Mentor Texts by

Teaching COMPREHENSION

dmconnolly — 2024-02-05 17:51:58 UTC

Hey, Little Ant will help students with activities to understand plot with comprehension questions, games, vocabulary, grammar, fluency, phonics, comprehension strategies, sequencing, writing, and a comprehension test with answer key! Hey, Little Ant is great for guided reading or whole group!

Teaching WORD CHOICE/COMPREHENSION

dmconnolly — 2024-02-05 17:54:28 UTC

Avery has big emotions and bubbling anxieties about changes in her life. When her crayons break as she scribbles furiously, she discovers that they have personalities and feelings too! And they can show her how to use her love of coloring to manage scary, overwhelming feelings and embrace curiosity and joy. As Avery follows the crayons' advice, gets creative, and chooses bravery and positive thinking, she discovers that God can use her to make beautiful things, even with broken crayons.

In Broken Crayons Still Color, children 4 to 8 will

see that everyone feels frustrated and overwhelmed at times
learn to express emotions and explore creativity
practice coping skills, such as drawing worries, affirmations, and breathing

Teaching FLUENCY

dmconnolly — 2024-02-05 17:58:15 UTC

This is a book about a bad seed. A baaaaaaaaaad seed. How bad? Do you really want to know? He has a bad temper, bad manners, and a bad attitude. He's been bad since he can remember!

With Jory John's charming and endearing text and bold expressive illustrations by Pete Oswald, here is The Bad Seed: a funny yet touching tale that reminds us of the remarkably transformative power of will, acceptance, and just being you. Perfect for young readers, as well as anyone navigating their current world, The Bad Seed proves that positive change is possible for each and every one of us.

Teaching WORD CHOICE/VOICE/FLUENCY

dmconnolly — 2024-02-05 17:59:28 UTC

A young boy wants to write a story, just like his big sister. But there's a problem, he tells her. Though he knows his letters, he doesn't know many words. “Every story starts with a single word and every word starts with a single letter,” his sister explains patiently. “Why don't you start there, with a letter?” So the boy tries. He writes a letter. An easy letter. The letter I. And from that one skinny letter, the story grows, and the little boy discovers that all of us, including him, have what we need to write our own perfect story. This picture book from award-winning author Andrew Larsen playfully and imaginatively explores a young child's process of learning to express himself. It promotes the idea that stories are available for everyone to tell, whatever way we can, and will inspire pre-readers to try writing stories of their own. The lively, fun illustrations by Mike Lowery incorporate story panels with dialogue bubbles, adding visual texture. Also helpful, the boy's story is shown both as he actually writes it --- with just a few letters, some punctuation marks and typographical symbols --- and as he imagines it. Celebrating self-expression, self-discovery and imagination, this book would enhance an early language arts lesson on writing, particularly on the parts of a story. It beautifully highlights the exciting worlds that are opened up when children begin to read and write. In a sweet touch, the boy and his sister model a close and supportive sibling relationship.

Teaching VOICE/PRESENTATION

dmconnolly — 2024-02-05 18:03:22 UTC

Teaches kindness to all people and things. A hilarious, rhyming, read loud book that's perfect for the first or any day of school. The classroom pencils have had enough! This is the story of a group of pencils That are so often overlooked, The kind of important tool needed To write in a notebook! Buy this book for a good laugh, nighttime snuggle, or your favorite teacher.

Teaching IDEAS

dmconnolly — 2024-02-05 18:05:44 UTC

ccomplished storytellers Kate Messner and Mark Siegel chronicle the process of becoming a reader: from pulling a book off the shelf and finding someone with whom to share a story, to reading aloud, predicting what will happen, and--finally--coming to The End. This picture book playfully and movingly illustrates the idea that the reader who discovers the love of reading finds, at the end, the beginning.

Teaching ORGANIZATION

dmconnolly — 2024-02-05 18:10:30 UTC

Rhyme, repetition, and a few seemingly straightforward questions engage young readers in a discussion about the many things we make―and the ways we can make a difference in the world. This simple, layered story celebrates creativity through beautiful rhyming verse and vibrant illustrations with a timely message.

