• Nonfiction Picture Books about Virginia History as Writing Mentor Texts

    We all know that students need to become more comfortable reading and writing non-fiction. Last fall, I did a post on 10 of my favorite fiction picture book writing mentor texts. For this post, I’m focusing on some non-fiction mentor texts–with a bent toward history, specifically American history, as…

  • Writing Wednesday: Using THE TREE LADY as a Writing Mentor Text

      The Tree Lady: The True Story of How One Tree-Loving Woman Changed a City Forever By H. Joseph Hopkins Illustrated by Jill McElmurry Beach Lane Books, 2013   This picture book biography about Katherine Olivia Sessions highlights the difference one person can make. Kate lived at a time…

  • Writing Wednesday: Using MOONSHOT as a Mentor Text for Writing

    Moonshot: The Flight of Apollo 11 By Brian Floca Atheneum, 2009   This narrative nonfiction text tells the story of the Apollo 11 mission from Earth to the moon and back again. It is a very poetic but very informative text of this landmark event in history. It’s not…