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Team Moon: How 400,000 People Landed Apollo 11 on the Moon

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Team Moon: How 400,000 People Landed Apollo 11 on the Moon

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This award-winning informational picture book walks the reader through the landing of Apollo 11 on the moon and all of the various roles and "unsung heroes" that were involved in that historical event. This is a good mentor text for sentence fluency because it features an almost poetic variation of short and long sentences that are eloquently used to both build suspense and paint lyrically detailed images, which would serve as an excellent model for students to mimic in their own writing.

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This poetry book calls attention to the different kinds of punctuation and celebrates all of their different uses in helping readers understand an author's intended meaning. This is a good mentor text for conventions because it models the usage of various punctuation forms through examples and explicit instruction on when, where, and how to use them.

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This humorous book demonstrates examples of identical sentences that are punctuated in very different ways, which inevitably communicate very different meanings. This is a good mentor text for the conventions trait because it visually demonstrates how punctuation can impact the meaning of a writing piece, as well as how to identify where punctuation should go in their own writing through the dips and rises of their voice as they read back their work.

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This story is about a young girl who wants to enter a writing contest at her local library. She gets advice from all of her different families members who tell her to include various elements that they think make writing pieces good (humor, action, romance, etc.) and the girl struggles to incorporate all of them, especially when she doesn't truly feel passionate about them. At the end, her mom encourages her to write from her heart and the girl is able to write "The Best Story." This is a good mentor text for the idea trait because it models writing about something that the writer is truly passionate about, not what they think other people will enjoy or benefit from, as that will produce the most fresh and focused writing.

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This Newbery Medal award-winning graphic novel tells the loosely autobiographical story of author Cece Bell's experience with deafness as a child through the ironic choice of talking bunnies as main characters (bunnies are known for big ears and excellent hearing). This graphic novel explores themes of self-love and self-acceptance while also tackling issues of social isolation to raise awareness for the normalization of hearing aids and differing ability levels. This is a good mentor text for conventions because the author's use of differing punctuation in the dialogue allows it to be read fluidly, which additionally supports the reader's ability to derive meaning from the narrative (i.e. punctuation to show that a character got cut off when another starts speaking, expressive punctuation to communicate emotion). This would support students in developing their convention skills by providing them with a model for fluent punctuation integration, particularly with regards to communication through dialogue in a piece.

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Sentence fluency is the rhythm and flow of writing that is heard when the piece is read. In good writing, sentence fluency is demonstrated through the implementation of sentences that vary in length and those which allow the reader to read smoothly and with expression. Sentences should be purposeful, act to enhance the main topic, and flow together with appropriate transitions and connections.

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Conventions in writing are the mechanic correctness of a piece that include elements such as spelling, punctuation, paragraphing, grammar, and capitalization. Quality writing uses accurately utilizes conventions on a scale that is appropriate for the grade level of the writer in a way that best allows the reader to gain meaning from the piece. Additionally, excellent writing will manipulate conventions in a way that enhances the writing piece, such as using ellipses to build suspense.

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Word choice is the vocabulary and diction a writer intentionally selects to include in their piece. Good writing will include a wide variety of dynamic words that evoke emotion, give clarity, and create a vivid picture for the reader. Word choice should also be appropriate and make sense for the writing style, format, and context (i.e. word choice would and should look different in an academic essay and a grocery list).

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Voice is the unique tone and personality that shines through in a writing piece. Quality, expressive voice includes feelings, enthusiasm, and a sense of passion for the topic that is distinct to the author and allows the reader to feel connected to the piece.

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Organization is the structure of the writing piece and the way in which it is presented to the reader. There are a variety of organizational structures, such as chronological or cause-and-effect. In good writing, the work should be organized and presented in a manner that flows, allows the reader to easily derive the intended meaning, and follow the piece without getting lost.

