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    3-5, Mentor Texts

    Teaching Text Structure With Picture Books

    August 18, 2022

    Text structure is the way authors organize expository information for a specific purpose. Aside from the fact that it’s a required reading standard, it’s important to teach students to identify text structures in order to improve comprehension of a text.

    text structure with picture books

    Using quality texts as explicit models and teaching about the organization and keywords used with each type of structure helps develop student comprehension.

    You know I love using picture books as mentor texts, and yes, picture books work well for this skill, too!

    Teach Text Structures With Picture Books

    Teaching students to identify text structure can be tricky simply because expository text is often more challenging to read (since it usually consists of content that is unfamiliar to the student).

    Using nonfiction picture books for your mini-lessons to introduce (or re-teach/review) text structure is the perfect way to help students access the content of the text.

    There are five overall text structures:

    • chronology (sequence)
    • comparison
    • cause/effect
    • problem/solution
    • description

    Keep in mind, in your mini-lessons, it’s important to discuss with students that when determining the text structure, it should describe the text as a whole, not just parts of it.

    One way to help students identify the text structure is to use a guide like this one:

    text structure freebie

    CLICK TO ACCESS FREEBIE!

    If students cannot answer the question about the WHOLE text, it helps them see that text structure would not apply to the text. It also helps set them up for success with the comprehension of the text by being able to answer the question.

    You probably noticed that “description” isn’t listed on the poster- that overall text structure is usually one they don’t have any issue identifying or comprehending, so I focused on the four trickier structures. 

    Text Structure In Balloons Over Broadway

    Balloons Over Broadway by Melissa Sweet is such a great nonfiction mentor text to teach about the man behind the magic of the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade.

    This is a great picture book to use when starting text structure lessons because the overall text structure is chronology (which tends to be much easier for students to identify).

    text structure chronology balloons over broadway

    Using the guiding questions, students should easily identify the chronology text structure. Be sure to remind students how the structure should describe the text as a whole, not just parts of it.

    For example, in Balloons Over Broadway, even though Tony faced some problems in the book and was able to solve the problems, the book as a whole wasn’t about how to solve problems that occur during parades.

    And although the author reveals the reason that we have a Macy’s Parade with large balloons, cause and effect was not the overall structure of the entire book.

    Students should recognize that the overall structure of Balloons Over Broadway is chronology because it is the story of Tony Sarg growing up to make marionettes, then puppets, then using his expertise to create the balloons for the Macy’s Parade.

    Continued Practice With Text Structure

    Of course, spending time analyzing the other text structures is essential.

    Since informational texts are typically more difficult simply because the students aren’t as familiar with the content, providing texts that access some prior knowledge tackles that hurdle.

    In the weeklong mentor text unit I created for the book Balloons Over Broadway, students will read short passages providing even more information about the Macy’s parade. I wrote each passage with a specific (and obvious) text structure to help students analyze keywords and overall organization.

    Reading Like Writers, Writing Like Readers

    Viewing text structure as a craft can also improve students’ informational writing abilities.

    A fun way to get students reading like writers and writing like readers is to engage in conversation over what is the same and different in a couple of images related to what you’re learning. Since the purpose of compare/contrast structure is to share similarities and differences of two things, this discussion is important because it will help spark the ideas they may want to write about for their assignment.

    Below, you’ll see an example of a writing assignment in the Balloons Over Broadway Mentor Text Unit.

    text structure compare and contrast writing balloons over broadway

    Pointing out some key elements they want to include when they compare, like the year, or the name of the balloon, in order to distinguish between them. For example, students shouldn’t say, “one has this, but one has that.” They need to clarify by saying, “The balloon from 1928 was filled with air and helium, but the balloon from 2008 was filled with just helium.”)

    Text Structure In The Crayon Man

    Another fabulous picture book to read when teaching text structure is The Crayon Man: The True Story of the Invention of Crayola Crayons by Natascha Biebow. It is not only a fantastic example of a narrative biography, but contains the elusive problem/solution text structure! (This one is always hard to find good examples of in picture books.)

    Just as I suggested with Balloons Over Broadway, after reading the mentor text, read each explanation of the text structures from the poster. Remind students how the structure should describe the text as a whole, not just parts of it. Help students recognize that the structure is problem and solution.

    text structure problem and solution balloons over broadway

    Point out how even though chalk, pencils, and crayons were compared in the book, the overall structure of the text is not compare and contrast… and although a few steps of making the colored crayons were shared, the text overall was not written with references to time, so it wouldn’t be a sequence structure either.

