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Mentor Text Tip Tuesday: Use Non-Book Resources
Tip: Use examples from non-book sources like newspapers and magazines. I tend to focus a lot of my energy on fictional mentor texts. However, much of what students will have to write and read in their school career will be non-fiction. So I’m working on incorporating more non-fiction into…
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Mentor Text Tip Tuesday: Poetry Stations
Tip One of my favorite units that I did with my class last year was on poetry using Tamera Will Wissinger’s GONE FISHING as a mentor text. But I also incorporated many other mentor texts in this unit as well. I created poetry stations for different forms of poetry.…
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Mentor Text Tip Tuesday: Scavenge the Books
Tip Scavenge your favorite books for good writing. In a recent onomatopoeia lesson, one of the activities includes creating a Noisy Words chart—looking for onomatopoeic words for every letter of alphabet. But looking for onomatopoeic words is just the beginning. Young writers can go on a scavenger hunt for…
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Mentor Text Tip Tuesday: Make a Chart
Tip When I’m introducing a mentor text to students for the first time, we talk together about the things we admire about the writing. One way to do this is by making a chart. It gives us a chance to color-code phrases or words and talk about it in…
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Mentor Text Tip Tuesday: Type Up the Text
Using Mentor Texts Myself I learned a lot of tips by writing myself and knowing what helps me. In one class I took at Hollins, Lisa Rowe Fraustino encouraged us to read like writers. We took a look at Katherine Paterson’s BRIDGE TO TERABITHIA. She made us find a…
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Mentor Text Tip Tuesday: Laminate the Text
I’m starting a new summer series for teachers called “Mentor Text Tip Tuesdays.” These will be practical tips on using mentor texts in the classroom. If you follow my blog, you know that I’ve been posting mentor text lesson plans. I hope these tips will help you visualize how easy…
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Mentor Text Lesson Plan: Onomatopoeia
I love onomatopoeia! You know, those noisy words that really make you hear the story like it’s happening right in front of you? Kids love onomatopoeia too. This lesson plan doesn’t focus in on just one book. I use a whole pile of books for this one. This…
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Novel in Verse Week: Mentor Text Lesson Plan for GONE FISHING by Tamera Will Wissinger, illustrated by Matthew Cordell
Clear Eyes, Full Shelves is hosting Novel in Verse Week as part of National Poetry Month. To see all of the novel in verse related posts, go to the Clear Eyes, Full Shelves website. GONE FISHING: A Novel in Verse Written by Tamera Will Wissinger Illustrated by Matthew…
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VerseDay: Poetry Month Post #4
Poetry Book of the Week POETRY MENTOR TEXTS: MAKING READING AND WRITING CONNECTIONS, K-8 by Lynne Dorfman and Rose Cappelli Stenhouse, 2013 ISBN: 978-1-57110-949-1 POETRY MENTOR TEXTS was written for teachers who want to use mentor texts in teaching students how to write poetry. Each chapter walks teachers through…
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VerseDay: Poetry Month Post #2
Poetry Book of the Week FOREST HAS A SONG by Amy Ludwig Vanderwater, illustrated by Robbin Gourley Clarion, 2013 ISBN: 978-0-618-84349-7 Capturing the stillness, the noisiness, the pure magic of the forest is hard to do. It’s hard to put into words. But Amy Ludwig Vanderwater does…