Mentor Text Mania

Funded Apr 30, 2019

Thanks to you, we received so many wonderful mentor texts. We started out the year reading Freedom Song and Emmanuel's Dream. We used these texts to engage, identify, and apply information about characters, setting, problem and solution. This was our introduction, to how this year, we were going to learn from some amazing picture books! Each week a new skill was introduced with a new book. The kids cheered when I pulled the tubs and asked them to meet me at the purple chair. Through books such as The Zephyr (inference), Tricky Vic (text structure), and our two amazing 9/11 reads (paired passages) our MAP score growth has been phenomenal!

Every year my students create a figurative language snow globe. Keeping all the information straight can be tough. By introducing each piece of figurative language through a mentor text, I was amazed at how well the students retained and referred back to the stories for examples. My favorite lessons to teach have been inferencing. Watching the students predictions grow as you get further into a Chris Van Allsburg text is so exciting to watch.

Teaching with mentor text is a pride for me. When other teachers come in to observe they always comment on the powerful work my students are doing. I look forward to using this books for years to come!”

With gratitude,

Mrs. Klinkhammer