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Ideas are the content and main message of a writing piece. Quality writing has a specifically selected topic or idea that remains as the focus for the entirety of the piece with supporting details that demonstrate that the author is knowledgeable or experienced about the topic and views it as important to communicate.

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These are general mentor texts about the topic of writing and/or could be useful for mini-lesson hooks.

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This picture book with strong main characters and an enticing beginning tells the story of Giraffe and Bird who are mortal enemies and definitely NOT friends. They begin to lose their patience with one another and decide to separate, but realize that although co-existing is difficult, it's worth it. This is a good mentor text for word choice because it contains a variety of expressive and illustrative words that are used to convey the emotions the characters are feeling in this story. The word choice in this text would serve as a good model for students who are also writing expressive pieces filled with emotion.

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This picture book tells the story of Mouse. On his way home, Mouse and his friends hear a howling noise. As they search for the cause of the noise, they eventually realize it is coming from a scared little wolf cub. This is a good mentor text for conventions because it features a variety of punctuation that skillfully complements the onomatopoeia (quack, honk, crack) used in the story. It would also be a good selection for word choice because it features different creative synonyms for common words such as "said" (i.e. huffed, roared, cried) throughout the dialogue in this book.

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This humorous informational text written by award-winning photographer Stan Tekiela features pictures of animals that Tekiela has attempted to photograph that got scared and ended up running or flying away, inevitably resulting in many pictures featuring their rear ends. Throughout the book, Tekiela will present information and humorous facts about an animal alongside the photo of their rear end and then pose the question "Whose Butt?" Students have the opportunity to guess before the page is flipped. This serves as a good mentor text for organization because it features a question-answer text pattern that students could mimic in their writing while also providing an example of informational writing that still includes elements of humor.

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This rhyming texts follows a mother black bear and her two cubs for a full calendar year. This is a good mentor text for organization because it models a circular text structure where the beginning and ending are the same or share similar elements.

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This picture book with a strong main character features author and illustrator Mark Pett telling the reader all about how books should be written. Along the way, Percy the Panda inputs his unconventional ideas for writing a book that don't always align with Mark Pett's. In the end, they decide to be flexible with their writing style and collaborate to finish the book together. This is a good mentor text for ideas because it models the process of writers getting ideas for their books and how writing decisions are made. It also serves as a good model for interactive writing that directly talks to the reader, which is a unique writing style.

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In this story, a young boy is inspired by his older sister to try writing a story. Throughout the story, he gets wise advice from his sister and he eventually creates his own imaginative tale. This would be a good mentor text for the idea trait because it serves as inspiration for young writers to believe in their own writing abilities and imagination. It also models a supportive writing peer group through the boy's family that could be translated to conversations and workshops in the classroom.

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In this book, a boy is transported to amazing locations throughout the world by engaging in imaginative reading. He wanders around his neighborhood and wonders about common occurrences in everyday life. When he comes back home, he uses what he saw and wondered about in his life to draw and write new stories. This would be a good mentor text for the idea trait because it models how to generate ideas for writing by taking note of the world around them.

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In this retelling of the classic tale, the addition of a giant fish provides an opportunity for the troll to experience the feeling of being bullied. This is a good mentor text for voice because it features a variety of different characters with dialogue that's meant to meant to be read in multiple tones, pitches, and volumes, which can be a useful tool in encouraging students to consider how their voice would be read in their writing.

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This is a nearly wordless picture book the tells the story of a young boy and his dog who love playing together. This text is a great tool for building and modeling fluency among pre-emergent writers, as it features a small number or repeated words that encourage readers to chime in.

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This book tells the story of a girl who launches dinosaurs into space with her rocket. This is a lively picture book that would serve as a good model for sentence fluency as it features expressive writing with a variety of onomatopoeia and interjections, which would serve as a good tool and model for students to integrate a variety of sentence lengths and structures into their own writing.

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This book tells the story of a young  girl and her chinchilla who go to visit a pet show in their local park. This would be a good mentor text for word choice because there is a large variety of vivid verbs used to describe the different animals they see on their walk through the pet show, which would provide students with a model for using specific verbs to clarify meaning in their writing.

