Third Grade Mentor Texts and Poems
Used to Teach Thinking Strategies and/or Common Core
3rd Grade
Title and Author
Thinking Strategy
First Day Jitters (T) by Julie Danneburg
The Perfect Pet (T) by Margie Palatini
Determining Importance
Little Mama Forgets by Robin Cruise
Schema
Common Core
Character and Setting
Sequence of Events
Text Features
The Checker Players (T) by Alan Venable
Characters and Their Motivations
Wolf! (T) by Becky Bloom
Character Traits and Motivations
The Relatives Came by Cynthia Rylant
Schema
Hazel’s Amazing Mother by Rosemary
Wells
My Rotten Red-Headed Older Brother by
Patricia Polacco
The Pain and the Great One by Judy
Blume
A Picnic in October by Eve Bunting
Schema
The Planets in Our Solar System (T)
Determining Importance
Night Sounds, Morning Colors by
Rosemary Wells
Two Bad Ants by Chris Van Allsburg
Visualizing (only)
Author – A True Story by Helen Lester
Determining Importance
Good Dog, Carl by Alexander Day
Visualizing
Red Riding Hood by James Marshal
Character Traits and Motivations
Schema T-T-S
Schema T-T-T
Schema T-T-W
Main Idea and Details
Visualizing (only)
Author’s Purpose
Recount Fairytales
Thumbelina
Recount Fairytales
Hansel and Gretel by James Marshal
Visualizing
Stone Soup (T) by Jon Muth
Inferring
Roxaboxen by Barbara Cooney
Visualizing
The Lotus Seed by Sherry Garland
Questioning
The Sweetest Fig by Chris Van Allsburg
Questioning
What Do Illustrators Do? (T) by Eileen
Christelow
Lon Po Po by Ed Young
Questioning
Grandmother Winter by Phyllis Root
Questioning
Applemando’s Dreams by Pollaco
Questioning
Charlie Anderson by Barbara Abercrombie
Questioning
Thunder Cake by Patricia Polacco
Questioning
Cook-A-Doodle Doo! by Janet Stevens &
Susan Crummel
Seven Spools of Thread (T) by Angela
Shelf Medearis
Honey I Love by Eloise Greenfield (poems)
Recount Fairytales
Sequence of Events
Sequence of Events
Compare/Contrast Characters
Inferring
Inferring
Brother and Sisters Family Poems by
Eloise Greenfield
My Very Own Room (T) by Amada Irma
Perez
Tight Times by Barbara Shook Hazen
Inferring
Inferring
Connect Illustrations to Text
Inferring
Connect Illustrations to Text
The Royal Bee by Frances Park
Inferring
Connect Illustrations to Text
Boom Town by Sonia Levitin
Inferring
“A Bad Road for Cats” short story from
Inferring
Sequence of Events
Connect Illustrations to Text
Character Traits
Every Living Thing by Cynthia Rylant
Jack and the Beanstalk by Steven Kellogg
Inferring
Kate and the Beanstalk by Mary Pope
Osborne
Oliver Button is a Sissy – Tomie dePaola
Inferring
Beatrice’s Goat (T) by Page McBrier
Inferring
Rumpelstiltskin by the Brothers Grimm
Inferring
Cause/Effect
Sequence of Events
Connect Illustrations to Text
Determine the Moral in a Folktale
The Magic Fish by Freya Littledale
Inferring
Determine the Moral in a Folktale
Animal Homes (T) by Ann Squire
Determining Importance
Main Idea and Details
“Dreams” poem by Langston Hughes
Inferring
Where are you going, Manyon?
Inferring
The Rag Coat – Lauren Mills
Synthesis
Inferring
Sequence of Events
Character Traits
Compare/Contrast Character
Traits
Comparing Characters