writing

Use mentor texts to kick off a new unit

Mentor texts come in a variety of mediums and sizes–from wordless picture books to novel or movie excerpts. Collecting the right mentor texts puts power in your instruction–both for reading and writing. Start the school year with mentor texts to introduce the Six Traits of Writing as well as to teach students about their Reading Voice and Thinking Voice.

Using a mentor text provides students with a framework for understanding a new genre before they begin learning how to write it. When we read aloud an excerpt from a longer book or an entire picture book that exemplifies a specific genre, students have a chance to become comfortable with the structure. We can dissect a new genre, highlighting its form, facets, and purposes.

Consider how a short picture book can provide students a foundation for understanding what a new genre—like memoir writing—includes before they’re expected to write one of their own memoirs. Without taking a lot of time, you can encapsulate a new genre with simple and engaging text. No matter if they’re eight or 18–the right picture book can captivate and clarify the essentials of a new genre.

Including a mentor text at the beginning of a unit of study requires planning when to read the text. Remember, mini-lesson instruction doesn’t include reading an entire text. Rather, direct instruction requires focused excerpts that exemplify a specific skill. Previously-read texts become the fodder for all mini-lesson instruction. Being intentional about when you read certain texts allows you to introduce specific genres within mini-units and to then utilize the same book multiple times within specific instruction.

This is the notion of mentor text. Using a text to mentor or teach students something about writing. Wondering which books would be best? Consider this list of favorite mentor texts–many that you may already have in your classroom library–all aligned within the appropriate modes (i.e., persuasive/argumentative, informative, narrative) and genres (e.g., letter writing, poetry, memoirs, etc.).

NOTE: If you teach primary writers (or EL) who haven’t written the first letter or word, turn to page three of the download for suggested titles that fit within the developmental stages of writing (drawing, labeling, listing).

If you need to build your mentor-text library, visit The Literacy Store today to find many of the books from the list and more.

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