    Note: Problem & solution and cause & effect can often be similar in structure – and can be tricky to identify! In fact, one might argue that The Crayon Man is cause & effect because of the chain of events that led to the crayons’ creation. However, there are several problems presented in the book that Edwin works to solve – and does – so this is a great example of the problem and solution text structure!

    Reading Like Writers, Writing Like Readers

    The Crayon Man is actually a “two for one” for your text structure lessons!

    In the back of the book, the author includes an explanation with ordered photos to show how crayons are made. Students should easily identify the text structure: sequence/chronology.

    The caption of each image tells how crayons are made. Because they are written as captions for numbered/sequential images, and not in paragraph form, transitions are not used or needed.

    text structure sequence writing crayon man

    Perform a shared writing exercise with students: paraphrase the captions and add transitions to write one paragraph that explains how crayons are made. This help students practice varying the start of their sentences.

    Depending on your class’s ability to paraphrase, etc, you might even write out the paragraph example ahead of time with blanks for transitions to explicitly practice using transition words in writing.

     

    Looking for more information about teaching with picture books?

    Check out the site library all about maximizing your time using mentor texts!

     

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    by Jessica Ivey 
    3-5, Mentor Texts

    Planning a Language Arts Schedule (How To Fit It All In!)

    October 21, 2021

    A question I’m commonly asked by upper elementary teachers in regards to using mentor texts is just how to plan a schedule that can fit it all in… for some teachers, outside forces make it very difficult.

    plan your language arts schedule

    Strict mandates from your administration or bell schedules obviously cannot be helped. (If you have 45 minutes for ALL of your ELA standards –yes, there are teachers who have written to me asking for ideas in this type of time block –this post will probably not be for you…) I will do my best to offer some suggestions for even the most time-constrained schedules.

    However, this post will also NOT be one of those dream scenarios that reading and writing gurus like to share in their books where you have 3.5 or 4 hours every day to devote to reading, writing, and grammar. (Where are these schools?!)

    Using Mentor Texts

    First thing’s first: the schedule suggestions I’m sharing with you incorporate the use of mentor texts. A mentor text is not simply a read-aloud. Although mentor texts should be read for enjoyment FIRST, that is not its only purpose. It is not an entire novel either. You can absolutely model skills from a chapter book, but a mentor text should be shorter in length so that it can be referred to throughout a week (or two or three!) for different skills. Think picture books, poems, songs, articles, chapters from a novel, etc…

    mentor texts

    Using a mentor text, or sometimes called “anchor text,” allows you to teach several skills, and gives students the opportunity to dive deep into comprehension over a longer period of time, as well as analyze it for craft.

    Read more about why using mentor texts is the best way to maximize your teaching time.

    In an ideal (but not dream) world, I’d hope for 2 or 2.5 hours to devote to ELA. Check out the “blueprint,” then keep reading for details on what I’d include!

    two and a half hour ELA schedule

    Still too dreamy for you? Here is what a 1.5-hour schedule might look like.

    one and a half hour ELA schedule

    Reading on the Schedule

    I like to start an ELA block with the subject of reading.  Please don’t interpret this as “only teaching reading comprehension” during that time slot on the schedule though… I am a huge believer in integration. This is why I think an ELA block should be just that: A BLOCK. Not “reading time” and “writing time” but “studying the art of language time” – however, I know that many teachers must specify the subject for their plans, so I am breaking it down the best that I can for you here.

    content integration with mentor texts

    On that note, I also must mention the importance of content integration. It’s the best way to not only maximize your teaching time, but also to help students gain a better understanding of a science or social studies topic. When it came to mandated schedules in my classroom, I always did okay with the timing for ELA, but usually, Science and Social Studies were the areas that got the shaft (for a few years, I had only 30 minutes for BOTH… combined!) so I became quite the “integration expert” if you will. It was often the only way I could still help students learn about the history I had to teach, but then I also was able to teach reading standards, language skills, and writing craft!

    Read more about content integration ideas here.

    Comprehension First…

    In my experience, I have found it’s essential for students to work with comprehending a text first before analyzing it for writing purposes. One way to help students understand a text, especially on a first-read, is to use Interactive Read-Alouds, or IRA. There are TONS of resources out there for this method, or you can take my one-hour course on it here!

    interactive read aloud vocabulary lesson

    Teaching vocabulary is one of the top skills to do with an Interactive Read-Aloud. It is the perfect way to explore words using context clues. I am a huge proponent of “throwing out the vocabulary list” and actually helping students understand how to use vocabulary in their speaking and writing, not just memorizing a definition that they can pick out from multiple choice at the end of the week.

    You can read more about throwing out the list here.

    gradual release with mentor text

    In my classroom, I found IRA was NOT an exercise that should be done every day with every skill or mini-lesson, so I also incorporated gradual release (“I Do, We Do, You Do”) when introducing new skills or reviewing tricky skills. This is especially helpful when using a mentor text that students don’t all have a copy of in their hands.

