Featured Archives - Ideas by Jivey

Picture Books are for EVERYONE!!

September 22, 2015

Not too long ago, I overheard a conversation between teachers about whether it was appropriate to use picture books in 5th and 6th grade… I was totally eavesdropping, and if that wasn’t already rude enough, it would have been super rude to butt into their conversation and scream, “YES!!! USE PICTURE BOOKS!!!!!!!” So, I held my tongue there, but I don’t have to hold it here. 🙂

Who DOESN’T love to read picture books? I know I still do as an adult… I am, after all, a self-proclaimed bookaholic. A cute, catchy cover will get me every time!

I had a “books of the month” shelf in my 4th grade classroom that I would fill with seasonal picture books- all of my students (higher and lower level readers alike) LOVED to visit that shelf! That is one reason I include seasonal books in my mentor sentence units. As if you needed an excuse to read a fun book like Polar Express or I Need My Monster, right?

But besides that, here are FOUR great reasons you should be using mentor texts in your room:

Picture Books are for everyone with Ideas by Jivey

1. The story is usually done in 32 pages. When you refer to parts of the story in your lessons, most likely, students are going to remember. You can read a great picture book one day, and then use it for various lessons for days after that! Often times, you can teach SEVERAL standards with one picture book! (That is, after all, why Better Than Basal Volume 1 and Volume 2 was born!) They make great examples when writing memoirs, too. Patricia Polacco has some awesome books to demonstrate small moment writing, like My Rotten Red-Headed Older Brother.

2. Picture books hold students’ attention with illustrations and vivid language throughout. Seriously- some of the BEST examples I’ve found of figurative language, vivid verbs, and sensory details come from picture books. Books like Firefly Mountain, Twilight Comes Twice, and Come On Rain are some great ones that come to mind.

3. There are so many amazing historical fiction books, science fiction texts, and even math literature! Teaching about explorers or Christopher Columbus? Try Encounter. Teaching the American Revolution? Katie’s Trunk is awesome! If you are teaching about weather, Cloud Dance and Water Dance are excellent additions! I even have an entire set of Mentor Sentences for Math Literature! We know there isn’t enough time in the school day to read a book before every lesson (as much as we’d like to) so spread that book as much as you can!

4. Before you start throwing things at me through the computer screen, please do not think I’m saying to never read a novel with your students again. Chapter books, extended texts, novels… whatever you want to call them… are still so important! Students have to build stamina and stick with a story that really builds- I totally agree. But students also need to see, hear, and understand so many different styles to become better readers and writers. What better way than to read mentor texts all year long?

Need to build up your library? Check out this post about Buying Books on a Budget!

Mentor Sentence Planning Present- Using Owl Moon

December 10, 2015

Do you loathe grammar? I bet I know why. You are tired of drill and kill style grammar teaching. Or you wish students would quit guessing what the error MIGHT be in your DOL or DGP (or any other acronym that might represent your grammar program) sentence of the day, because it doesn’t carry over into their writing anyway.

Have no fear! Jivey is here! 🙂 Stop showing students sentences full of mistakes. Start using mentor sentences from your favorite mentor texts that you already use to teach other skills, and your students will actually be EXCITED for grammar and writing instruction!

Learn the why and how of teaching grammar in context, rather than in isolation, using mentor sentences! Jivey walks you through each step of the routine.

The idea of mentor sentences across all grades is for students to notice what makes it a great sentence, and then carry those great things over into their writing. You can read about where this idea originated in Jeff Anderson’s books. I am going to share how I’ve adapted these ideas to make it into a routine that fits elementary classrooms!

Most teachers will agree, style and conventions are the two areas that are the most difficult to teach and the two areas that usually suffer in student writing. Mentor sentences help you teach these two domains in a way that is fun for the students AND you! Each day, students will do something a little different with the sentence. Each week, students will focus on one or two skills, but they will still be exposed to several skills, many of which they have already learned from previous mentor sentences, so the spiral learning really makes an impact.

Today’s Planning Present is a mentor sentence lesson from the mentor text, Owl Moon by Jane Yolen.

Owl Moon Mentor Sentence Lesson With Ideas by Jivey.

**disclaimer** Today, I am going to give you the “CliffsNotes” version of implementing mentor sentences. I have a TON of resources, including videos, that you can read and watch here, and detailed instructions are also provided in Unit 1 of all of my mentor sentence packs. You will be able to implement the lesson I’m including using just this blog post, but please note, consistency of using mentor sentences is what truly makes a difference in your students’ writing and understanding of grammar. The routine and repetition produces fabulous student authors!**

Day One: After reading the text, show the students the mentor sentence.

Ask students what they notice about the sentence that makes it a great one. If this is your first mentor sentence lesson with your students, you may need to prompt them more with questions like, “What type of sentence is this? What interesting words did the author use? Is there any figurative language? What did the owl do?”