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This book is about a giant who is on the lookout for children to eat. Along his way, he helps children get their ball out of a fountain and rescues a cat from a tree. The children he meets along the way convince him that it is unkind to eat children and instead convince him to eat cake. This text is a good mentor text for sentence fluency because it features a good model for rhyming text. This would support students initial development of sentence fluency by modeling how to fluently read texts with a predictive pattern through either choral or independent reading.

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This book is about a young boy who loves bugs and wants to open a bug zoo but sadly, no matter how many he collects, no one wants to visit his zoo. This book is an excellent mentor text for word choice because throughout the story, the young boy uses a wide variety of imaginative adjectives to describe the bugs he collects.

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This book tells the story of a girl who lives on a ranch and loves "herding" different words together into sentences and larger stories. On her ranch, she notices that someone has been stealing and adding letters and words into the mix. Once she catches the bandit, they work together to "herd" and "wrangle" new words together. This book is a good mentor text for word choice because it humorously depicts the process of word study/play and the manipulation letters to make new words.

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One Day in the Eucalyptus, Eucalyptus Tree 

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One Day in the Eucalyptus, Eucalyptus Tree 

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This is a rhythmic tale that tells the story of a clever boy who gets eaten by a snake and tricks the snake into eating more and more until his stomach gets full and he spits the boy up. This is a good mentor text for conventions punctuation and text clues that guide the reader in adjusting their speed and volume of reading. It would also serve as a good mentor text for sentence fluency due to the repetitive language that invites the reader to join in.

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This picture book with beautiful illustrations details the connectivity of a white oak forest ecosystem. Through a repetitive cause-and-effect structure, the story follows the initial impact of a single acorn on the ground. This serves as a good mentor text for organization because it models a clear cause-and-effect text structure that students could borrow or mimic in their own writing.

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Intro/hook for mini lessons

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This award-winning chapter book with a strong main character tells the story of an eleven-year old girl as she navigates complex issues such as family divorce, racism, and the everyday challenges of life as a girl in middle school. This book is a good mentor text for voice because the narration style is very stream-of-consciousness and truly embodies the voice that a young girl would have, which would serve as a good model for younger students.

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This lyrical and award-winning novel is told in verse and discusses the author's experience as a young African-American girl living in New York and South Carolina in the 1960s. This is a good mentor text for organization because it models writing sequentially and chronologically along a timeline, writing in a poetic structure, and in an autobiographical format.

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This award-winning picture book follows the story of a young African-American boy as he experiences getting a fresh haircut at the barbershop. It was critically acclaimed for it's poetic verse as well as the way it celebrates the narratives of young African-American boys. This is an excellent mentor text for voice because it models the use of expressive writing and intentionally-chosen diction that accurately aligns with the cultural background of the narrator. Readers hear the story with the phrases and personality that a young African-American boy would use to tell it, which is a powerful model for teaching students to embrace their natural voice in their writing.

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This poetic picture book seeks to serve as inspiration and encouragement to the black community while also featuring a tribute to black Americans in various occupations in past years. This would be a good mentor text for voice due to how expressive and emphatic the voice of the author is.

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This collection initially started as a project for our Teaching Science course but has since grown to include a variety of texts that either explicitly explain science concepts or merely encourage students to consider the role of scientific concepts within the context of a fictional story. This grouping was selected to be included in the overall collection to provide students with the opportunity to engage with science in a non-traditional way and actively explore the impact of the natural world on the experiences of characters in the stories below.

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This collection was put together to provide students with an opportunity to see their own personal sport interests reflected in the classroom library or be inspired to engage with a sport they have never explored previously. I noticed that none of my other selections featured characters that played sports or contained stories that sports played a big role in, so I selected a few award-winning texts that contained the theme of sports and included them here.

