Weaving Mentor Sentences Into Writing: Figurative Language

Teaching students to write with figurative language, including similes, metaphors, and personification, will allow students to express complex ideas and emotions in creative ways. Using mentor texts and mentor sentences will help students see these literary devices in action and in turn, allow them to understand how to make their writing more vivid and engaging.

The key to teaching mentor sentences with figurative language effectively is to integrate it into your writing lessons and allow students to practice and apply what they’ve learned in a meaningful way. In this blog post, we’ll explore strategies that will help you weave mentor sentences with figurative language into your lessons.

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Using Mentor Sentences to Teach Figurative Language

Mentor sentences are an excellent tool for teaching figurative language. If you are not familiar with mentor sentences, read about how to start the routine and get a free week here!

There are so many mentor texts with beautiful examples of similes, metaphors, and personification. (I’ll share some below!)

After introducing a mentor sentence with figurative language, encourage students to listen for the sentence (and other examples like it) as you read the mentor text to them. Allow students to analyze how figurative language enhanced the text: providing visualization and sensory details, helping connect with emotions, and aiding in understanding through comparisons.

Remember, students need the opportunity to practice these skills in their own writing to make sure your mentor sentence lessons “stick.”

Use Quick Writes: Have your students write about a familiar object, or even a current season, using an assigned type of figurative language. Starting with a quick simple exercise like this will help students focus on mastering just one aspect of figurative language at a time.

Revise Prior Writing: It’s important for students to understand that revision is an ongoing process, not something that happens only after a first draft is complete. There is no need to start brand new writing for this! Look back at previous writing activities and apply new skills. Regularly revisiting and revising their work helps students see how figurative language can transform their writing.

Content Integration: Allow students time to work with an article or text that aligns with other content (science or social studies, for example) and add figurative language to show comprehension of the topic.

Mentor Texts to Consider for Figurative Language

You’ll find countless opportunities to explore figurative language in mentor texts… I could never make a complete list! Here are just a few of my favorites that will allow you to model figurative language:

• We Are Water Protectors by Carole Lindstrom: This is an outstanding mentor text for teaching figurative language while also encouraging students to think about their own roles in protecting the environment and standing up for what is right. The book is rich with metaphors, personification, and other forms of figurative language that show the deep connection between people and nature.

• The Day You Begin by Jacqueline Woodson: This mentor text is filled with metaphors, similes, and imagery that help convey the emotions and experiences of the characters while also revealing themes of diversity, inclusion, and self-acceptance. Students of all ages can relate to feelings of isolation or fear of not belonging, helping them understand the impact of the figurative language in this book and how it can affect the mood of the scene.

• Chicken Chasing Queen of Lamar County by Janice Harrington: This book is chockful of colorful figurative language, especially similes! This mentor text is a wonderful example of how figurative language can bring a narrative to life, develop voice, and help the reader connect to characters.

• In November by Cynthia Rylant: The book is full of metaphors, personification, and sensory language that bring the month of November to life. Rylant’s use of figurative language transforms the ordinary events of November into something magical and profound. The text focuses on familiar seasonal changes and events that occur in November, making it easy for students to connect with the figurative language and apply it to their own experiences. This book is the perfect springboard for imitation- students could write about another month or season using the same strategies as the mentor text.

• One Tiny Turtle by Nicola Davies: Use this mentor text as a model to teach students how to use figurative language in nonfiction, making even informational writing more engaging and memorable. The reader goes on a complete life cycle journey with a loggerhead turtle, making it a great book to use as a model for students to write their own story with figurative language about an animal’s life cycle.

• Front Desk by Kelly Yang: Yes, even novels make great mentor texts- especially for figurative language! The figurative language in this book not only paints a picture of the setting but also provides insight into the characters’ emotions and growth, making it a powerful tool for teaching how figurative language can develop character and theme. By using this text as a model, students can learn how to express complex emotions and themes in their own writing.

Ideas for Figurative Language with Mentor Sentences

1. Read a mentor text with figurative language.
2. Explore a mentor sentence from the text with figurative language.
3. Look at other sentences with that language (from the same text or previous texts).
4. Brainstorm a list of things that could be described.
5. Allow students to choose ONE and apply the skill, using the models they’ve analyzed.
6. Students should imitate the mentor sentence in their own writing, and revise previous writing for figurative language.
7. Allow time for students to share their writing and celebrate their creative use of figurative language.

Figurative language is a literary device that can be taught through various texts and genres. The ultimate goal of using mentor sentences is to ensure the skills learned are woven into their writing, allowing students to imitate the style and structure of the authors they read. Through the thoughtful selection of mentor sentences from magnificent mentor texts, modeling techniques, and encouragement of revision and imitation, students can develop the skills necessary to improve their craft using figurative language!

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