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This yearlong mentor sentences curriculum gives 3rd, 4th, and 5th grade teachers 45 weeks of integrated grammar, vocabulary, and reading comprehension instruction, built around 45 read-aloud picture books your students already love. Volume 1 is the first of four volumes I’ve written, so you can choose the book list that fits your classroom best.
Every subject connects back to the same book each week instead of pulling grammar, vocabulary, reading, and writing from four unrelated sources. Grammar comes from a sentence in that week’s mentor text. Vocabulary comes from Tier 2 and Tier 3 words in that same book. Reading comprehension activities are built around that text’s content. And even the writing prompt ties back to the book’s theme. Students spend the week going deep with one book instead of switching between disconnected worksheets.
★ Mentor Sentence Lessons | Grammar and author’s craft in context
Mentor sentences are an evidence-based approach to grammar instruction that teaches students to notice, discuss, revise, and imitate sentences drawn directly from your read-alouds. This is not grammar in isolation… it is grammar in context, connected to real writing! Each lesson includes a teacher sentence page, a student sentence page, a four-day lesson plan, and a CCSS-aligned quiz with an answer key.
If you need more proof that the numerous volumes of mentor sentence curricula created by Ideas by Jivey are a best practice in the classroom, download the case study! The download presents the data collected over the 2016-2017 school year in the form of a case study.
★ Interactive Language Arts Activities | Skill reinforcement for the mentor sentence focus
Companion activities give students additional practice with the grammar skill from each mentor sentence lesson.
★ Scaffolded Modifications | Support for students who need it
Sentence frames for revision and imitation days give extra support to students with disabilities, English language learners, and/or slow writers without removing the thinking from students who are ready to work independently.
★Reading Comprehension Activities | 100+ reading comprehension activities
Every activity includes an answer key. Generic versions of all graphic organizers are also included so you can use them with any text. Reading activities cover skills such as:
Using evidence to describe, infer, and draw conclusions
Summarizing
Identifying and supporting theme
Identifying and supporting character traits
Explaining figurative language
Identifying vivid language
Visualizing
Supporting opinions
Comparing characters
Comparing texts to media and other texts
Defining words using context clues
…and more!
★ Writing Prompts | One per week, tied to each book’s theme or topic
Every book has a corresponding writing prompt that connects to the theme, idea, or content of that specific text. Prompts give students a purposeful reason to write in response to what they just read.
★ Contextual Vocabulary Activities | Tier 2 and Tier 3 words from each book
Vocabulary is taught directly from the mentor texts, not from isolated word lists. Activities are grounded in research on vocabulary acquisition and designed for repeated exposure across multiple formats.
★ ALL activities are also provided as links to Google Slides for Digital Learning! ★
You will want to make sure you have access to the books listed below to complete the lessons properly. They are not included, but most can likely be found in your library, or even as online read-alouds!
-First Day Jitters By Julie Danneberg
-Enemy Pie By Derek Munson
-Saturdays and Teacakes By Lester Laminack
-My Rotten Redheaded Older Brother By Patricia Polacco
-Fireflies! By Julie Brinckloe
-Come On, Rain! By Karen Hesse
-The Man Who Walked Between The Towers By Mordicai Gerstein
-Verdi By Janell Cannon
-Stellaluna By Janell Cannon
-I Need My Monster By Amanda Noll
-If You Find a Rock By Peggy Christian
-The Wretched Stone By Chris Van Allsburg
-Knots on a Counting Rope By John Archambault
-How Many Days to America? By Eve Bunting
-Grandpa’s Teeth By Rod Clement
-Owl Moon By Jane Yolen
-Polar Express By Chris Van Allsburg
-Trouble With Trolls By Jan Brett
-The Three Snow Bears By Jan Brett
-Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs By Judi Barrett
-Groundhog Gets a Say by Pamela Curtis Swallow
-Olive My Love by Vivian Walsh
-The True Story of The Three Little Pigs by Jon Scieszka
-I Wanna Iguana by Karen Kaufman Orloff
-I Wanna New Room by Karen Kaufman Orloff
-Thunder Cake by Patricia Polacco
-Tar Beach by Faith Ringgold
-My Great Aunt Arizona by Gloria Houston
-Dandelions by Eve Bunting
-Sojourner Truth’s Step-Stomp Stride by Andrea Davis Pinkney
-Roller Coaster by Marla Frazee
-Shortcut by Donald Crews
-Nothing Ever Happens on 90th Street by Roni Schotter
-Henry’s Freedom Box by Ellen Levine
-Our Tree Named Steve by Alan Zweibel
-The Paperboy by Dav Pilkey
-The Rough-Face Girl by Rafe Martin
-Fly Away Home by Eve Bunting
-The Raft by Jim LaMarche
-The Junkyard Wonders by Patricia Polacco
BONUS UNITS:
-Joan Procter, Dragon Doctor by Patricia Valdez
-Separate is Never Equal by Duncan Tonatiuh
-The Boy Who Grew a Forest by Sophia Gholz
-The Leaf Detective by Heather Lang
-Trombone Shorty by Troy Andrews
What grade levels is this mentor sentences curriculum for?