Teaching PRESENTATION

dmconnolly — 2024-02-05 18:12:18 UTC

Freda is devastated when she can’t eat all the delicious blueberries she’s picked. She has to wait a whole year before they’re back, and she doesn’t want to lose them! Then Gran reminds her that they can save blueberries in a jar, as jam. So Freda begins to save all her favorite things. But it turns out that saving everything also means she can’t enjoy anything, and Freda realizes that some things are best saved as memories.

Teaching CONVENTION

dmconnolly — 2024-02-05 18:13:45 UTC

Macy is a girl who’s a lot like you and me, but she's also quite different, which is a great thing to be. With kindness, grace, and bravery, Macy finds her place in the world, bringing beauty and laughter wherever she goes and leading others to find delight in the unique design of every person.

Children are naturally aware of the differences they encounter at school, in their neighborhood, and in other everyday relationships. They just need to be given tools to understand and appreciate what makes us “different,” permission to ask questions about it, and eyes to see and celebrate it in themselves as well as in those around them.

Teaching CONVENTION

dmconnolly — 2024-02-05 18:14:43 UTC

From Shel Silverstein, New York Times bestselling author of Where the Sidewalk Ends and A Light in the Attic, comes a poignant picture book about love and acceptance, cherished for over fifty years. This classic is perfect for both young readers and lifelong fans.

"Once there was a tree...and she loved a little boy."

So begins a story of unforgettable perception, beautifully written and illustrated by the gifted and versatile Shel Silverstein. This moving parable for all ages offers a touching interpretation of the gift of giving and a serene acceptance of another's capacity to love in return.

Every day the boy would come to the tree to eat her apples, swing from her branches, or slide down her trunk...and the tree was happy. But as the boy grew older he began to want more from the tree, and the tree gave and gave and gave. This is a tender story, touched with sadness, aglow with consolation.

Teaching ORGANIZATION

dmconnolly — 2024-02-05 18:16:04 UTC

This colourful, beautifully designed children’s book follows the story of a little plant’s life cycle. From seed to fully grown plant and beyond to the next generation.
Written from the point of view of the plant. This children’s book is designed for younger children to capture their curiosity and increase their knowledge through this fun, rhyming, heart warming story.

Teaching COMPREHENSION

dmconnolly — 2024-02-23 15:05:04 UTC

Trixie and her father go to the laundromat with Knuffle Bunny, Trixie’s stuffed animal in tow. Knuffle Bunny gets lost in the washing machine, and Trixie is upset. However, she has not spoken her first words yet, so when is not able to tell her parents why she is so upset.

Eventually, the whole family races back to the laundromat to find Trixie’s special toy! In addition to being a great mentor text for personal narratives for students’ own writing, Knuffle Bunny is a great picture book for teaching reading comprehension skills.

Teaching FLUENCY/ORGANIZATION

dmconnolly — 2024-02-23 15:18:16 UTC

This lesson uses Laura Joffe Numeroff's If You Give a Mouse a Cookie to combine word-skill work with prediction and sequencing practice. Students learn about cause-effect relationships during a shared reading of the book and then complete a cloze exercise that uses context and initial consonant clues. Students then create story circles that display the events of the story and use these circles to retell the story to a peer. Finally the students compose their own stories, featuring themselves in the role of the mouse.

Teaching WORD CHOICE

dmconnolly — 2024-02-23 15:28:04 UTC

Scarecrows. They perch high above gardens and fields, with borrowed coats and button eyes and pie-pan hands that glint in the sun. What else is there to know about them? Perhaps more than we realize. Newbery Medalist Cynthia Rylant’s rich and poignant story, powerfully illustrated by Lauren Stringer, will resonate deeply in the hearts of readers, who just might find themselves seeing the world in a whole new way. Cynthia Rylant uses fantastic figurative and poetic language to bring this scarecrow to life. Students get to "see" what a scarecrow sees and "feel" what he feels. It's definitely a great book to use when teaching about point of view. Students can find many pieces of evidence that the scarecrow enjoys his life, as Cynthia does such a great job of showing life from the scarecrow's eyes. As you do a second read of this short book, have students listen and note evidence in the book that shows the scarecrow enjoys his life.

