaborate gowns and tuxedoes, a lavish party, and a special dance of the quinceañera and her court.

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MARSHFIELD DREAMS by Ralph Fletcher

KNUCKLEHEAD by Jon

ONCE UPON A TUNA FISH - Esme Codell

THE TARANTULA IN MY PURSE - Jean Craighead George

SING A SONG OF TUNA FISH: A MEMOIR OF MY FIFTH GRADE YEAR - Esme Raji Codell

GUTS - Gary Paulsen

WHEN I WAS YOUR AGE VOLUMES 1 & 2 - Amy Ehrlich

In these books, every chapter could be a mentor text for personal narrative.  Short memories weaving together small bodily actions, dialogue, thoughts and feelings, and description.  Here you'll find a variety of moods too - from the most funny to very poignant

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If you have a book that you love for some special teaching reason, look it up on Amazon and see what others who have purchased it have also purchased. It is likely you will find another favorite which you may choose to purchase at your local bookstore! :)

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2015 book filled with ideas for using mentor texts in the high school classroom.

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" Writing With Mentors is one of the best books I've read on harnessing the power of mentor texts to spur authentic student writing." --Kelly Gallagher, author of Write Like This

"Writing With Mentors has transformed the way I think about using exemplar pieces." --Christopher Lehman, coauthor of Falling in Love with Close Reading

"I am certain Don [Graves] would have celebrated these wise, kind, and fearless advocates for young writers." --Penny Kittle, author of Write Beside Them

In Writing with Mentors, high school teachers Allison Marchetti and Rebekah O'Dell prove that the key to cultivating productive, resourceful writers-writers who can see value and purpose for writing beyond school-is using dynamic, hot-off-the-press mentor texts. In this practical guide, they provide savvy strategies for:

--finding and storing fresh new mentor texts, from trusted traditional sources to the social mediums of the day
--grouping mentor texts in clusters that show a diverse range of topics, styles, and approaches
--teaching with lessons that demonstrate the enormous potential of mentor texts at every stage of the writing process.

In chapters that follow the scaffolded instruction Allison and Rebekah use in their own classrooms, you'll discover how using mentor texts can unfold across the year, from inspiration and planning to drafting, revising, and "going public" in final publication. Along the way, you'll find yourself reaching every writer in the room, whatever their needs. "Our hope in this book," they write, "is to show you a way mentors can help you teach anything you need or want to teach in writing. A way that is grounded in the work of real writers and the real reading you do every day. A way that is sustainable and fresh, and will serve your students long after they leave your classroom."

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Writing with Mentors: How to Reach Every Writer in the Room Using Current, Engaging Mentor Texts

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Amazon.com: Writing with Mentors: How to Reach Every Writer in the Room Using Current, Engaging Mentor Texts: 9780325074504: Marchetti, Allison, O'Dell, Rebekah: Books

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Written by Amy Ludwig VanDerwater as a resource for using her book, FOREST HAS A SONG as a mentor text for writing poetry.

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Forest Has a Song - Mentor Text for Writers PDF.pdf

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Find numerous examples of texts that will give writers ideas for crafting their own work. Rich index too.

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It's been a decade since Lynne Dorfman and Rose Cappelli wrote the first edition of Mentor Texts and helped teachers across the country make the most of high-quality children's literature in their writing instruction. In the second edition of this important book, Lynne and Rose show teachers how to help students become confident, accomplished writers by using literature as their foundation.

The second edition includes brand-new "Your Turn Lessons," built around the gradual release of responsibility model, offering suggestions for demonstrations and shared or guided writing. Reflection is emphasized as a necessary component of understanding why mentor authors chose certain strategies, literary devices, sentence structures, and words.

Lynne and Rose offer new children's book titles in each chapter and in a carefully curated and annotated "Treasure Chest." At the end of each chapter, a "Think About It-Talk About It-Write About It" section invites reflection and conversation with colleagues.

The book is organized around the characteristics of good writing-focus, content, organization, style, and conventions. Rose and Lynne write in a friendly and conversational style, employing numerous anecdotes to help teachers visualize the process, and offer strategies that can be immediately implemented in the classroom. This practical resource demonstrates the power of learning to read like writers.
Go Digital with Stenhouse
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If you previously purchased an ebook from Stenhouse.com, they will remain available in your digital library.