    Read more about using mentor texts with the gradual release model for mini-lessons here.

    Independent Practice

    Remember, the “You Do” part of gradual release means students need time for independent application. You might offer students another short passage to demonstrate their understanding of a skill, or you might give students a different section of the mentor text to use than the one you worked with for the “I Do, We Do” portion. (You could project a page or two on the wall/board for them to see, or photo-copy, or scan into a sharing app.)

    using shorter texts for gradual release

    During independent practice, I would aim to pull at least one small group to work on current skills, remediate past skills, or push to enrich skills. If you are hoping to run your ELA block in a workshop style, you might want to check out Launching Reading Workshop Tips and Printables in my shop!

    Using More Than Mentor Texts

    If you provide students with a “cold read” (something new to read while assessing their understanding) during their independent practice, I would encourage you to give them something of their reading ability. I know this can be controversial because students might “get a high mark” on something they read below grade level so does that really mean they are passing the grade? I think the question you always have to ask yourself is: “Am I assessing if they can read the text, or am I assessing if they can apply the standard that I just taught them?”

    You can read more here about the importance of differentiating in reading when assessing.

     

    Paired Texts

    I really love pairing a picture book or a chapter book with an article or poem that deals with the same content (to go deeper on a topic) or theme (to allow students to compare, for example).

    pair mentor text with article

    This doesn’t always have to be provided as a cold read though. You also might consider assessing students’ comprehension after doing a close read of a more rigorous text TOGETHER. This way, they have tackled tricky words, made notes about (and overcome with your help) confusions or misunderstandings, and can work to analyze or compare within texts rather than go in with no prior knowledge. (And remember, this is perfect for content integration, too!)

    Read more about helping students learn to annotate articles during close reading in this post…

    Or check out how to close read a poem here!

    paired texts to compare

    Of course, determining the meaning of a pair of passages or articles, and integrating information from the two, are skills that students are required to learn to do. You might take several days to analyze and dissect a pair of articles together by close reading and annotating, then allow students to respond to the texts through writing.

    You can read more about using paired texts to teach AND assess here.

    And on that note, let’s move into some writing, shall we?

    Grammar on the Schedule

    As I’ve said over and over already, integration is important for writing, too. Integrating grammar skills into writing is the best way to develop a student’s language and communication. (That’s right: something else to throw away… no more grammar workbooks!)

    Read more about how to stop teaching grammar in isolation here.

    mentor sentence example

    Mentor Sentences

    Mentor sentences tackle integrating your grammar skills in the most fantastic way. Students will see the RIGHT way to write, rather than the wrong like so many programs tend to do, and it only takes a few minutes each day to work through. Students will notice the good things about a sentence from a mentor text you are already using for another lesson. It’s the perfect way to begin your “writing time.” It helps get students’ brains into a mode where they are analyzing, revising, or even imitating a written piece of work.

    Read all about how to begin the mentor sentence routine in your classroom here.

    Writing on the Schedule

    I just mentioned the mentor sentence coming from a mentor text you are already using… remember, you absolutely should be using a mentor text for as many standards as possible to truly maximize your teaching time. That means the same book you used for a reading lesson can also be used for a mentor sentence AND a writing lesson! No matter what genre you want students to write, you can find style, language, and organization patterns in mentor texts to use as models for students. Oftentimes, your mentor sentence lesson can even become your writing lesson for that day!

    Check out how to make mentor sentences stick in writing in this post.

    shared writing process

    I don’t believe shared writing should only happen with the younger grades. It is just as beneficial to walk through the steps of planning, drafting, and revising writing for upper elementary students. Model your thinking and allow students to make suggestions. This also helps get those creative juices flowing for their independent practice.

    response to literature

    Finally, don’t feel you must always have students writing a long “go through all the phases of the writing process” writing piece. Responding to literature, constructed responses to articles or paired texts, or even just quick writes to demonstrate knowledge on some content are just as important. Also, don’t forget to look at drafts of old writing pieces. Look for ways to improve them with newly learned skills. It’s so easy to “file them away” once they’re done, isn’t it? But think of all the opportunities to show growth!

    I hope this was helpful for you!

    Here are some more helpful links to check out when planning your ELA lessons:

    Free Mentor Text Database

    The Importance of Diverse Mentor Texts

    by Jessica Ivey 
    3-5, Mentor Texts

    Why I Love Using Mentor Texts All Year (And You Should, Too!)

