You've heard the term 'mentor text' and you think it's a great idea, but how do you actually choose what texts will be your mentors? I think this process is a highly personal one. It is true that you can get tons of suggestions of titles from experts and friends on which books are great for teaching whatever concept or skill you're working on. But the books you call your mentor texts--the books you come back to time and time again--cannot be selected by others. They need to be picked by you. You see, you are the only one who can decide which books will be loved and used time and time again in your classroom.
I am still on this journey myself--I cannot say for certain which texts will ultimately be my mentor texts this year. I am (hopefully like you) still evolving in my teaching; with each year bringing new learning and growth to my classroom. This year I have new ELA resources our district is using, and some of the books that I love to use to teach with might have to be set aside this year. But next year, I might add those favorites back in. I certainly have a stack of books that I do consider to be mentors to me and my students.
Before we get into what the experts say, keep in mind these experts are all talking about writing. Their focus and use of the term mentor text is all about those texts being used to teach the craft of writing. I don't get too worked up about this for a few reasons. Number one is that based on conversation with colleagues, teaching writing is one of the biggest things that many teachers struggle with. So by digging into the use of mentor texts, our writing instruction will only become stronger. Secondly, using literature to teach reading strategies or concepts comes very naturally. Students read a text, and depending upon what standard you're focusing on, you can probably tie it in somehow. The third reason I'm not concerned about the focus on writing is that as you go through the process of thinking about how each text could be used, you will naturally focus on both reading and writing concepts and strategies you need to teach. The key here is that you will study the text to determine in what ways it can be a mentor to you and your students, and you will get to know the text (and the author) like an old friend. A friend you can turn to over and over again.
So let's explore what some of the experts suggest as a path to select mentor texts.
The first step that Laminack, Shubitz, Wood Ray, and Dorfman & Cappelli all agree upon is that a book should be a book that you (the teacher) love and enjoy. You must connect to it in some way--whether it's the language, illustrations, or message. It doesn't really matter, but you need to have joy and pleasure while reading the book. You have enjoyed the book as a reader.
The next step is to read the text like a writer. Look at the text structure, language, and voice. Will your students connect with the text somehow? Does the book connect with your teaching requirements? Laminack and Dorfman & Cappelli suggest starting with books you already love. Dig into these texts and explore how you can use them in your classroom.
Introducing the text to your students follows a similar path--first, there is enjoyment as a read aloud. Then, when you revisit it, you can use it to teach a concept: word choice, text structure, voice, illustrations, perspective--the list goes on. The thing to remember with these teaching opportunities is that you don't have to re-read the entire text. You can just use part of it for your teaching point. Mentor texts are not books that need to be re-read in their entirety--they are books you use for teaching many ideas. To me, this is the beauty of mentor texts--how easy it is to revisit a beloved read aloud to teach text structure. I often find myself saying "Remember when we read _______? When the author used ________?"
Dorfman and Cappelli's books are excellent guides to using mentor texts in your classroom. Their second edition of Mentor Texts: Teaching Writing Through Children's Literature, K-6 has a wealth of examples and a solid introduction into the use of mentor texts. There are "your turn" lessons at the end of each chapter to help guide you in sharing writing experiences with your students. They also have books focused on nonfiction and poetry mentor texts. Those three titles are linked at the bottom of this post.
Stacey Shubitz has a very detailed method for finding lessons in a mentor text in Craft Moves: Lesson Sets for Teaching Writing With Mentor Texts. In her book she reminds us that children need to be able to identify with the texts we choose, so being mindful of race, religion, and sexual orientation represented in the books we expose our students to is important. Shubitz's book is fairly new, and an excellent read. She chooses her mentor texts very intentionally and methodically. She identifies "power craft moves" that she looks for in her mentor texts.
Katie Wood Ray identifies five parts to 'reading like a writer.' She outlines them in her 1999 book, Wondrous Words. When I switched to a workshop model for teaching writing, I used Ray's About The Authors as my guide. Both books are excellent resources for teachers and give you guidance on units of study and changing the way you teach writing in your classroom.
