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Writing With Mentor Texts Webinar
North Carolina Department of Public Instruction
ELA Section
Nobody but a reader ever
became a writer.
- Richard Peck
R.CCR.4 Interpret words and phrases as they are
used in a text, including determining technical,
connotative, and figurative meanings, and analyze how
specific word choices shape meaning or tone.
R.CCR.5 Analyze the structure of texts, including how
specific sentences, paragraphs, and larger portions of
the text (e.g., a section, chapter, scene, or stanza)
relate to each other and the whole.
Reading Anchor Standards 4, 5
Writing Anchor Standard 4
• Produce clear and coherent writing in which
the development, organization, and style are
appropriate to task, purpose, and audience.
Supporting this standard:
• Using Mentor Texts
• Read Like a Writer
What are Mentor Texts?
A mentor text is any piece of writing that can
be used to teach a writer about some aspect
of writer’s craft.
The best mentor texts are those that can be
used numerous times throughout the school
year to demonstrate many different
characteristics of a text. (ideas, structure,
written craft)
“The simple rhythm of copying
someone else’s words gets us into
the rhythm of writing, then
you begin to feel your own
words.”
-William Forrester, Finding Forrester
Ways to use mentor texts:
Idea: the text inspires the writer to create an original idea
based on one from the text.
Structure: the text presents on organizational structure
that the writer tries to emulate using original ideas.
Written Craft: the author’s writing style, ways with
words, or sentence structure inspires the writer to try out these
techniques.
Steal Like an Artist
“Nobody is born with a style or a voice. We don’t
come out of the womb knowing who we are. In the
beginning, we learn by pretending to be our heroes.
We learn by copying.
We’re talking about practice here, not plagiarism –
plagiarism is trying to pass someone else’s work
off as your own. Copying is about reverse-
engineering. It’s like a mechanic taking apart a car
to see how it works.”
-Steal Like an Artist by Austin Kleon
Steps to Using Mentor Texts
Select a text to emulate and reread – one that
inspires an idea, models a structure, or
demonstrates an author’s craft worth trying.
Read it (Read like a reader)
Analyze it (Read like a writer)
Emulate it (Write like the writer)
- adapted from Kelly Gallagher
Read Like a Writer
What does it mean?
• Read to identify the
choices the author
made so you can better
understand how these
choices might arise in
your own writing.
• Reading to learn about
writing
When you read like a writer you
notice:
• Word choice
• Sentence structure
• Organization
• And……
What questions would you ask as a writer?
When you read like a writer:
Annotate and Read Closely
• Read with a pen or highlighter in
hand
• Make comments in the margins
• Write yourself notes and summaries
• Look for patterns
Underline and
highlight the passage
in the text itself and
ask yourself:
What is the
technique the
author is using
here?
Is this technique
effective?
What would be the
advantages and
disadvantages if I
tried this same
technique in my
own writing?
When you read like a writer:
Annotate and Read Closely
• Read with a pen or highlighter in
hand
• Make comments in the margins
• Write yourself notes and summaries
• Look for patterns
When you read like a writer:
Annotate and Read Closely
• Read with a pen or highlighter in
hand
• Make comments in the margins
• Write yourself notes and summaries
• Look for patterns
There, enormous in the ocean, were the whales.
They leapt and jumped and spun across the moon.
Example:
There, tiny in the nest, were the baby robins. They
screeched and squirmed and opened their beaks
wide for their dinner.
Try it out:
Walk Around in the Author’s Syntax
From The Whales’ Song by Dyan Sheldon:
Structure Example using
a mentor text:
Quick Writes
Borrow any line or word from the text that
inspires you to write.
Look at the last sentence, write 4 more
sentences.
Choose a section of the text that inspires
you to write using that technique (i.e.
author’s writing style, use of language, or
sentence structure)
I Am Offering This Poem by Jimmy Santiago Baca
I am offering this poem to you,
since I have nothing else to give.
Keep it like a warm coat,
when winter comes to cover you,
or like a pair of thick socks
the cold cannot bite through,
Example:
Choosing a Mentor Text
• Quality vs. Quantity
• No longer a mile wide and an inch deep
• Having the end in mind
• You have to love it
• Worthy of rereading!
Questions to Consider…
1. Does the book provide examples of the
kind of writing you want from your
students?
2. Can it be revisited multiple times for a
number of purposes?
3. Do you have a variety of genres do they
address diversity?
When I Grow Up I Want to Be
Just Like You
Teach students to study published research and
informational books, articles, and even other media and
borrow effective writing techniques. A way to do this it to
have a class inquiry, holding a brief, guided analysis with a
variety of texts.
Energize: Research Reading & Writing by
Christopher Lehman
Differentiating Instruction for
Teaching-Through-Writing
Teaching
for more
emergent
researchers
Give students time to study published
nonfiction texts for craft ideas.
Additionally, draw clear connections
from what they found to be important
while researching and what they should
highlight as important to readers.
Remind them that they know a great
deal about their topics and can write
from expertise, not just copy from
sources.
Differentiating Instruction for Teaching-Through-Writing
Teaching
for
developing
researchers
Help students experiment through a
variety of ways of teaching information
they have researched. Suggest that
they repeat some facts in a variety of
different ways, seeing which teaching-
through-writing strategies seem the
best. Also, help them keep track of
missing or uncertain information they
can search for later.
Differentiating Instruction for Teaching-Through-Writing
Teaching
for more
experienced
researchers
Teach your students to not just use
strategies you have taught, but to study
published nonfiction they admire and
experiment with ways of writing about
their research. Show them that the
process of reading and writing research
is cyclical; that their writing will guide
what they research and their reading
will shape the scope of their piece.
Guest Speakers
Jen Vincent & Kellee Moye
www.teachmentortexts.com
What Now?
• Look through your favorite texts.
• Separate them out as idea, craft or structure
mentor texts.
• Make sure you have mentor texts that cover all
three categories.
• Begin creating and exploring lessons using
mentor texts.
Mentor Text Resources
• Creating Successful Writers with Mentor Texts
http://www.reading.org/downloads/53rd_conv_handouts/mentor_texts_cappelli_dorfman.p
df
• Mentor Text for the Traits of Writing http://www.scholastic.com/teachers/article/mentor-
texts-traits-writing
• Teacher 2 Teacher – What are mentor texts?
http://www.teacher2teacherhelp.com/writing-strategies/what-are-mentor-texts/
• How to Use Mentor Text to Teach Writing http://www.ehow.com/how_8216119_use-
mentor-texts-teach-writing.html
• Teach Mentor Texts http://www.teachmentortexts.com
• Corbitt Harrison
http://corbettharrison.com/documents/7Elements/7Elements_Mentor_Texts_WritingFix.pdf
• Teaching with Mentor Texts http://pinterest.com/nwilli/teaching-with-mentor-text/
Julie Joslin, Ed.D. Section Chief English Language Arts 919-807-3935 [email protected]
Anna Lea Frost, M.Ed. 6-8 English Language Arts Consultant 919-807-3952 [email protected]
Lisa McIntosh, MSA K-5 English Language Arts Consultant 919-807-3895 [email protected]
Alex Kaulfuss, Ph.D. Grades 9-12 English Language Arts 919-807-3833 [email protected]
Contact Information:
Have you Seen…
ELA Common Core State Standards Self Study LiveBinder: http://www.livebinders.com/play/play/262077
ELA Resources LiveBinder: http://www.livebinders.com/play/play/297779