    July 29, 2021

    Teachers know that using literature is the perfect way to introduce a lesson, but starting EVERY lesson with a new book would make it impossible to teach all of the required standards! That’s why it’s important to use mentor texts: a short text like a picture book (fiction or nonfiction), a chapter from a novel, an article, a song, or a poem, which can be used to teach several skills.

    Mentor Texts

    Using mentor texts is a best-practice strategy that maximizes your teaching time. You’ll have more time to teach because once you’ve read the book one time, you only need to re-read or refer back to parts of it for your different mini-lessons.

    And best of all, a well-chosen mentor text will be enjoyable to read, and one you will want to return to over and over!

    Choosing Mentor Texts

    When choosing mentor texts, you’ll want to find models that inspire students to practice a few skills.

    It’s typically easy to identify reading standards that can be addressed with a book, but make sure to step back and look at the book with a writing eye, too.

    A good mentor text will always have writing and language techniques that students can imitate. (This is another reason why using picture books is SO important, even in upper grades!)

    More Bang For Your Buck

    Of course, it’s a bonus when you can tie in another content area, too!

    It’s so great when you find a book that also incorporates some science, social studies, math, or even social-emotional skills!

    A new favorite of mine does just that! You do not want to miss the book, Say Something! by Peter H. Reynolds. (This link is an Amazon affiliate link- if you use it to purchase the book, I earn a few pennies which I put toward book giveaways for teachers, but it doesn’t cost you anything extra!)

    Say Something by Peter Reynolds

    In this empowering picture book, students will discover the many ways that a single voice can make a difference with our actions, our words, and our voices.

    This book can be used for SO many skills across all content areas!

    Peter Reynolds writes this book almost entirely in conditional statements (these are sentences with dependent clauses beginning with “If,” followed by an independent clause with advice or directions). This is the PERFECT way to help students practice writing conditionals, as it’s been modeled over and over for them in this book.

    Say Something Mentor Sentence Conditional

    There is also a VERY clear message in this book. Students can identify key details in the text to determine the message.

    Say Something Reading Details

    (Want this lesson for free? Receive it directly in your inbox by clicking here!)

    And of course, what better way to reflect the message than to show students that even kids can make a difference when they say something? Allow students time to learn about famous young people like Malala Yousafzai, Greta Thunberg, or Mari Copeny, just to name a few. I like to provide an article that can be used for more reading comprehension practice, like the one below about Mari Copeny and the Michigan Water Crisis, but you can also let them practice their research skills to learn about them, too.

    There is so much more that can be done with this book and topic!! I have an entire mentor text unit that provides a week of explicit lessons and activities for reading, writing, and grammar:

    Say Something Mentor Text Unit by Ideas by Jivey

    This unit is a part of my Mentor Text Club: Second Edition, where teachers get a weeklong mentor text unit once a month which THEY get to have input, and even WIN the mentor text for their classroom! This club is NOT a membership- it is a one-time purchase and then all 12 weeklong units are yours to use year after year.

    Want even more ideas for mentor text integration?

    I have a FREE database where I have listed all of the mentor texts I’ve used in my resources, as well as all the skills covered with those books. Check it out!

    by Jessica Ivey 
    3-5, Mentor Texts

    Keep Students Learning Before Winter Break!

    December 4, 2018

    Use the mentor texts, How Santa Got His Job and How Santa Lost His Job, to continue teaching reading, writing, and grammar content before the holidays.

    This time of year, it’s no secret that most kids have Santa on the brain…

    …so don’t fight that feeling! You definitely can’t beat ’em on this one, so join ’em!

    Must-Have Mentor Texts

    Since it can get tricky to keep students’ learning stamina going this time of year, incorporate fun mentor texts to keep them excited about the season WHILE learning! Of course, they can be used as fun read-alouds, but they can also be implemented for reading, writing, and language standards.

    The two mentor texts I’ll be highlighting in this post are by Stephen Krensky:

        

    The book links in this post are affiliate links. It doesn’t cost you anything extra to purchase using my links, and Amazon gives me a few cents per purchase which I use to fund awesome giveaways for teachers!

    There is so much that can be done with these two books. Your ELA lessons will be covered for at least a week!

    READING

    In the first book of the two, How Santa Got His Job, we learn how Santa’s skills led him to his dream job! Students can work on citing specific text evidence to share Santa’s skills, and ultimately why each job didn’t really work out for him.

    In the second book, How Santa Lost His Job, a machine is invented to deliver gifts more efficiently, but it causes many problems, too. Students can easily compare Santa to “The Deliverator” to show how a human with love and compassion is always better than a machine.

    Both books are excellent for reviewing cause and effect! Not only can you work on identifying causes and effects within the text, but it’s also helpful to work on creating complete sentences containing both the cause and effect.