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It's been a decade since Lynne Dorfman and Rose Cappelli wrote the first edition of Mentor Texts and helped teachers across the country make the most of high-quality children's literature in their writing instruction. In the second edition of this important book, Lynne and Rose show teachers how to help students become confident, accomplished writers by using literature as their foundation.

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Here you will find many ideas for lessons, books, tips to share when studying nonfiction mentors.

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Lynne, a native of Philadelphia, received her bachelor's and master's degrees in elementary education, her supervisory certificate in elementary education, her reading specialist certificate from LaSalle University, and her educational leadership doctorate degree from Immaculata University. She has thirty-eight years' of experience with the Upper Moreland School District and 25 years of experience gathered in course work and presentation work for the Pennsylvania Writing & Literature Project.

She became a teacher because "I wanted to make a difference and I love working with kids." Like many others, she also "played school" as a child. "I had some great teachers and I wanted to be like them. Especially, Mrs. Steinberg, my sixth grade teacher. There were over 30 kids in my class that year. Mrs. Steinberg was the first teacher who held writing conferences and encouraged us to write for real world audiences. I remember sharing 'My Most Unforgettable Character' with my riding instructor, Mick Warmington. I remember his face while he was reading it. I still get chills when I think about it. That's when I realized the power of the written word. That's when I first dreamed about writing and publishing books and encouraging my future students to do the same."

Lynne is currently literacy a Co-director of the Pennsylvania Writing and Literature Project; adjunct professor for Arcadia University; and a legacy ambassador/tour guide for Pearl S. Buck International. She also does independent consulting work for the PA Writing Project and serves on the board for Chester County Reading Association as well as the board for Eta Chapter of Alpha Delta Kappa. For the past six years, Lynne has facilitated a senior citizen writing group for Upper Moreland Township through Upper Moreland School District.

Her latest book is a collaborative work with her colleague, Diane Dougherty. It targets grades K-6 and demonstrates how to embed grammar and mechanics instruction throughout the day. "We think that grammar matters, but we don't believe in workbooks and isolated lessons. We think the teaching of grammar should be both explicit and implicit. Every day teachers need to tuck in grammar and mechanics wherever and whenever it is applicable. That means your modeling or discussion might occur in social studies as easily as it might occur in writing and reading workshop."

Lynne co-authored three books with friend and colleague, Rose Cappelli. "We based everything on classroom samples and our work with children. An important part was including anecdotes--advice we received from Shelley Harwayne. It helped to keep a notebook of our ideas."

Lynne describes her approach to professional development as hands on and interactive, using the gradual release of responsibility model. "Very practical and user-friendly--let's take it right back to the classroom."

Lynne has two goddaughters and three Welsh Corgi dogs. She recently acquired a husband, Ralph, who has the patience of a saint. "He supports me in all my endeavors and is my best friend." Lynne loves to plant flowers, read books, write poetry, and spend time at the seashore with her husband, friends, and goddaughters. She taught herself how to play the guitar and loves the old folk songs written by Peter, Paul, and Mary and Pete Seeger. She especially loves the Rolling Stones, the Beatles, Bob Dylan, Rod Stewart, James Taylor, Simon and Garfunkel, Jim Morrison, and Gordon Lightfoot.

Rose comes from a family of musicians and teachers, both of which have greatly influenced her life. A volunteer job in high school led her to pursue work with hearing and language impaired children. But she knew that in order to be successful with this population, she needed to better understand the relationship of language acquisition to reading and writing. This led her to become a reading specialist as well as to her involvement with the PA Writing and Literature Project.

She received her bachelor's degree in Deaf Education from Pennsylvania State University and her master's degree in reading from West Chester University. She also holds an elementary certification from Immaculata University. Rose has worked as a reading specialist in the West Chester Area School District and as a teacher consultant and course coordinator at the Pennsylvania Writing and Literature Project.

Her approach to staff development follows the premise of "teachers teaching teachers" which is the basis of the work done by PAWLP. "I want to bring what I have learned in the classroom to my work with teachers, so all the things I suggest are classroom tested, and the teaching beliefs I have formed come from my work with children. I have been greatly influenced by the work of Regie Routman, Lucy Calkins, Donald Graves, Katie Wood Ray, and others who I consider my mentors and who have guided my practice and understandings.

