LYNNE R. DORFMANAND
ROSE CAPPELLI
Creating Successful Writers with Mentor Texts
Sharing Our Thinking: What are Mentor Texts ?
Mentor texts are pieces of literature that you canreturn to and reread for many different purposes.
Mentor texts are to be studied and then imitated.
Mentor texts help students make powerful connections to their own lives.
Mentor texts help students take risks and try out new strategies.
Mentor texts should be books that students can relate to and can read independently or with some support.
Why Use Picture Books as Mentor Texts?
Picture books provide the models that will help students grow as writers.
They stimulate creativity and create interest.
They are rich in beautiful illustrations that add another layer to the text.
They can be used to connect reading strategies to author’s craft.
They contain multiple life lessons.
They are culturally diverse.
They demonstrate the importance of choosing words wisely.
They are short enough to be shared entirely in one reading.
Possible Writing Lessons fromPainting the Wind
Writing in the present tense
Effective repetition
Variation in sentence length
Listingwith semicolon and comma
using a sentence fragmentwith a dashplacement variationwithout the use of a
conjunctionwith a colon
Use of exact nouns and names
Strong verbs
Hyphenated adjectives
Variations in print
Effective use of dialogue
Setting up the ending in the beginning
Placing adjectives after the noun
Character snapshots
Adjective Placement to Emphasize Meaning
“I can’t concentrate,” she said, her voice flat and unhappy.(Baby by Patricia MacLachlan)
There will be Sarah’s sea, blue and gray and green, hanging on the wall.
(Sarah, Plain and Tall by Patricia MacLachlan)
He is wearing a strange cowboy hat, too small, that sits high on his head. (Journey by Patricia MacLachlan)
Somewhere behind us a train whistle blew, long and low, like a sad,
sad song. (Owl Moon by Jane Yolen)
Adjective Placement to Emphasize Meaning
We reached the line of pines, black and pointy against the sky, and Pa held up his hands. (Owl Moon by Jane Yolen)
Our trees poke their branches, black and spiky, against the sky.(Peepers by Eve Bunting)
I held the jar, dark and empty, in my hands. (Fireflies by Julie Brinckloe)
I have a pomegranate, hard and dry. (Anna’s Table by Eve Bunting)
I have a caterpillar, curled and mummy black,A lizard, thin and wide, run over by a car.
(Anna’s Table by Eve Bunting)
The Your Turn Lesson
Hook Use literature to invite participation
Purpose Tell what you will do
Brainstorm Invite writers to generate ideas
ModelDemonstrate with your own writing
Shared/Guided Writing Writers actively participate as a class or in partnerships
Independent Writing Writers compose
Reflection Writers reflect on how the writing worked. Writers become aware of what works for
them and what will move them forward as writers.
From Barn Savers by Linda Oatman High
Papa plops the tools in the trough, and dust floats like chicken feed.
Darkness falls soft and silent like chicken feathers around the barn.
Finally, the darkness fades to dawn, and the sun rolls before us like a wagon wheel.
I stack and stack, and the sun sinks low in the sky like a sleepy, red-faced farmer.
From Beekeepers:
The springtime sunshine pours like warm honey from the sky…
Goosebumps sting my arms and I shake…
From The Girl on the High-Diving Horse:Summertime gallops by…
Heart pounding like hooves, I nod…
Hyphenated Adjectives from Linda Oatman High
From The Girl on the High-Diving Horse:As we walk, I can’t help but gawk at boxing kangaroos, card-playing cats, and a dog on a surfboard.
“Our hotel home,” says Papa, stopping at a castle-shaped place rising pink and high as a sunrise into blue New Jersey sky.
“That’s the girl on the high-diving horse,” he explains. “She’s crazy-brave.”
I kiss the big horse on his velvet-soft nose.
In the purple-early morning of our last day of summer…
From Beekeepers:
The springtime sunshine pours like warm honey from the sky…
Goosebumps sting my arms and I shake…
From The Girl on the High-Diving Horse: Summertime gallops by…
Heart pounding like hooves, I nod…
Hyphenated Adjectives From Other Authors
Baseballs, Snakes, and Summer Squash by Donald GravesLook for the use of hyphen to create sound words or exact adjectives in run-down, long-haired, clickety-click, doe-eyed, ‘no-thank-you’ and orange-bellied.
Twilight Comes Twice by Ralph Fletcher deep-rooted, last-minute, dew-spangled
Up North at the Cabin by Marsha Wilson Challair-bubble balloons and peanut-butter-and-worm sandwiches
The Divide by Michael Bedardcopper-colored grass, rose-patterned paper, sunflower-bordered road, weather-beaten boards, and fresh-plowed soil. Note the name of a flower, snow-on-the-mountain.
Langston’s Train Ride by Robert Burleighlong-ago train rides, sun-tinged Mississippi, dust-flecked window, tar-paper shacks and broken-down sheds. He also uses hyphens to create verbs and nouns: I skit-skat a little half-dance on the sidewalk.
Talkin’ About Bessie: The Story of Aviator Elizabeth Coleman by Nikki GrimesBessie would attend the hot-in-summer, cold-in-winter, one-room Colored schoolhouse where I taught in Waxahachie.
Animal Acrostics by David Hummonpolka-dotted, ear-ringing, never-ending, fairy-tale, topsy-turvy, and open-mouthed.
Specificity is everything!
show-your-love day
raise-the-hair-on-your-arms night
cover-your-ears-but-not-your-eyes night
wake-up-your-parents-as-soon-as-possible morning
don’t-you-dare-do-it look
I-can’t-believe-she’s-making-me-eat-this look
please-don’t-send-me-to-school look
am-I-crazy-look
thin-as-a-noodle neck
straight-as-straw hair
black-as-midnight eyes
Taffy Sentences
From Fever 1793 by Laurie Halse Anderson…It was going to be another hot August
day. Another long, hot August day. Another long, hot, boring wretched August day.
From Nocturne by Jane YolenIn the night,in the velvet night,in the brushstroked bluecoat velvet night,a big moon balloonfloats silent over trees…
Walking Around in the Author’s Syntax
From Shortcut by Donald Crews:
“I HEAR A TRAIN!”Everybody stopped. Everybody listened.We all heard the train whistle.Should we run ahead to the path
home or back to the cut-off?
Trying It Out…
“I HEAR A WOLF!”Everybody gasped.Everybody cringed.We all heard the long, low howl.Should we run ahead through the
thicket or back to the campsite?
“I SEE THE OCEAN!”Everybody clapped.Everybody smiled.We all saw the waves rolling
toward the shore.Should we dash across the sand to
the water’s edge or stand here to delight in the sunrise?
from Mentor Texts: Teaching Writing Through Children’s Literature
Mentor texts become our coaches and our partners as we bring the joy of writing to our students. They help students envision the kind of writer they can become; they help teachers move the whole writer,
rather than each individual piece of writing, forward. Writers can imitate the mentor text and continue to find new ways to grow.