Yearlong Mentor Text Curriculum, Volume 2: Grammar, Vocabulary, Reading, and Writing, Grades 3-5

Description

Want your read-aloud to carry your whole ELA block? Volume 2 of my Yearlong Mentor Text Curriculum is a 45-week read aloud curriculum for 3rd, 4th, and 5th grade, with grammar, vocabulary, reading, and writing for 40 popular picture books plus 5 bonus units.

Every part of the week connects back to the same book. The grammar lesson comes from a sentence in the book, the vocabulary words come from its pages, the reading activities are built on its story or content, and the writing prompt ties to its theme. Students go deep with one book instead of jumping between worksheets that don’t connect!

The books are not included. Most are in school and public libraries, and many are available as online read-alouds.

What’s included:

• Mentor sentence lessons: one for each book. Students notice, label, revise, and imitate a sentence from the book. Each lesson has:
  • A teacher sentence page
  • A student sentence page
  • A lesson plan with answers for each day of the routine
  • A quiz with editing practice and an answer key
• Interactive notebook activities: extra practice with each week’s grammar skill.
• Modifications: sentence frames for the revise and imitate days, to support students with disabilities, English learners, and students who write slowly.
• Reading comprehension activities: more than 100, with answer keys and generic graphic organizers you can use with any book. Skills include:
  • Using evidence to describe, infer, and draw conclusions
  • Summarizing
  • Identifying and supporting theme
  • Character traits
  • Figurative and vivid language
  • Visualizing
  • Supporting opinions
  • Comparing characters, texts, and media
  • Using context clues
• Vocabulary activities: Tier 2 and Tier 3 words from each book, practiced in context instead of from a word list. Every book has four vocabulary pages:
  • A “What Do You Think?” page for applying the words
  • A “Show What You Know” page to check understanding
  • Two more activities built around that book’s words
• Writing prompts: one for each book, tied to its theme or topic.
• Google Slides: links to digital versions of the activities.

The 45 books in Volume 2:

Unit 1

• The Golden Rule by Ilene Cooper
• The Name Jar by Yangsook Choi
• Spaghetti in a Hot Dog Bun by Maria Dismondy
• When Lightning Comes in a Jar by Patricia Polacco
• Firefly Mountain by Patricia Thomas
• 14 Cows for America by Carmen Agra Deedy
• Those Shoes by Maribeth Boelts
• The Memory String by Eve Bunting
• The Adventures of Spider: How Spider Got a Thin Waist by Joyce Cooper Arkhurst
• The Spider and the Fly by Mary Howitt

Unit 2

• Cloud Dance by Thomas Locker
• In November by Cynthia Rylant
• Tikki Tikki Tembo by Arlene Mosel
• The Great Turkey Race by Steve Metzger
• The Honest-to-Goodness Truth by Patricia C. McKissack
• The Snow Globe Family by Jane O’Connor
• Snowmen at Christmas by Caralyn Buehner
• Martin’s Big Words by Doreen Rappaport
• Snow Day! by Lester Laminack
• The Day the Crayons Quit by Drew Daywalt

Unit 3

• Grace for President by Kelly DiPucchio
• George Washington’s Teeth by Deborah Chandra and Madeleine Comora
• Night Rabbits by Lee Posey
• Crickwing by Janell Cannon
• Pinduli by Janell Cannon
• Twilight Comes Twice by Ralph Fletcher
• My School’s a Zoo! by Stu Smith
• Chicken Sunday by Patricia Polacco
• Titanicat by Marty Crisp
• Voices in the Park by Anthony Browne

Unit 4

• Can It Rain Cats and Dogs? by Melvin and Gilda Berger
• Water Dance by Thomas Locker
• You Wouldn’t Want to Sail with Christopher Columbus! by Fiona MacDonald
• Postcards from Pluto by Loreen Leedy
• Animals Nobody Loves by Seymour Simon
• Owls by Gail Gibbons
• If You Traveled on the Underground Railroad by Ellen Levine
• Snowflake Bentley by Jacqueline Briggs Martin
• My Brother Martin by Christine King Farris
• A River Ran Wild by Lynne Cherry

Bonus units

• School’s First Day of School by Adam Rex
• The Widow’s Broom by Chris Van Allsburg
• Our Table by Peter H. Reynolds
• Sofia Valdez, Future Prez by Andrea Beaty
• Vulture Verses by Diane Lang

Why build your ELA block around one book?

When every subject points back to the same book, students don’t have to start over each time the subject changes. They already know the story, so their energy goes into the skill: the grammar in a sentence, the meaning of a word, a theme, or a written response.

The grammar piece is my mentor sentence routine, so grammar is taught in context instead of with fix-the-sentence drills. Students study a sentence a published author wrote, then use the same skill in a sentence of their own.

New to mentor sentences? My Mentor Sentences for 3-5 page walks through how they work in upper elementary.

Which volume should I choose?

All four volumes for grades 3-5 follow the same weekly structure with a different set of books, so there’s no overlap between them. Volume 4 is the only one that pairs two books in each unit. Pick the book list you most want to read aloud this year! Take a look at Volume 1, Volume 3, and Volume 4.

Is this a full ELA program?

It covers grammar, vocabulary, and reading comprehension for the whole year, with a writing prompt every week. The prompts are meant to go alongside your writing curriculum, not replace it. Homeschool families can use it, too!

Want to start smaller?

Each part is also sold on its own:

• Volume 2 Mentor Sentences Bundle
• Volume 2 Vocabulary Companion Bundle
• Volume 2 Better Than Basal
• Nonfiction Better Than Basal
• Volume 2 Modifications Add-On Pack

The free Volume 2 At-A-Glance lists every book and skill in this curriculum.

This purchase is for one teacher. Please don’t share the files with other teachers. Thank you!

Copyright © Ideas By Jivey, LLC
All rights reserved by author, Jessica Ivey.
Permission to copy for single classroom use only.
Electronic distribution limited to single classroom use only.
Not for public display.