    If you share the cause first, use the word “so” to connect it to the effect.

    “Santa tasted and sampled the food, so he gained a lot of weight.”

    If you share the effect first, use the word “because” to connect it to the cause.

    “Santa lost the contest because he took time to carefully read each letter and match kids to gifts.”

    You can also “flip” the clauses, putting the dependent clause first!

    “Because Santa took time to carefully read each letter and match kids to gifts, he lost the contest.”

    Get these cause and effect activities for free!

    WRITING

    These mentor texts are great examples to use for student writing! In How Santa Got His Job, Stephen Krensky did a great job explaining the skills of many jobs that Santa had. Students could brainstorm the skills that elves need and write their own story about an elf being hired, the way that the author did about Santa.

    In How Santa Lost His Job, a substitute for Santa was designed. Students could write an informative paragraph about the kind of skills a substitute would need, perhaps drawing on the failings of “The Deliverator” to make sure a substitute would have the right qualities.

    LANGUAGE, MECHANICS, AND CONVENTIONS

    Stephen Krensky used a variety of sentence types, as we would want our students to do, so using mentor sentences to demonstrate sentence variety is a great teaching tool! I have a free BONUS mentor sentence lesson for How Santa Got His Job, which focuses on compound sentences.

    Download For Free!

    You can also point out the differences from other sentences in the text that use compound subjects and compound predicates, and identify those as simple sentences compared to compound sentences also found in the text.

    Finally, How Santa Lost His Job is full of dialogue between the elves and Santa. Stephen Krensky is a great mentor for using synonyms for said throughout the text. Some ideas for practice would be to have students use quotation marks, as well as use vivid verbs to replace the word “said” in the tags within dialogue.


    You can find all of these activities (and more) in this seasonal Santa’s Jobs mentor text unit!

     

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    by Jessica Ivey 
    3-5, K-2, Mastering Mentor Sentences

    Higher Order Thinking Questions for Grammar and Writing

    October 30, 2018

    Higher order thinking questions should also be used in grammar instruction. Download a free higher order thinking questions poster to guide you in transforming your classroom conversations!

    We don’t often think of using higher order thinking questions, or Bloom’s Taxonomy above level 1 and 2, within grammar and writing instruction. In fact, when looking at sample higher order thinking question stems to use within your classroom, many of them specifically relate to reading and math!

    For students to reach their highest potential, we have to teach them to do more than just recall and recite facts. Higher order thinking questions help students learn to understand, apply, analyze, evaluate, and CREATE information rather than simply recalling it. We’ve seen the ineffectiveness of memorizing grammar rules. We know it is important for students to actually understand and apply their grammar understanding to their writing.

    Isn’t it our goal for students to create new information using “old” understanding? So that means we want students to formulate more complex, quality sentences using what they have observed and learned.

    I’d love to help you tackle this in your classroom!

    Sign up below to receive a free download that will help you transform surface level questions into high-value discussions:

    Can students really think critically about grammar?!

    Higher order thinking questions should also be used in grammar instruction. Download this free higher order thinking questions poster to guide you in transforming your classroom conversations!

    Enter your email in the form above to receive this free download to help you transform your discussions!

    Yes! Let’s think about teaching adjectives with higher order thinking questions… we need students to do more than remember a list of adjectives, or memorize the definition, “adjectives describe nouns.”

    We want students to produce writing, using adjectives EFFECTIVELY. Students should understand the purpose of using many forms of adjectives in order to choose which adjectives to use in their writing. To get there, students should be categorizing and classifying adjectives. This also means students need to see many models of adjectives being used in order to identify and judge the words.

    Asking the right questions, providing the appropriate models, and holding those high-value discussions will lead students to transfer this grammar skill to their writing.

    Let’s stop asking students to recite and start helping students apply and model!

    If you’ve never had discussions with your students about grammar and language, it might be hard for you to imagine that this could even happen. These discussions I’m talking about don’t include lectures. They are not, “read this and put it in your own words” types of assignments. They are actual conversations with students where they are transferring understanding!

    Higher order thinking questions should also be used in grammar instruction. Download this free higher order thinking questions poster to guide you in transforming your classroom conversations!

    It also might not be something you’ve ever considered planning. Since we don’t have many examples of higher order thinking question stems for grammar and writing, it doesn’t come as naturally to us as recall questions do for these subject areas.

    Thinking about the topic of adjectives from above, here are some examples of questions that can be asked to achieve those critical thinking and high-value discussions needed for TRUE transfer!

    • What do you notice about the way the author described [name noun] in the sentence?
    • How can you sort these different words/adjectives?
    • Why do you think the author used [name adjective] instead of another adjective?
    • How would you describe [name noun]?
    • How could you change [name adjective] to be a stronger descriptor?
    • What would happen if we changed [name adjective] to another adjective?