Students can make a list in their notebook of things they notice, and you should also make a list of things they noticed on chart paper. The focus skills are: simple sentence with compound predicate and possessive pronouns. You’ll want to make sure students recognize these two things if they didn’t already “notice” them. The simile is also a great thing to point out. Anything they missed on their own, they can add to their list as you write them on your chart.

Day Two: Students should rewrite the sentence, skipping lines in between, and label the parts of speech they know. The idea behind this is to help them notice how words work together to make effective sentences. It is NOT necessary to label every word, especially in the beginning. If this is your first time doing mentor sentences, you might only want to label nouns, verbs, and the possessive pronoun to cover the focus skills.

If you feel the students are ready to label more, go for it!

You will also want to take some time to focus on the skills of the week. This would be a great time to pull out a writing piece the students have been working on and have them practice using compound predicates. Point out the way the mentor sentence was formed and ask them to try it. You can also have students look for possessive pronouns in their own reading and write the sentence they found it in on a sticky note to share later. (I also have supplemental interactive notebook activities in my store that you can use as mini-lessons, which are aligned with the mentor sentence lessons.)

Day Three: Students will revise the sentence. YES- even published sentences can be revised! This not only helps students’ revision skills, but it also shows them they are never “done.” I always show students my own revision of the mentor sentence so students can identify what was changed. It also gives them an idea of what they can do.

Here are some great revisions done by @MissBishopHP‘s class! You can also see the great things they noticed and how they labeled their sentence:

Day Four: Students will imitate the sentence. It’s not often students are allowed to write about any topic, so they get very excited about imitating. The only thing they MUST do as part of their imitation is to keep the structure of the sentence the same. For this sentence, students should definitely have a compound predicate and a simile.

Choose a few sentences to celebrate- give the students sentence strips to write their sentence and hang in the classroom. You’ll be amazed at the style that comes out of your students! Students should also continue practicing the structure of the mentor sentence. After several weeks of showing them that you expect them to use their mentor sentences to help them with their own writing pieces, you’ll find that students pull out their mentor sentence notebook without you even asking them!

Day Five: Assess the students’ understanding of the focus skills. A weekly quiz is included with the mentor sentence lessons. You might choose to take it for a grade, or you might use it as a formative assessment to see who still needs help. The mentor sentence DOES have errors because students still need to be able to recognize when there are mistakes… but they have seen and worked with the sentence all week so they SHOULD recognize the mistakes! It isn’t like DOL, where they have never seen the sentence before and often don’t know what would be wrong.

I hope this planning present will help you teach grammar and writing style effectively in your classroom. Don’t forget to head over to Jennifer’s blog, Teaching to Inspire, for another planning present!

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 more Mentor Sentences Resources and ideas, follow my Pinterest board!

Follow Ideas By Jivey’s board Mentor Sentences on Pinterest.

3-5, K-2, Mastering Mentor Sentences

3 Reasons Why You Shouldn’t Use Mentor Sentences…

April 26, 2016

If you're on the fence about using mentor sentences, this post by Ideas By Jivey can help you decide once and for all if using mentor sentences in your classroom is right for you.

Have you been straddling that proverbial fence about whether or not to start mentor sentences in your classroom? I’ll admit, they aren’t right for everyone. Below, I’ve listed three reasons why mentor sentences might not be a good fit for you.

If you can't live without the grammar workbook, mentor sentences aren't right for you.

If you prefer your students to sit quietly at their desk and work out of a grammar workbook, then mentor sentences aren’t right for you. Mentor sentences engage students in discussion about grammar, style, and conventions. If you were to teach grammar through mentor sentences, students would be getting a spiral review of many concepts every week, instead of just the one skill on the page in the workbook. There would be a lot of great conversation about things they notice. They would get excited about learning about style and conventions. If you like the groans and sighs you get when you tell students to pull out their grammar workbook, then mentor sentences aren’t right for you.

If you don't like reading authentic literature to students, mentor sentences aren't right for you.

If you don’t like reading authentic literature to students, then mentor sentences aren’t right for you. If you detest picture books that engage and excite students, then go ahead and stop reading here because mentor sentences just aren’t right for you.

If you love reading story after story of simple and/or run-on sentences with no description, vivid language, capitals, or periods, then mentor sentences aren’t right for you. Mentor sentences will show your students all the RIGHT things they should be doing in their writing. Students will imitate fabulous sentences (from those books in reason #2) and become authors. They will learn how to revise their writing to make it even better. But, if you prefer to read stories that put you to sleep at night, then please do not use mentor sentences in your classroom.

After reading these three reasons, if you realized that maybe…actually… you might be a teacher that is JUST RIGHT to implement mentor sentences in your classroom, click here to read all about HOW to implement them in upper grades, and even see a video of them in action in my classroom! First and second grade teachers, click here for the how-to and a video, and K-1, click here for your video and how-to post!

