Mentor texts are written examples that serve as models of good writing. When selecting mentor texts, look for examples of writing that model the skills you are teaching skills.
A good mentor text can include several characteristics that make it effective for teaching writing skills. Some qualities to look for in a good mentor text include:
Clear and Concise: The mentor text should be well-written. It should serve as an example of how to communicate ideas clearly and effectively.
Vocabulary Rich: The mentor text should include a wide range of vocabulary words, including those that may be new to the reader. Exposure to new words will help expand the reader's vocabulary and support reading comprehension.
Effective Structure: The mentor text should have a clear and logical structure, with a beginning, middle, and end. This can help readers understand how to structure their own writing.
Relevance: The mentor text should be relevant to the topic or genre that the reader is working on. This can help readers understand how to write in that particular style or about that particular topic.
Engaging: The mentor text should be engaging and interesting to read. An engaging text serves as an effective model for students as they write their own pieces.
Designing Writing Lessons with Mentor Texts
You can design comprehensive writing lessons using mentor texts. Here are 6 recommendations for using a mentor text to springboard the writing process with students.
1. Read picture books to choose the best mentor texts.
Read picture books and look for examples of writing that will serve as effective models for students. Identify the skills modeled in the text and how you can teach them using author's text and the illustrator's images. For example, the book Extra Yarn written by Mac Barnett and illustrated by Jon Klassen, models effective organization of a fictional narrative. Extra Yarn is also a good model of how illustrators use pictures to help tell the story.
2. Summarize the text.
After reading the text aloud with students, study the text as a reader. Support students as they learn to identify the elements of a narrative text by developing summaries collaboratively. Summarizing a text supports students comprehension, retention, critical thinking skills, and writing skills
3. Use the mentor text to create writing prompts.
Create writing prompts to springboard narrative writing for students. Writing prompts can provide inspiration, structure, and guidance for writers as they learn how to apply writing skills throughout the writing process. Writing prompts give writers a starting point for their writing.
Writing prompts provide a topic or idea to write about, which can help writers overcome writer's block or the feeling of being overwhelmed when starting a new writing project.
Writing prompts can encourage creativity by providing a new perspective or idea. They can also challenge writers to think creatively by developing new and interesting ways to approach a topic.
Writing prompts can help writers brainstorm new ideas for their writing. By providing a specific topic or idea, writing prompts can help writers generate new ideas.
4. Use graphic organizers to help scaffold the elements of narrative writing.
Integrate graphic organizers into whole group instruction. Graphic organizers provide a visual way for writers to organize their ideas and thoughts before they begin drafting their ideas. Graphic organizers support writers as they learn to effectively structure their ideas and make sure that their ideas are presented logically. Graphic organizers can be a powerful tool for supporting writing by helping writers to brainstorm, organize, focus, and revise their ideas for writing.
5. Provide opportunities for students to engage in the writing process with peers.
After students draft their narrative writing using their graphic organizers, they can revise and edit their work independently and with peers. Provide students with revising and editing checklists that capture the skills you are teaching in whole group. Explicitly teach revising and editing strategies and provide students multiple opportunities to revise and edit their drafts. You should also provide feedback to students as they revise and edit using checklists, by offering them one compliment and one thing they can work on at a time. Refer back to the mentor text throughout the revising and editing process to show examples students can mimic in their writing.
6. Celebrate students' writing!
How do you celebrate when your students have completed a writing piece? You might host a publishing party with students' books, or create a class book of narrative writing pieces. If students work hard throughout the writing process, celebrate with them! Celebrating writing boosts confidence, encourages effort, supports learning, fosters a positive and motivating community, and recognizes achievement.
Writing With Mentor Texts
Effective writing instruction is targeted, organized, purposeful, and engaging. Integrating mentor texts provides students examples of good writing. Effective writing instruction should include opportunities for students to practice the skills you are explicitly teaching in whole group. Additionally, effective writing instruction must include opportunities for students to collaborate with you and peers throughout the writing process.
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