Mentor Texts We Want to Use

At our mentor texts workshop, teachers found picture books that they'd like to use in their classrooms and worked on how these books could be used in the classroom. Here are our favorites!

Chameleons are Cool
Use this book to teach about how to make informational text more engaging. Jesus said, "Animal texts can be somewhat dry...this book can show kids how to make their writing more interesting."


Crab Moon
This book gives scientific information in a narrative format. Carole found that it could be used to teach content and style.


Don't Let the Pigeon Stay Up Late

This persuasive book can be used to show kids persuasive techniques. Becky said that this can be used to show voice, as the pigeon goes from whiny to persuasive to enthusiastic throughout the book. There is also interesting word choice, like "c'mon."

The Squiggle
Juanita says, "The author builds content through the imagination of the little girl...the girl uses the string on the rest of her walk to show what she imagines." -This can show how we develop ideas in a picture first, and then transfer that to writing. (Nicole)
-This can also show how an idea can unfold. (Jesus)
-Where was the teacher while all this was going on? (Tina)

My Great-Aunt Arizona

Sue shared,  "This can be used to develop content and ideas. The main idea is how reading and dreaming can take the reader to anyplace they want to see in their mind."

More on mentor texts:
Mentor Texts by Lynne Dorfman and Rose Cappelli

Nonfiction Mentor Texts by Lynne Dorfman and Rose Cappelli

Writing Domains Resources

Mentor text lessons from WritingFix

Text Structure Picture Books: Owen and Mzee

Now that the school year is over, I'm reading to a very demanding young critic--my youngest son, who will be entering first grade. He is currently in an animal loving phase, which means that I'm combing the library shelves for anything that has to do with big cats, snakes, or African wildlife. His desire for information outpaces his independent reading ability...which means that I've been reading aloud a lot of expository text.

As I read many texts that deal with the same topics, it's interesting to see how different authors faced the challenge of writing for younger readers--how they organize information, how they explain ideas, how they keep sentences short.

One of my recent favorites is Owen and Mzee: The Language of Friendship. This is on my list for a read aloud or shared reading with the document camera. You've probably heard the story--a young hippo named Owen becomes friends with a formerly grumpy tortoise named Mzee. (You can find out more at the website.)

What makes the book such a great read is the way that the authors harness and use text structures throughout the book. At the beginning, Owen's arrival at Haller Park is explained through cause and effect. A chronological order structure continues as Owen's friendship with Mzee is explained.

My favorite part is at the end. As I've written before, compare and contrast text structure is sometimes difficult to find in the wilds of real text. But there is a wonderful page that explains why Owen is not acting like a regular hippo. The authors compare and contrast Owen's behavior with that of typical hippos. Then this whole comparison becomes the problem for a problem/solution part of text. It's an easy introduction to the way that authors use multiple text structures to explain ideas.

As I look at books for the next school year, I want to find books that use academic patterns and structures, but have accessible topics. Kids who don't have their own personal readers at home are often unfamiliar with the way that expository text sounds. By finding lots of read alouds, I can help students to learn more about this kind of text.

Text Structure: Description

The text structure of description can go by various names. Some resources call it description; others call it statement and support; still others call it main idea/detail. Whatever it is called, this text structure is based on making a statement, and then supporting it with details.

Example:

The buttonbush is a plant that can be found along many rivers and streams. Although it can reach 15 feet tall, it usually only grows a few feet. Its flowers, about the size of a ping-pong ball, bloom through the summer. The flowers are replaced by brown, ball-like fruits in the autumn.

In the past, I've found description to be the easiest text structure to find,whether in textbooks, trade books, or magazines. One especially nice series is published by Peachtree. The latest one is About Raptors.

About Raptors
written by Cathryn Sill
illustrated by John Sill
Peachtree Publishing

All of the books in this series are written in a simple style. Each page contains only one sentence. There are about three main ideas in each book, supported by details. This book is an easy read, but the pictures and specific information make it worthwhile for read alouds even up through sixth grade. If you're looking for a place to start with description, these books would be a strong choice.