    Of course, you wouldn’t ask all of these questions in one discussion! Notice the level of each question and how they progress in the list. We want to move students through the levels of critical thinking naturally for learning to be reflected.

    Don’t forget those free sample grammar and writing higher order thinking questions delivered to your inbox!

    Have you heard about mentor sentences?

    All of this high-value discussion and critical thinking comes very naturally through the use of mentor sentences!

    Through discussions and seeing skills in context, students are able to understand the author’s purpose for using specific words and phrases. They are able to compare words and phrases within the lesson as well as from other weeks of learning. Students will learn how to analyze what the author is trying to communicate, as well as have a better grasp of the nuances of language. They will examine a writer’s style and mechanics, and learn to apply those skills to their own writing.

    Get more information about mentor sentences for your grade level here, including directions, videos, and resources!

     

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    Higher order thinking questions should also be used in grammar instruction. Download this free higher order thinking questions poster to guide you in transforming your classroom conversations!

    by Jessica Ivey 
    3-5, K-2, Mastering Mentor Sentences

    Suggestions For Making Mentor Sentences STICK In Writing

    February 15, 2017

    Ideas by Jivey explains how to incorporate mentor sentences into your writing time to ensure that the grammar, mechanics, and style lessons you teach are sticking!

    I am often asked by people who use mentor sentences, “How can I get the kids to carry these skills over into their writing?”

    Remember, the idea of using mentor sentences is to move AWAY from teaching grammar in isolation. This means, don’t have a “mentor sentence time” in isolation either! Mentor sentences must be woven into the fabric of your writing time. I know that sometimes your schedule may not allow for mentor sentences to happen at the start of your writing time, but no matter when it occurs in your day, your writing time should still include what is happening in mentor sentences.

    During writing, teachers must lead lessons (and/or model) about organization, ideas, content, word choice, voice, style, and conventions. That’s a LOT of components to be taught, right? Luckily, mentor sentences covers a lot of your word choice, style, and conventions lessons and modeling! And just like with anything else, the more exposure they have to these components, the more they will understand and start to actually use them! But, of course, showing them in a ten minute lesson and then “moving on” to something else in writing is NOT going to help them apply those word choice, style, and conventions lessons.

    First, I would urge you to make the mentor sentence student notebook a RESOURCE and not just another notebook. You can read all about how I set up student notebooks here. If you have students draft OUTSIDE of their mentor sentence/writing resource notebooks, they can actually flip through the notebook as a resource to get ideas. (It’s difficult to flip pages in a notebook you are actually writing in, right?) This is something you will have to model and train your students to do, but after a while, you’ll find that the students use their notebook as a resource unprompted!

    Let’s look at how I would schedule writing lessons to make sure mentor sentence lessons are woven in to writing time:

    Ideas by Jivey explains how to incorporate mentor sentences into your writing time to ensure that the grammar, mechanics, and style lessons you teach are sticking!

     

    On Monday, you introduce the sentence and talk about what the students notice during the Mentor Sentences lesson. Because you’ve only introduced the sentence, this is the perfect day to also use the mentor text that the sentence is from to get in an organization, content, or ideas lesson to work on during writing. This lesson and text model should be referred to all week long, as well as the focus skill from your Mentor Sentence lesson (which you’ll introduce on Tuesday).

    On Tuesday, students work on seeing how the parts of speech work together in the sentence. This should also be the day you focus solely on the focus skill from the mentor sentence. You can introduce (or review) the skill by using the Interactive Activity Companions that go with each mentor sentence lesson. This will be your “writing mini-lesson.” Typically, these are conventions lessons, but sometimes are word choice or style lessons (figurative language, descriptive language, etc). Have the students practice this skill in their own writing after the focus skill mini-lesson.

    Wednesday can become REVISION DAY in your classroom during writing time. Practice revising with the mentor sentence, then have students revise for that same focus skill in their own writing.

     
    But what if my students aren’t done drafting?
     
    Friends, writing is a CONSTANT PROCESS. We must teach our students that revision (and editing, for that matter) must be done many times and over the entire writing piece, not just when they are “done.” Think back to when you had to write those dreaded papers in college (and maybe some of you are still now as you get higher degrees). How many times did you read and re-read and add and change and delete before you EVER came to that last paragraph? This is a skill our students should learn, too. In fact, just writing this blog post, I have moved paragraphs, added sentences or phrases to be more clear, and changed words several times already… and I’m not finished! 🙂
    So yes, on Wednesday, no matter how long their writing piece might be, have students work on revising. You could even have students look back at older writing pieces (not just current) to look at how they could improve them.