The books I've mentioned are the ones I have found to be most beneficial to me as a teacher in the primary grades. There are many others (including Laminack and Fletcher) that have great books for teachers of writing in the upper grades. If you are really interested in mentor texts and becoming a better teacher of writing in your classroom, I highly recommend picking up one of these books. Any one will change your thinking, and hopefully get you excited about both mentor texts and teaching writing.
If you're on a budget though (and I know many teachers are), join me in my mentor text journey. I will share which books I am using as my mentor texts this year, and the lessons I am teaching with each text. So for now, dig into your read aloud stash, pull out your favorites, and start thinking about what teaching concepts and writer's craft lessons you could use that book for. And then, when it's time to teach those things, take out those beloved books. Start small. After all, Rome wasn't built in a day.
Happy Reading!
~Carrie
Shubitz~Craft Moves
Dorfman & Cappelli~Mentor Texts
Dorfman & Cappelli~Poetry Mentor Texts
Dorfman & Cappelli~Nonfiction Mentor Texts
Katie Wood Ray~Wondrous Words
Katie Wood Ray~About the Authors
Showing posts with label Shubitz. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Shubitz. Show all posts
Sunday, November 11, 2018
Sunday, October 28, 2018
So What Truly is a Mentor Text?
You see lists for mentor texts all over these days--lists of books to teach this strategy or that concept are all over Pinterest. You get a list of mentor texts to teach each skill included in that awesome new TPT bundle you purchased. So, what truly is a mentor text?
Well, it depends upon the context. Most of the time, the term 'mentor text' is used in the context of writing. Stacey Shubitz (2016) describes mentor texts as "samples of exemplary writing we can study during writing workshops" in her book Craft Moves. Irene Fountas and Gay Su Pinnell (2017) define the term as "books or other texts that serves as examples of excellent writing." Lynn Dorfman has a great interview on National Writing Project Radio where she defines mentor texts as "pieces of literature you--both teacher and student--can return to and reread for many purposes. They are texts to be studied and imitated...Mentor texts help students take risks and be different writers tomorrow than they are today. It helps them to try out new strategies and formats." If we use the dictionary definition of mentor, it says that they are "an experienced and trusted advisor."
Taking into account all of this information, I think we need to focus on certain aspects of the various definitions. Experienced, exemplary, excellent. Mentor texts are all of these things--and more. They are texts that we should (as Dorfman says) study and imitate. We should return to them and reread them for more than one purpose. Another thing to remember about mentor texts is that they are not just books. They could be poems, letters, songs--really anything that you return to many times in your teaching.
So, back to those lists of books that you got with your latest TPT purchase. Those books could easily be used as anchor texts. Anchor texts 'anchor' your unit of study. An anchor text is the main text for your unit, the text that all the other texts you use in your unit revolve around. These books are valuable and important, but they are not the books that are "as comfortable as a worn pair of blue jeans" as Dorfman and Cappelli refer to mentor texts (2017). Anchor texts are texts you might use once or twice to teach a lesson or concept. But mentor texts are texts you come back to time and time again--you use these books for a variety of teaching purposes. As a good teacher, you will likely have a big stack of anchor texts--I know I do! But your mentor text pile, well, that one holds your old favorites--the books you absolutely love to share with your students. These books will be your best friends to help teach writing craft, reading concepts, and likely even social skills, science, or social studies concepts.
In my next post, we'll dig deeper into mentor texts and explore the ways in which you can choose those texts. In the meantime, interested in checking out some of the authors I mentioned? The links are below.
I'd love to hear your thoughts on mentor texts or answer any questions in upcoming blog posts, so leave your 2c below.
Happy Reading!!
~Carrie
Lynne Dorfman on NWP Radio: https://www.nwp.org/cs/public/print/resource/4090
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