Mentor Texts

As we begin to discuss Writer's Workshop more and more, you might begin to hear the term Mentor Text or Touchstone Text being used.

This is text that serves as a mentor for the writing and can be a picture book, chapter book, teacher writing, student writing, article, etc.

For example, if you wanted to teach about strong adjectives you might read Piggie Pie, which is filled with vivid descriptions.

If you wanted to teach voice, you might read Don't Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus, which has many examples of voice.

I am starting a mentor text collection at each school. A bin of books that can be used as mentor texts will be placed with the Good Habits, Great Readers materials.

However, any book can be used as a mentor text, and I'm sure that your shelves and Trophies Anthologies are filled with them!

For more information about mentor texts visit this website or Writing Fix.

Guided Reading Workshop

Here are some links that might be useful.

Hamilton Township Curriculum Documents (includes Trophies DRA Levels, guided reading rubrics, useful websites, etc.)

2009 Draft Standards

Mosaic of Thought Teaching Tools Website

Reader's Theater Links

Florida Center for Reading Research (great for student centers!)

Good Habits, Great Readers Database (click subscribe)

Harcourt Trophies Website (check out teacher resources - you will need a password)

Leveled Book Lists (leveled by guided reading level - see correlation chart here)

In addition scroll through the blog to find any other interesting links related to literacy! :)

Got Books?

Are you looking for new books? Come on, you know Barnes and Noble is your happy place.

The Cybils for 2008 have been announced.

I didn't know what that was either. The Cybils are the children's and young adult bloggers' literacy awards. Books from many genres are listed, include easy reads, graphic novels, and middle grades fiction.

If you'd like to know more about how the books are selected, click here.

Enjoy, but don't send your credit card bills to me! :)

Assessing Early Reading

Here is an interesting set of assessments for young readers. This website include assessments of phonemic awareness, concepts of print, phonics and spelling. These might be helpful for pinpointing strategies for working with struggling readers and writers. If you find something here useful, please post a comment so we can consider it for wider use.


Assessment Tools

Reader's Theater and Centers

Below are some links for Reader's theater scripts. Reader's theater is a great way to build fluency in your classroom. I've also included the link for the Florida Center for Reading Research because they have great centers for building fleuncy and phonemic awareness (as well as comprehension, vocabulary and phonics).

Reader's Theater Sites

Reading Lady

Teaching Heart

Aaron Shep

Timeless Teacher Stuff

Joanne Griffin - Short Reader's Theater Scripts (2-3 students, good for centers!)

Centers

Florida Center for Reading Research: Printable Centers

International Reading Association - Children's Choices 2008

Each year, students vote on newly published children's literature, to select the books that they like the most. It IRA publishes this list. For a complete list of books, check out the article. I was very happy to see that many of these excellent titles also have connections to our character education program.

Below, find a few titles listed in the journal article. Maybe one will catch your eye. I definately want to get the book called Grumpy Bird. :)

Bunny Wishes: A Winter's Tale by Michaela Morgan

Bunny BFFs Tino and Teeny can't wait for the holidays! Tino wants food, flowers, and a telescope to see the stars. Teeny would like some sweet red berries and a pair of mittens to warm her paws. Each rabbit writes a wish list and pins it to the same hollow log where once upon a time they left letters for each other. But after they've hopped along, an icy gust of wind blows the wish lists--whoosh!--away. When a bunch of playful baby mice discover the notes, they're delighted to shred them into all sorts of winter toys. What will become of the bunnies' holiday wishes?

Delicious! A Pumpkin Soup Story by Helen Cooper

lPreSchool-Grade 2—Cat, Duck, and Squirrel are back in this companion to Pumpkin Soup (1999) and A Pipkin of Pepper (2005, both Farrar). Disaster has struck the pumpkin patch—no ripe pumpkins for the animals' favorite dish. The friends decide to make something new to eat, but Duck is unwilling to try either fish soup, mushroom soup, or beet soup (especially offensive because it is pink). Cat tries to trick Duck by mixing a combination of veggies and ingredients that result in a broth that is the exact color of pumpkin soup. After a tentative sip, Duck declares it "Delicious!" and order is restored in the old white cabin. The story has universal appeal—everyone either knows, or is, a fussy eater. Readers will empathize with Duck, who is obstinate without being intolerable, and cheer for Cat and Squirrel as their patience and accommodation lead to eventual success. The illustrations are warm and rustic, and the layout does an excellent job of mixing full-page portraits and white space. A recipe for "Pink Soup" is included. This beautiful book is a must-have.—Kara Schaff Dean, Needham Public Library, MA from From School Library Journal

Grumpy Bird by Jeremy Tankard
Good for making text-to-self connections and for a lesson on choosing your attitude.

Bird wakes up one morning feeling out of sorts-too grumpy to eat, too grumpy to play, and even too grumpy to fly. "Looks like I'm walking today," he grumbles. On his way, he passes a succession of happy-go-lucky animals, including a sheep, a rabbit, and a beaver, all of whom ask him what he is doing. "Walking," he responds, more and more testily, and each creature decides to join him. Eventually, the walk turns into an impromptu game of follow-the-leader, and Bird finds himself having so much fun that he forgets to be grumpy. Finally, he invites them all to fly back to his nest with him, and, oddly enough, they do. This straightforward story is enlivened by unusual mixed-media illustrations. Each scene consists of sketches of farmland or trees, layered over photographs of real farms and trees. Cheerful flowers and stars are scribbled throughout. The animal characters are simplistic cartoons with thick black outlines and comical facial expressions. The slightly psychedelic quality of the art works to foreshadow the whimsical ending, which otherwise comes as a surprise after the wry, sarcastic tone of the rest of the story. Grumpy Bird would make a good addition to storytimes with themes of emotions or imagination.—Rachael Vilmar, Atlanta Fulton Public Library, GA From School Library Journal

Why Blog?

I orignially created this blog when I was doing a workshop on Word Walls.

In my daily work, I am constantly running accross new ideas, and I always think, "I wish I could share this with everyone!" That's why I started this blog - to share the things that I come across, and to provide a space for people to ask questions and share ideas.

I encourage you to post comments and questions. I will run a "topic of the week" post that people can comment on.

I know this goes without saying, but please keep all comments respectful, helpful, and as positive as possible.

Let the wild rumpus begin! (A gold star to anyone who knows what book that line is from!)