Ready to give them a whirl, but don’t want to jump in head-first? Try out some free lessons with your students!

Are you all-in, ready to go? Your best bet (and best bargain) is to get the bundle that best fits your needs! Check out the descriptions of the bundles to see complete book lists!

It is NEVER too late in the year to start mentor sentences! Sure, you’ll see more growth in your students if you start from week 1, but you will still see the lightbulbs come on over their heads in week 31 if you wanted to start then!

What are you waiting for?

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

Mentor Texts

Using Mentor Texts in the Primary Grades {Freebies Included!}

May 1, 2016

Mentor texts help students learn how to read like writers and write like readers- yes, even in the early years! In fact, K-2 teachers are a super-big-help to the upper grades teachers because their use of mentor texts helps ingrain the importance of reading, as well as to write like the authors we love.

Mentor texts help students learn how to read like writers and write like readers- yes, even in the early years! Ideas By Jivey talks about the importance of mentor texts in kindergarten, first grade, and second grade, and gives some freebies to try!

In the primary grades, it’s important to choose mentor texts that are engaging. First, read the book to them for pleasure- you want them to enjoy the book! Once they’ve listened to the book, you can go back and discuss (and maybe re-read) the content for reading comprehension. Finally, you can incorporate the mentor text into your writing lessons! With a good mentor text, you will be able to teach multiple skills across reading, writing, grammar, and maybe even science and social studies!

Read Like a Writer!

Reading like a writer does not come naturally for little ones. You will want to do a lot of modeling and “think-alouds” with a text they are familiar with- point out characters, dialogue, the author’s word choice, the way a problem is solved, the way the author might have surprised you… and so on.

One way to help students notice the style, structure, and conventions of great writing is to use mentor sentences! Students are encouraged to notice what makes the sentence a good sentence, and then are able to practice writing their own sentence just like the mentor sentence. (If you are unfamiliar with mentor sentences, you can read more about them here and here, too!) There is also a grammar focus in first and second grade mentor sentences, so you can touch on parts of speech and conventions during mentor sentence time, too!

Write Like a Reader!

Once you and the students have analyzed how the author wrote a mentor text, you will want them to practice writing that way, too. Try to choose authors that have series of books when you can- it’s a great way to see how consistent they are!

One of my favorite authors to use is Doreen Cronin with her Diary series!

Read these books with your students and take note of the first-person point-of-view diary format with your students. Talk about how the characters reacted to certain events, and how that is similar or different to how they would react in the same situation. Also discuss the things Doreen Cronin included that is typical of that animal (for example, the worm digging in the dirt, and hanging out on the sidewalk after the rain). Have students write their own “Diary of a ____” story with a different animal or insect than in the books!Teaching about animals or insects in science? BONUS! You can incorporate that into your writing time by allowing them to choose something they’ve learned about and include characteristics just like Doreen did! (Diary of a Caterpillar, anyone?!)

You can try out some lessons that I’ve created for Diary of a Worm by clicking on the links below! They are great for first and second graders and MAYBE some high kindergartners, too!

Want to hear more about how I implement these organizers into reading and writing workshop? Attend one of my free webinars by clicking below!

Want to see some more mentor text ideas?

Be sure to check out this pin board, put together by The Reading Crew!

3-5, K-2, Mastering Mentor Sentences

Stop Teaching Grammar in Isolation!

May 24, 2016

Ideas by Jivey reviews research-based reasons why grammar in isolation doesn't work. Teach grammar in context using mentor sentences and students will become better writers!

One of the questions I get asked the most about using mentor sentences is, “Don’t you review all the grammar concepts before starting mentor sentences?”

And my answer is always, “Nope!”

Now, I am not “one of those” telling you to stop teaching grammar. Understanding grammar is beneficial to proper communication. Instead, grammar should be taught in context- not in isolation.

Expecting students to “find” errors in a sentence that they’ve never seen before isn’t going to help students learn grammar or become better writers.

Simply telling students what an adverb, adjective, or preposition is and having them “find” those parts of speech in random lists doesn’t help them utilize it in their own writing.

Diagramming or labeling a sentence just for the sake of labeling doesn’t help students write more effectively.

Showing students well-written sentences and discussing why these sentences are excellent will help them know what to do in their own writing. Using the same sentence the students have studied and discussed to later practice editing skills (alter a few things about the sentence for students to identify) will help them apply those skills in their own writing.

Explaining parts of speech when seeing/identifying them in context will help students understand them. Practicing with those parts of speech in writing and speaking will help the skill “stick” and usage is more likely in writing later.

Labeling the sentence to discuss how parts of speech are used in context will help students see how the words work together to form an awesome sentence that they can imitate in their own writing.

