1. Welcome to MENTOR TEXTS  Please take a moment to complete the “Beginning of the Session” column of the Anticipation Guide found in the front of your handouts. We will begin at _______. Prepared by: Barbara Burns-Lacey, Dona Cuppett, Theresa Gleim, Amber Molloy

2. Goals for Today…  Define mentor texts.  Understand how to tie a mentor text into a lesson to support the stated objective.  Identify several resources that are available to locate mentor texts.

3. What are Mentor Texts?  Mentor texts are pieces of literature that you can return 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. (Dorfman & Cappelli)

4. Why Use Picture Books as Mentor Texts?  They are rich in beautiful illustrations that add another layer to the text.  They demonstrate the importance of choosing words wisely.  They are short enough to be shared entirely in one reading. (Dorfman & Cappelli)

5. Why Use Mentor Texts in the Teaching of Nonfiction Writing?  To familiarize students with high quality nonfiction literature.  To expose students to the subgenres of nonfiction.  To offer literature (fiction as well as nonfiction) as a springboard for writing informational text. (Dorfman & Cappelli)

6. Think of authors as writing “mentors” & “read like a writer”… “What does it mean to read like a writer? How does a writer read?...” Think about  how a craftsperson would study the techniques of others.  how a chef would visit a restaurant.  how a painter would visit an art gallery. Reading is the writer’s way of visiting another crafts person’s “gallery”.” ~Katie Wood Ray

7. Using Mentor Texts

8. Picture Books as Mentor Text

9. How Do Mentor Texts fit into Balanced Literacy?  Introduce students to mentor text as readers, only then can readers examine mentor text through the eyes of a writer. (Dorfman & Cappelli)

10. Using Trophies Resources as Mentor Text Crosswalks Writer’s Companion

11. Crosswalks at www.harcourtschool.com  Steps to find this resource…

12. In summary, Mentor Texts can be used for the explicit instruction of:  Genre  Mode  Domain

13.  invite “writing experts” into your classroom.  serve as tools for explicit teaching of writing.  integrate reading and writing.  inspire your students to see themselves as writers & provide models to use as they hone their skill. Mentor Texts…

14. Mentor Text Resources  Dorfman, Lynne R. & Cappelli, Rose, 2005, Teaching Writing Domains with Mentor Texts, Reading Matters, Inc.  Dorfman, Lynne R. & Cappelli, Rose, Mentor Texts, 2007, Teaching Writing Through Children’s Literature, K-6. Portland, ME: Stenhouse Publishers.  Dorfman, Lynne R. & Cappelli, Rose, Mentor Texts, 2009, Nonfiction Mentor Texts, Teaching Informational Writing Through Children’s Literature, K-8. Portland, ME: Stenhouse Publishers.  Ray, Katie Wood, Wonderous Words  Harcourt Crosswalks, (all grade levels available on-line)  Writers’ Companion (Grades 2-6)  K-1 Big books, Read-Aloud Anthology, anthology, classroom libraries  http://writingfix.com/About_us/books.htm

15. Continue the Work  Work with an instructional coach, reading specialist or grade level team to incorporate mentor texts into your writing instruction.  Consult resources to learn more about mentor texts.

16. Take a moment to record your thoughts in the “End of the Session” column of your Anticipation Guide. Consider the possibilities of how you would choose to use mentor texts in your classroom next year.