Top 10 Mentor Texts for Opinion Writing

In a digital world where we are inundated with videos, podcasts and tweets trying to persuade us to side with a cause, teaching students how to express their own opinions and write persuasively is a must. The following mentor texts for opinion writing offer opinion and persuasion do’s and don’ts by modeling techniques, counter claims, […]

By |February 17th, 2017|Mentor Texts|0 Comments

Lola StVil’s Girls Like Me: Mentor Text for Writing or Independent Read?

Every month, the Booksource Book Club meets to discuss a different classroom library title. It’s always interesting to share our (often diverse) opinions on a given book, and debate the many ways it might be used to engage students as readers. One of our most recent reads, Lola StVil’s Girls Like Me, presented an interesting […]

By |December 16th, 2016|Mentor Texts|0 Comments

Read Alouds of Mentor Texts Can Jump-Start Writing Projects

As a new teacher, I used to experience a moment of dread each time I assigned a writing project. I always had a handful of students who would stare, distressed, at a blank paper. I would prompt, prod and encourage with little result. I was sure with better instruction, new graphic organizers and more examples […]

By |August 21st, 2015|Mentor Texts|1 Comment

Crafting Collections of Mentor Texts

For the past few months my team and I have been searching for gold…literary gold. We’ve been curating collections of titles to support the reading and writing workshop model, and we don’t take this responsibility lightly. We know future students need a robust set of 21st century literacy skills now more than ever. Did you […]

By |February 26th, 2015|Mentor Texts|0 Comments

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 […]

By |February 20th, 2015|Mentor Texts|5 Comments

Encourage Creativity with These Mentor Texts for Reading and Writing

Sometimes choosing titles that are appropriate for a Reading and Writing Workshop can be difficult. Mentor texts should model writing styles and behaviors as well as offer a variety of figurative language and word play to introduce students to good writing habits. They should also cover a variety of genres and include different types of narratives, […]

By |February 18th, 2015|Mentor Texts|0 Comments