**note the difference from the isolated labeling: students are discussing why and how they know the parts of speech they are labeling vs. just diagramming and moving on.**

I know what you’re thinking… “At the beginning of the year, how can we expect students to find everything we want them to find about the weekly mentor sentence?”

Simple answer: You don’t!

Students will begin to “soak up” the language and the skills as you consistently use mentor sentences. I promise! It will take some time and a few weeks of modeling the expectations.

And as for “finding everything” – not in the beginning! When you start, take baby steps and work up to “everything.” Will they all understand all the skills at the same time? Of course not- just like everything else you teach, students are going to be all over the map when it comes to understanding… but the GREAT thing about using mentor sentences is the spiral of the basic skills every week!

Their mentor sentence notebook also becomes a resource and reference tool for their writing!

Do you own any of my mentor sentence products? You can check them out in my store!

They are perfect for all levels of learners- from ELL and students with disabilities all the way to gifted students! Mariane R. says about using the mentor sentences products in my store: This has to be my absolute favorite. The lessons are easy to follow and use and my students have been getting a lot out of each week’s lessons. I teach in a special education classroom for students with hearing loss. A lot of resources and products they cannot understand or access but they have really gotten in to these lessons and I have seen improvement in both their comprehension and their writing.

Have you used mentor sentences in your classroom to replace your isolated grammar instruction? Tell us about how it went in the comments! I love to hear from you!

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!

3-5, K-2, Mastering Mentor Sentences

Mentor Sentences Data: Case Study

June 24, 2016

Ideas by Jivey breaks down the data for you, comparing beginning and end of year writing samples in upper grades and kindergarten from teachers who did and did not use mentor sentences. You will be shocked at the difference!

If you’ve been considering using mentor sentences and need more proof than the feedback you read on TpT, this is the post for you!

If you are all about the numbers, then you are going to love what I have for you!

In the upper grades, mentor sentences provide students the opportunity to notice and imitate grammar and craft in well-written sentences from mentor texts you love and use in the classroom. This is your opportunity to stop teaching grammar in isolation and teach mechanics, grammar, and craft together in your writing time.

Jeff Anderson says in his book, Mechanically Inclined, “Mechanics and grammar are inherently linked to craft… instead of separating them into different lessons, they should be merged whenever possible.” Check out more books from Jeff Anderson about mentor sentences here!

By integrating your grammar and writing together, students will apply what they’ve learned to their own writing! I know this from my experience and from the experiences of others, but I wanted to give you some hard evidence, too.

I created a rubric to score all of the writing samples (used for beginning and end of the year samples from all students). Mentor sentences improve style, grammar, and mechanics, so those are the only areas I scored. This rubric was used to score the upper grade students:

In the lower grades, mentor sentences provide students the opportunity to read, learn vocabulary and/or grammar skills, and imitate grammar and craft in well-written sentences from mentor texts you love and use in the classroom. By using this balanced literacy approach, students will make the reading and writing connection!

This was the rubric specifically for K-2 students in the areas of style, grammar, and mechanics:

Here are some great successes from the case study:

•There was a 42% increase in the number of highly effective students using mentor sentences in the area of style. This is 23% higher than the growth of highly effective students who were not using mentor sentences. There was a 52% increase in the number of effective AND highly effective students using mentor sentences in the area of style. This is 25% higher than the growth of effective AND highly effective students who were not using mentor sentences.

•There was a 27% increase in the number of highly effective students using mentor sentences in the area of grammar. This is 15% higher than the growth of highly effective students who were not using mentor sentences. There was a 52% increase in the number of effective AND highly effective students using mentor sentences in the area of grammar. This is 21% higher than the growth of effective AND highly effective students who were not using mentor sentences.

•There was a 26% increase in the number of highly effective students using mentor sentences in the area of mechanics. This is 19% higher than the growth of highly effective students who were not using mentor sentences. There was a 42% increase in the number of effective AND highly effective students using mentor sentences in the area of mechanics. This is 15% higher than the growth of effective AND highly effective students who were not using mentor sentences.

What I found MOST impressive was the difference not just in the growth, but the AMOUNT of growth when using mentor sentences. Check this out! 46% of the students who learned using mentor sentences improved in at least one area by two or three levels. This is 29% more than the students who did not learn using mentor sentences!

Download the complete case study to see more about specific grades as well:

I hope this helps you see the difference mentor sentences can make in your students’ learning AND your teaching! You can see all of my mentor sentence products in my TpT store.

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

Picture Books are for EVERYONE!!

Mentor Sentence Planning Present- Using Owl Moon

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

3 Reasons Why You Shouldn’t Use Mentor Sentences…

Using Mentor Texts in the Primary Grades {Freebies Included!}

Read Like a Writer!

Write Like a Reader!

Stop Teaching Grammar in Isolation!

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

Mentor Sentences Data: Case Study

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

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