Teaching COMPREHENSION

dmconnolly — 2024-02-23 15:35:50 UTC

This book companion is a quick and easy way to engage students in learning about the voting process, character traits and making choices. These seven activities can be used as a book study to check for understanding and reading comprehension. When Grace's teacher reveals that the United States has never had a female president, Grace decides she wants to be the nation's first and immediately jumpstarts her political career by running in her school's mock election! The race is tougher than she expected: her popular opponent declares that he's the "best man for the job" and seems to have captured the votes of all of the class's boys. But Grace is more determined than ever. Even if she can't be the best man for the job, she can certainly try to be the best person! This timely story not only gives readers a fun introduction to the American electoral system but also teaches the value of hard work, courage, independent thought -- and offers an inspiring example of how to choose our leaders.

Teach Perspective in Writing

dmconnolly — 2024-03-25 21:15:07 UTC

This is a charming picture book about a single dad (a rarity in the picture book world) and his little boy, who turns out to be very wise. From their secret handshake to their mutual problem-solving, this father and son have winning ways.

Written with lessons that apply to any family with young children, the book is distinctively told from a father’s perspective, and built on how a son and dad listen to and learn from each other. This is a tale of how to conquer frustration no matter what the problem. As the father and son get ready for each day, they help each other find perspective about things that go wrong by asking if it’s a big problem or a little problem. The dad is open about his feelings of frustration and his strategy of deep breaths. When Sam accidentally spills Dad’s coffee, Sam asks Dad questions to determine if it’s a big problem or a little problem. Their questions are an important model for us all to help us reframe our perspectives!

Teaching Sequencing in Writing

dmconnolly — 2024-03-25 21:20:46 UTC

Remember the story of The Little Red Hen? The Little Red Fort is the same set-up but with a girl-powered engineering twist. And it’s SO awesome — both the clever story and the fantastic illustrations!! Ruby asks her brothers to help her build something. They dismiss her idea. She isn’t daunted– she learns and does it herself. She invites them to help with all the steps in the process — making plans, gathering supplies, cutting the boards, hammering the nails — but the others always decline. The illustrations show the boys playing outside, playing in the pool, playing on screen time. Of course, when Ruby is all done, the boys want to play in her fort but she says no. To apologize, the boys contribute to the fort — flowers, paint, and a mailbox — then they all have a fort-warming party.

Teaching How to Write A Story/How to Find an Idea for a Story in Writing

dmconnolly — 2024-03-25 21:25:00 UTC

The library is having a contest for the best story, and the quirky narrator of this book just has to win that rollercoaster ride with her favorite author! But what makes a story the best?

Her brother Tim says the best stories have lots of action. Her father thinks the best stories are the funniest. And Aunt Jane tells her that the best stories have to make people cry. A story that does all these things doesn't seem quite right, though, and the one thing the whole family can agree on is that the best story has to be your own.

Anne Wilsdorf's hilarious illustrations perfectly capture this colorful family and their outrageous stories in Eileen Spinelli's heartfelt tale about creativity and finding your own voice.

Teaching Voice in Writing

dmconnolly — 2024-04-09 22:11:13 UTC

The Number One New York Times Bestseller! Debut author Drew Daywalt and international bestseller Oliver Jeffers team up to create a colourful solution to a crayon-based crisis in this playful, imaginative story that will have children laughing and playing with their crayons in a whole new way. Poor Duncan just wants to colour in. But when he opens his box of crayons, he only finds letters, all saying the same thing: We quit! Beige is tired of playing second fiddle to Brown, Blue needs a break from colouring in all that water, while Pink just wants to be used. Green has no complaints, but Orange and Yellow are no longer speaking to each other. The battle lines have been drawn. What is Duncan to do?

Teaching COMPREHENSION/ORGANIZATION

dmconnolly — 2024-04-30 15:40:40 UTC

Alexander wakes up to gum in his hair, trips on a skateboard, gets his sweater wet, and finds his lunch has no snack. This is a terrible, horrible, no good, very bad day. Maybe he'll move to Australia! Your child will identify right away with Alexander's day of crankiness and is sure to smile despite her best intentions. A fabulous classic -- fun for reading aloud.

Learning Highlights
Reassures your child that everyone has bad days, gets grumpy, and can get over it.