"I think the best way to approach staff development is to guide teachers in reflecting on their own practice, give them the opportunity to try out some new strategies, share thoughts and ideas, and then think about where the new ideas could fit in with or change their beliefs. Reflection is a big part of working with teachers.

"The writing of Mentor Texts was truly a collaborative process with my friend and colleague, Lynne Dorfman. While we worked on some parts separately, I think our best work came on the days we spent sitting in my sunroom pouring through countless children's books, and the conversations that ensued. Working together, we had the opportunity to question and search for answers, clarify understandings, and think about the best way to present ideas to teachers so that they could try them out with their students. And that brings me back to reflection. Writing the book gave us time to reflect and put into words the strategies we have found to be successful in using with our students. We followed the same process in writing Nonfiction Mentor Textsand Poetry Mentor Texts. With all three projects, the writing journey was a learning journey."

Rose is married with two grown children, Brian and Ann. She and her husband, Allan, live in Chester County, PA. She enjoys gardening and golf, and of course, reading. "I have been trying to learn how to play golf for a few years now. Going through the process of learning something new that doesn't come easily or naturally to me has given me new insights into what some kids go through who struggle with reading and/or writing. I have been reminded of the whole learning process and the importance of modeling and guided practice."

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Nonfiction Mentor Texts: Teaching Informational Writing Through Children's Literature, K-8

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Amazon.com: Nonfiction Mentor Texts: Teaching Informational Writing Through Children's Literature, K-8: 9781571104960: Dorfman, Lynne R., Cappelli, Rose: Books

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Many ideas for using poetry mentors in a variety of ways.

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Building on the success of Mentor Texts and Nonfiction Mentor Texts, authors Lynne R. Dorfman and Rose Cappelli now turn their attention to poetry. In Poetry Mentor Texts, Lynne and Rose show teachers how to use poems in both reading and writing workshops and across content areas. Written in a friendly, conversational tone, this practical book explores a variety of poetic forms, including poems that inspire

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Building on the success of Mentor Texts and Nonfiction Mentor Texts, authors Lynne R. Dorfman and Rose Cappelli now turn their attention to poetry. In Poetry Mentor Texts, Lynne and Rose show teachers how to use poems in both reading and writing workshops and across content areas.

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Grounded in the Six Plus One Traits, this book teaches us and our students to look at writing with a "thief's eye." Many book titles herein.

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It's been said that good writers borrow while great writers steal. Writing thieves read widely, dive deeply into texts, and steal bits and pieces from great texts as models for their own writing. Ruth Culham admits to being a writing thief-and she wants you and your students to become writing thieves, too!

A major part of becoming a writing thief is finding the right mentor texts to share with students. Within this book, discover more than 90 excellent mentor texts, along with straight-forward activities that incorporate the traits of writing across informational, narrative, and argument modes.

Chapters also include brief essays from beloved writing thieves such as Lester Laminack, David L. Harrison, Lisa Yee, Nicola Davies, Ralph Fletcher, Toni Buzzeo, Lola Schaefer, and Kate Messner, detailing the reading that has influenced their own writing.

Ruth's beloved easy-going style and friendly tone make this a book you'll turn to again and again as you guide your students to reach their full potential as deep, thoughtful readers and great writers. There's a writing thief in each of us when we learn how to read with a writer's eye!

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The Writing Thief: Using Mentor Texts to Teach the Craft of Writing

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Amazon.com: The Writing Thief: Using Mentor Texts to Teach the Craft of Writing: 9780872070998: Ruth Culham: Books

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The authors describe and categorize many books based on craft.

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You know the importance of using mentor texts when teaching author's crafts to your young writers. But how do you a busy teacher with only so many hours in a day find great mentor texts? With so many children's books available and so little time to peruse them all, matching books to writers workshop minilessons remains a challenge.

Here is the resource to make your search for just the right books a little easier. Authors Susan Ehmann and Kellyann Gayer bring you a resource built out of their love of great children's books, their vast experience in the classroom, and their passion for teaching young writers.

