Mentor Texts: An Approach to Teaching Writing

1. Mentor Texts: An Approach to Teaching Writing By Johanna Mueller

2. Writing Prompt: Choose One • Write about a memorable birthday, could be good or bad. • Write about a time you felt embarrassed or upset about something.

3. My Contentions • Knowing an author in and out allows the study of many facets within a given text • Borrowing specific techniques from other authors develops the fluency of language and widens the understanding and application of craft and style, and therefore fosters writing development • Mentor Texts provide a guide for purposeful revision

4. Discussion • Author’s as Mentors unit in my classroom • Purpose for learning revision strategies from other authors and application in previously written pieces • Examples: Owl Moon, When I was Young in the Mountains, Eleven • Choosing age appropriate texts • Choosing texts to match genre • Choosing texts rich in writing strategies

5. Related Reading and Research • What Works in Writing Instruction by Deborah Dean • “Studying models is an ancient-and persistent-tradition: Plato, Isocrates, Aristotle, and Cicero all comment on imitation as essential to learning. From the classical period to our time, other renowned writers, teachers, and philosophers have spoken of the value of studying models as a way to learn to write. In response to this long tradition, writers as varied as Malcolm X, Benjamin Franklin, and Winston Churchill all offer testimonials to the value of imitation, of studying models, in their development as writers.” (Dean 152) • “Part of the reason for the lingering attachment to studying models is that language is learned by imitation, by studying the spoken models of people around us. The extension of this idea of using models to learn writing, then, seems natural.” (Dean 152)

6. Related Reading and Research • “I have never had any reluctance to use models in my teaching; it never occurred to me that there could be any harm…It was, after all, my own reading that inspired me to try to write; it is also a truism that you will never be a writer if you are not a reader. You simply cannot do, or, at least, cannot do well, what you’ve never seen done. Can you imagine a Little Leaguer never watching a baseball game? A painter never looking at paintings? I have absolutely no fear that the insights and examples provided by models will ever stifle the student’s own voice; we, each of us, will always do things our own way.” (Dean 155)

7. Related Reading and Research • The 9 Rights of Every Writer A Guide for Teachers by Vicki Spandel • “Now and then we need a little moral support from other writers. No problem. It’s all right there in the books we love: striking imagery, good use of verbs, authentic dialogue, strong voice, and much more. Katie Wood Ray calls the authors of these books “our co-teacher of writing.” (Spandel 85)

8. Related Reading and Research • Becoming Writers in the Elementary Classroom by Katie Van Sluys • “We can begin to help kids see and articulate their thinking by helping them unpack other writer’s thinking.” (Sluys 76)

9. Related Reading and Research • Wondrous Words by Katie Wood Ray • “Experienced writers, those with a well-developed sense of craft, of how writing can be fashioned, have the ability to envision more possibilities for their writing than less experienced writers because, to put it simply, experienced writers know more things they might do with writing. They have read like writers over time, and over time this reading has given them a storehouse of knowledge about how to write.” (Ray 49)

10. Related Reading and Research • “When we teach our students to learn to write from writers, we plan these units of study in ways that consistently turn students’ attention to what real writers in the real world do. We bring these writers who are “out there” into our classrooms and let them serve as mentors for our students growth.” (Ray 215) • “And the advice I always give is to start with the most essential understanding first. Teach your students to learn to write from writers. Explain the ideas of mentoring from writers right from the beginning.” (Ray 229)

11. Related Reading and Research • The Art of Teaching Writing by Lucy Calkins • “In our conferences, we encourage students to use books as resources for their writing problems. If a student can’t seem to get started on a draft, we can suggest she read books that make her want to tell a story. If a student struggles over how to write transitions between one of her vignettes and another, we can suggest she examine how authors have handled similar transitions. If the student isn’t sure of how to write a title, an ending, a lead, help on each of these is at hand. ” (Calkins 281)

12. Common Core Standards • CC.K-12.L.R.3 Knowledge of Language: Apply knowledge of language to understand how language functions in different contexts, to make effective choices for meaning or style, and to comprehend more fully when reading or listening. • CC.K-12.R.R.4 Craft and Structure: Interpret words and phrases as they are used in a text, including determining technical, connotative, and figurative meanings, and analyze how specific word choices shape meaning or tone. • CC.K-12.R.R.5 Craft and Structure: Analyze the structure of texts, including how specific sentences, paragraphs, and larger portions of the text (e.g., a section, chapter, scene, or stanza) relate to each other and the whole. • CC.K-12.W.R.5 Production and Distribution of Writing: Develop and strengthen writing as needed by planning, revising, editing, rewriting, or trying a new approach. • CC.K-12.R.R.6 Craft and Structure: Assess how point of view or purpose shapes the content and style of a text.

13. 5 Steps for Using Model Texts • 1. Notice something about the craft of the text. • 2. Talk about it and make a theory about why a writer might use this craft. • 3. Give the craft a name. • 4. Think of other texts you know. Have you seen this craft before? • 5. Try and envision using this crafting in your own writing. (Ray 120)

14. Participation • In groups read “Eleven” by Sandra Cisneros. • Discuss the things you liked about how she wrote/strategies she used. • Create an individual list of strategies that were discussed. • Choose 1-2 strategies from your list, revise your piece using specific techniques to strengthen your written prompt.

15. Sharing Out • Share in groups your writing pieces. • Explain the particular techniques you used to revise that were inspired by Sandra Cisneros.

16. Reflection • How can this approach work across grade levels and writing genres? • How does it apply to what you teach? • How does it apply to your personal writing?