Volume 1 is written for 3rd, 4th, and 5th grade classrooms, using picture books and read-alouds appropriate for that age range.
How is Volume 1 different from Volumes 2, 3, and 4?
Each volume uses a different set of mentor texts, so the lesson structure and components are the same across all four. Choose your volume based on which books you already have access to or want to read aloud this year.
Check out what’s in Volume 2!
Check out what’s in Volume 3!
Check out what’s in Volume 4!
Do I need to own every book on the list?
Most of the books are commonly available in school and public libraries, and many can be found as online read-alouds if you don’t have a physical copy.
Is this enough for a full year of ELA instruction on its own?
It covers 45 weeks of grammar, vocabulary, and reading comprehension instruction anchored to mentor texts. Most teachers pair it with their existing writing curriculum, since the writing prompts are meant to complement, not replace, a full writing program.
Mentor Sentences can be done in ALL grades! Please tell your teacher friends about mentor sentences for their grade:
Kindergarten & ELL (Early Emergent Readers)
First Grade
Second Grade
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Please remember, this purchase is for the use of one teacher. It is not intended to be shared. Please use the ‘additional license’ purchase if more than one teacher will be using it. Thank you!
*The mentor sentence lessons I have created are adapted from the ideas of Jeff Anderson. These lessons were born from the routine that worked well in my classroom, and the demos and examples I present are variations of Jeff Anderson’s methods. This is not the only way to “do” mentor sentences in your classroom.*
Copyright © Ideas By Jivey, LLC
All rights reserved by author.
Permission to copy for single classroom use only.
Electronic distribution limited to single classroom use only.
Not for public display.
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Learning through picture books
I love how these resources cover all the skills based on a picture book of the week. Using the picture book for context to practice grammar, vocabulary, comprehension and writing skills is an awesome way to teach ELA - especially in my combined 3rd & 4th grade class.
Amazing resource!
Mentor texts galore! Everything was easy to prepare. I loved how everything was connected. This is an amazing resource that you will use over and over again!
LOVE THIS FOR SENTENCE OF THE WEEK
I love this resource. I was able to find all the read alouds online and kids would WANT to read and find the sentences and vocabulary from this in the story.
Great resource to keep students engaged throughout the year
This was a helpful resource to supplement our curriculum. It was easy for the students to follow, and it required minimal prep.
I loved using this resource in my classroom! Thank you!
Great resource - very engaging! My students enjoyed the activities in this resource.
This resource has been a life saver for me. I had no idea how to connect my reading to the curriculum in a fun and engaging way. This resource was perfect.
I'm loving this bundle! It has SO many resources and it makes it easy to use the resources for whatever you're needing them for at that time!
Utilizing sentence-based activities to teach grammar concepts can be a highly effective and engaging approach for students. These hands-on exercises encourage learners to actively analyze the structure and mechanics of language, leading to a deeper understanding of grammatical principles that can be readily applied in their own writing and communication.
This has been a game changer with how I teach grammar....as well as adding in all the reading standards! Love this product so much!
Loved being able to use this resource for ELA. Super easy to use
Great Resource! Very well organized, helpful, standards-aligned, and engaging. Thank you!
This resource is above anything else I've ever used to supplement my reading curriculum! I've always used novels as my main source of literature in the classroom, and this completely changed the way I teach reading from here on out. Everything in the files are easy to understand and organized in a very convenient way. I've already started with my students, and their participation and eagerness to learn is already outstanding!
Wow! This is one very complete Reader's Workshop style bundle.
Love using this resource! It has really helped enhance my students grammar skills.
My students are enjoying learning grammar and proper sentence structure through the books we are reading in class. Make planning much easier. Thanks
This resource transformed the way I teach grammar. My students loved the predictability of the activities and every Monday would be excited to see what our new mentor sentence/text would be. Their grammar knowledge definitely increased and the quality of their writing greatly improved. I have since purchased more products by Jivey and will continue to use her products next year.
The only drawback to this resource is having to buy all the books. Update: Seller is absolutely correct that you don't have to buy the books. I did because my small town library either didn't have them or they were checked out when I wanted to use them. This was a personal issue and not an issue with the product itself - which is wonderful. If anything it has more resources than I could possibly use!
Thank you, this resource is awesome. My kids were really engaged.
My students enjoyed this resource. It's a great idea to look at great sentences rather than ones that need fixing. It gives the students an example of good work.
Love the stories and the mentor sentence. Really great resource.
Worked well with my students, providing them with different ways to look at stories they are reading