The heart of this book is an extensive annotated bibliography that details examples of 27 author's crafts found in 150 high-quality children's books. But there's so much more! This book can serve as your go-to writers workshop resource by providing you with:

A quick reference to turn to when you need to find the right mentor text to teach a specific author's craft, such as alliteration, hyperbole, onomatopoeia, personification, rhyme, voice, and many more
Age-appropriate craft studies that fit into your existing curriculum
Tools to help you match the books you already have in your classroom or school library with the crafts they demonstrate

In these pages you ll discover engaging fiction and nonfiction children's books and ideas for using them to their maximum potential as teaching tools. And you will find new ways to give your students a priceless gift exemplary models for their own writing. Realize the reward of having your students listen to a well-written story then identify the author's craft and say, I can write like that!

The International Reading Association is the world's premier organization of literacy professionals. Our titles promote reading by providing professional development to continuously advance the quality of literacy instruction and research.

Research-based, classroom-tested, and peer-reviewed, IRA titles are among the highest quality tools that help literacy professionals do their jobs better.

Some of the many areas we publish in include:

-Comprehension
-Response To Intervention/Struggling Readers
-Early Literacy
-Adolescent Literacy
-Assessment
-Literacy Coaching
-Research And Policy

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I Can Write Like That!: A Guide to Mentor Texts and Craft Studies for Writers' Workshop, K-6

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Amazon.com: I Can Write Like That!: A Guide to Mentor Texts and Craft Studies for Writers' Workshop, K-6: 9780872077089: Susan Ehmann, Kellyann Gayer: Books

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This is the book that will help you know how to read books as a writer, will help you find future texts everywhere and forever.

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Concrete illustrations of effective classroom practices based in NCTE research briefs and policy statements

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You can find many suggested mentor texts in this book. At the back of the book there are many great units, each with an associated list of possible books to share.

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About the Authors is about the littlest authors - those in kindergarten through second grade. Based on a profound understanding of the ways in which young children learn, it shows teachers how to launch a writing workshop by inviting children to do what they do naturally - make stuff. So why not write books?

Gifted educator and author of the best-selling What You Know by Heart (Heinemann, 2002), Katie Wood Ray has seen young authors do just that. And she wants your students to be able to do the same. Beautifully describing young children in the act of learning, she demonstrates what it takes to nourish writing right from the start:

a supportive environment that enables even the youngest students to write

respect and sensitivity to the way children really learn

inviting instruction that both encourages and elevates young writers

rich language that stimulates writing

classroom talk and children's literature that energize young writers

developmental considerations that shape the structure of the workshop, making it natural, joyful, and absolutely appropriate.

What's more, Ray explains step by step how to set up and maintain a primary writing workshop, detailing eleven units of study that cover idea generation, text structures, different genres, and illustrations that work with text. She also draws on data, projects, and the language of teaching used in the classroom of first-grade teacher Lisa Cleaveland. Ray allows readers to "listen in" to Lisa as she helps her young students learn from professional writers, work with intention, and think about their own process.
Chockfull of examples of little books by young children, About the Authors is proof positive that a primary writing workshop is a smart writing move.

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About the Authors: Writing Workshop with Our Youngest Writers

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Amazon.com: About the Authors: Writing Workshop with Our Youngest Writers: 9780325005119: Ray, Katie Wood, Cleaveland, Lisa B: Books

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This site regularly shares great books for sharing as writing mentor texts.

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At this website, you can search in the search box by grade level and "writing workshop." Lists will appear of various types of texts for sharing in different grades.

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Booksource Classroom is a FREE, classroom library management tool that helps teachers inventory, manage and analyze their classroom libraries.

Powered by Booksource's robust title data, Booksource Classroom allows teachers to maintain an online inventory of their books, access title information and reading levels, monitor student reading habits, discover gaps in their classroom libraries and easily purchase titles to fill those gaps.

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Booksource Classroom is a FREE, classroom library management tool that helps teachers inventory, manage and analyze their classroom libraries. Powered by Booksource's robust title data, Booksource Classroom allows teachers to maintain an online inventory of their books, access title information and reading levels, monitor student reading habits, discover gaps in their classroom libraries and easily purchase titles to fill those gaps.