     

    Thursday is the students’ FAVORITE day during Mentor Sentences: Imitation Day! Students seriously love this day, so work that love for all it’s worth! After imitating the mentor sentence, have students work to use that same sentence structure in the writing piece they are working with at that time. Of course, this should not be all they do during writing that day. Aside from trying out the sentence structure in their writing, they should still be working on applying relevant skills they have already learned. (This is a great day to encourage them to “flip through” their notebook for ideas!)

     

    On Friday, you’ll give students the assessment to see how much they understood the focus skill from the week. If desired, you can deliver another organization, content, or ideas lesson for students to work on during writing, or students can continue applying relevant skills they have already learned.

     

    Please understand that this is a framework, or outline, to help give you an idea of how you can incorporate mentor sentences into writing, but how you deliver it all is dependent upon your style (small groups vs. whole group, conferring, etc). This is certainly not the only way to “get it all in” and “make it stick” but it is what worked for me!

     

    Check out a video series I created to Weave Mentor Sentences into Writing!

     

    If you want even more IN-DEPTH step-by-step help with implementing mentor sentences, check out my courses!

     

    If you are looking for guidance to pick the “just-right” bundle for your needs, click below!

     

    For even more ideas, follow my Pinterest board!

      Follow Ideas By Jivey’s board Mentor Sentences on Pinterest.
    Ideas by Jivey explains how to incorporate mentor sentences into your writing time to ensure that the grammar, mechanics, and style lessons you teach are sticking!

     

    by Jessica Ivey 
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    Ideas By Jivey

    23 hours ago

    Ideas By Jivey
    😍 The latest seasonal club unit for upper grades is completed, and you'll definitely want to grab it before next week! Groundhog Weather School by Joan Holub is an informative mentor text about groundhogs, Groundhog Day, and weather, but it's presented in an entertaining way that will keep your students laughing while they learn. 😂✅ With this unit I created, you'll receive a week of explicit lesson plans to go along with the book. 🤓 You'll get everything you need to teach about organized notetaking, tier 3 vocabulary, word parts, and types of sentences, plus you'll be able integrate it all with science: weather, seasons, and groundhogs! Grab it at this link: www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Groundhog-Weather-School-Mentor-Text-Unit-Grades-3-5-Groundho... ... See MoreSee Less

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    Ideas By Jivey

    4 days ago

    Ideas By Jivey
    ❄️ There are so many fantastic books to use in January with a snowy winter theme. 📖 If you work with early emergent readers, this mentor sentence mini-unit is perfect for you! There are lessons for five snowy winter-themed books to help students grasp language through a balanced literacy approach. Check it out here: www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Mentor-Sentences-Mini-Unit-Snowy-Winter-Books-for-Early-Emerg... ... See MoreSee Less

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    Ideas By Jivey

    5 days ago

    Ideas By Jivey
    Can students REALLY think critically about... GRAMMAR?! You bet they can! Come see how in this post! ... See MoreSee Less

    Higher Order Thinking Questions for Grammar and Writing

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    😍 The latest seasonal club unit for #uppergrade 😍 The latest seasonal club unit for #uppergrades is completed, and you'll definitely want to grab it before next week! 

Groundhog Weather School by Joan Holub is an informative #mentortext about groundhogs, Groundhog Day, and weather, but it's presented in an entertaining way that will keep your students laughing while they learn. 😂

✅ With this unit I created, you'll receive a week of explicit lesson plans to go along with the book. 

🤓 You'll get everything you need to teach about organized notetaking, tier 3 vocabulary, word parts, and types of sentences, plus you'll be able integrate it all with science: weather, seasons, and groundhogs! 

Grab it at the link in my profile: https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Groundhog-Weather-School-Mentor-Text-Unit-Grades-3-5-Groundhog-Day-Seasons-9006611 #ideasbyjivey #mentorsentence #teacherspayteachers #teachersfollowteachers #groundhogdayintheclassroom #upperelementary #iteach345
    ❄️ There are so many fantastic #picturebooks t ❄️ There are so many fantastic #picturebooks to use in January with a snowy winter theme. 

📖 If you work with early emergent readers, this #mentorsentences mini-unit is perfect for you! 

There are lessons for five snowy winter-themed books to help students grasp language through a balanced literacy approach. 

