Mentor Texts at Home

And how they help us become GREAT writers

Have you ever heard of mentor texts? They are powerful tools that can enhance the writing skills of older students!

A mentor text is a super cool example of writing that helps students to become better writers! They can be stories, articles, or poems written by excellent authors who know how to use words in a fantastic way.

In our writing groups we use these texts to see how the author creates exciting characters, describes amazing places, or tells funny jokes.

Selecting Mentor Texts:

When reading a great book stop and point out a powerful part. The parts that paint vivid pictures and make you feel. Some excellent mentor texts include:

a) “Wonder” by R.J. Palacio

b) “The Day the Crayons Quit” by Drew Daywalt

c) “I Am Malala” by Malala Yousafzai

Mentor Text Activities:

a) Close Reading: Have students read mentor texts multiple times, focusing on different aspects each time, like character traits, sentence structures, or dialogue.

b) Writing Models: Use excerpts from mentor texts as writing models for specific genres or styles, encouraging students to mimic the author’s techniques.

c) Guided Discussions: Engage students in discussions about the strengths of the mentor texts and how they can apply those qualities to their own writing.

By studying exceptional writing, young writers can learn to craft compelling narratives, structure their ideas effectively, and express themselves with clarity and creativity.

If you want to hop on a call to talk to me about our Literacy program, which is a hybrid of 1-1, online support and workshop sessions with me please reach out!

We are growing and learning how to get kids to where they need to be faster with each semester of the program.