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This was a thematic grouping that I felt personally obligated to include in my virtual library due to the amount of passion I have for activism and developing students as change-makers and leaders in their communities. I truly believe no one is too young to have their voice heard and books about activism, whether they relate to social justice or a petition to have school lunch at a different time, are essential for providing students with the necessary tools to amplify their voices.

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This thematic grouping was collected to provide students with a window to develop empathy for the lived experiences of others with differing and diverse ability levels, as well as a mirror for students with differing ability levels to feel reflected and represented in the literature within their learning environment.

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This collection was put together to support explicit instruction on social-emotional learning in addition to being a general resource for surrounding students with literature that supports their mental health with conversations about self-love and emotions.

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This collection was initially formed in response to our book club read "Blended," which features a young girl with a non-traditional family structure. From that, this thematic grouping was gathered to provide students with a more holistic understanding of diverse family structures to develop empathy and understanding for others with diverse or challenging family structures.

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Pre-emergent texts were selected to be included in this collection to support students at the pre-emergent reading level with stories that help build a foundation for their vocabulary, oral language, and comprehension skills.

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Stories with a mystery or mysterious elements were included in this collection because they challenge students to engage with their critical thinking skills while also encouraging the strategy of re-reading a text to better understand it, as they go back to re-analyze the story for clues or hints they may have missed the first time around.

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Fantasy was included in this collection because it encourages students to think outside of the box, actively imagine, and consider how human values are reflected in different fantastical worlds.

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Realistic fictions stories were selected to be included in this collection because they provide students with the opportunity to read about realistic characters that go through different experiences, which helps students develop empathy for others and a more holistic understanding of others' lived experiences as they read from the perspective of characters with varying socioeconomic, racial, religious, gender, and ability identities.

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The genre of historical fiction was selected to be included in this collection because it provides a window for students to explore the perspectives and lived experiences of others who existed in time period before their own, as well as a mirror for students to reflect on how the emotions and experiences of characters are more than likely still similar to emotions they experience in their life, regardless of the difference in time period. Historical fiction texts are also an excellent tool for providing students with background knowledge and context about different historical events while also challenging students to consider the implications of the events that occur within time period of story to modern day.

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Magical realism stories were included in this collection to provide students with stories that take place in a realistic setting while also including a fantastical or magical element to them, which gives students the opportunity to engage with their active imagination while also applying critical thinking skills as they determine whether the elements within the story could realistically happen in their known world.

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Collections of poetry were included in this collection because they expose students to quality examples of voice, intonation, inflection, pitch, and other speech patterns that are critical to their development as both good readers and good writers themselves. Additionally, the emotionally-driven nature of poetry helps students better understand the perspective of others and develop empathy for the various topics and challenges that are expressed through the poetry in the collection below.

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Folktales and stories involving mythology were selected to be included in this collection because they provide students with an initial understanding of how moral behaviors were developed in society while also challenging students to consider the implications of their actions form a similar lens. Folktales and mythology also provide students with an opportunity to look through a window at the rich literary histories of other cultures and explore a mirror reflecting aspects of their own cultural foundation.

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This category was selected for this collection due to the fact that biographies are an excellent tool for supporting students' understanding of history and the lived experiences of others. Biographies invite readers into the lives of others, are often a great starting point for developing conversations about the challenges that others have faced, and are a source of inspiration for young students with similar passions.

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I chose to include graphic novels in my collection because I was inspired by Mrs. Mendez's passion for graphic novels and the value they have in a classroom library. When students read graphic novels, they often are given the unique ability to further empathize with characters, read above their independent reading level, and gain comprehension and critical thinking skills as they engage with the imagery on each page. Graphic novels are exemplary stepping stones that pull in readers of all levels and ages to develop a love of reading that doesn't feel like traditionally "read" literature.

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This category was included in this collection to provide a personal stamp that is reflective of where my love of literature was initially developed, when I was a student in elementary school myself. These are books that I read as a young student and are representative of my interests at that time.