Check it out at the link in my profile! #ideasbyjivey #iteachk #mentortexts #teacherspayteachers #teachersfollowteachers https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Mentor-Sentences-Mini-Unit-Snowy-Winter-Books-for-Early-Emergent-Readers-2293853
    Can students actually think critically about... GR Can students actually think critically about... GRAMMAR?!? 🤔

You bet they can! 🥳

Check out how at the link in my profile! https://www.ideasbyjivey.com/higher-order-thinking-questions-for-grammar-and-writing/ 

#ideasbyjivey #mentorsentences #mentorsentence #iteachtoo #teachersfollowteachers #teachgrammar #iteach2nd #iteach3rd #iteach4th #iteach5th
    😍 A NEW FAVORITE! 🩰 Have you gotten your ha 😍 A NEW FAVORITE!

🩰 Have you gotten your hands on The Snow Dancer by Addie Boswell? What a BEAUTIFUL #picturebook, not only in the illustrations but also the words!

📘 This #mentortext is chock full of figurative language- don't miss grabbing this unit if you teach grades 3-5! 

You will have everything you need to use with the book including explicit lesson plans and teacher samples (it's ready to teach- no prep work!) to teach about figurative language like similes, onomatopoeia, personification, and hyperbole, as well as vivid verbs, visualization, and writing small moment stories. 

Check it out at the link in my profile! #ideasbyjivey #mentortextsforwriting #teacherspayteachers #iteach345 #iteach3rd #iteach4th #iteach5th #mentortextmonday

https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/The-Snow-Dancer-Mentor-Text-Unit-for-Grades-3-5-8787748
    I didn’t always use mentor sentences in my class I didn’t always use mentor sentences in my classroom... but once I started, there was no going back.

They are a total gamechanger! Come see why at the link in my profile: https://www.ideasbyjivey.com/taking-it-back-to-archives-mentor/

#ideasbyjivey #mentorsentences #iteach345 #teachersfollowteachers
    🐘 Strictly No Elephants by Lisa Mantchev is a p 🐘 Strictly No Elephants by Lisa Mantchev is a picture book about inclusion and true friendship. It's the perfect #picturebook to use in the primary grades!

I created a weeklong unit for this wonderful #mentortext to help you incorporate social/emotional learning to develop relationship skills all while identifying character challenges, writing explanatory text, analyzing a poem that pairs with the book, relating to literature, and understanding contractions.

😍 You'll get explicit lesson plans AND teacher samples- you'll have everything you need to teach all of ELA for a week!

Check it out at the link in my profile. #ideasbyjivey #teacherspayteachers #iteach12 #iteach1st #iteach2nd #mentortexts 

https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Strictly-No-Elephants-Mentor-Text-Unit-for-Grades-1-2-8501981
    🍯 Did you know January 18 is Winnie The Pooh Da 🍯 Did you know January 18 is Winnie The Pooh Day? It's AA Milne's birthday! 

Grab this weeklong unit for grades 3-5 to use with the #picturebook, Finding Winnie by Lindsay Mattick: the true story of how the beloved bear became famous! 🐻

✏️ With the unit I created, you'll really dive into helping students read like writers and write like readers by discovering the purpose for dialogue. You'll get a week of explicit lesson plans that teach the purpose of dialogue, types of nonfiction, forming fact-based opinions, and quotation mark usage using the book, Finding Winnie.

Get the weeklong unit at the link in my profile. #ideasbyjivey #mentortextmonday #mentorsentences #iteach345 #iteachwriting #iteach3rd #iteach4th #iteach5th #teacherspayteachers #winniethepoohday #mentortexts

https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Finding-Winnie-Mentor-Text-Unit-for-Grades-3-5-7576748
    🍯 Did you know January 18 is Winnie The Pooh Da 🍯 Did you know January 18 is Winnie The Pooh Day? It’s AA Milne’s birthday! 

Grab this weeklong unit for grades 3-5 to use with the #picturebook, Finding Winnie by Lindsay Mattick: the true story of how the beloved bear became famous! 🐻

Link in profile, or DM me! https://www.ideasbyjivey.com/product/finding-winnie-mentor-text-unit-for-grades-3-5/ #ideasbyjivey #teachersfollowteachers #teachersofinstagram #teachersofig
    🎊 Chinese New Year falls on January 22 this yea 🎊 Chinese New Year falls on January 22 this year! Do you have a #mentortext ready for it? 

🧧 Ruby's Wish is a wonderful #picturebook to share for the celebration! It's a story based on the author's ambitious grandmother who desired an education more than anything else. 

You can grab the weeklong unit to review/teach proper nouns, contextual vocabulary, citing evidence to support answers, character traits, and comparing to another mentor text, plus a themed writing prompt.

Get it at the link in my profile. #ideasbyjivey #mentorsentence #iteach345 #mentortexts #iteach3rd #iteach4th #iteach5th #lunarnewyearintheclassroom #chinesenewyearintheclassroom 

https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Rubys-Wish-Mentor-Text-Digital-Print-Unit-8110655
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