Mentor Texts
Andrea Williams
What’s a mentor?
And…what
good do they do
anyway?
 "What are your best readalouds?
 “What author's words do you
bring to life?"
Begin with the end in mind:
Today’s goal…
From this…
to this to
Allow me to explain and reshape your image!
Consider- Why are you
reading that book?
 IFC
Benchmark skills
 CCSS Language Standards classes may
be working on
 How can I connect?
 How can I support?
 How can I teach?
 What is a mentor text for [standard]?
Cause and Effect
 My
Teacher’s Purse activity
Where do balloons go?
Questioning – for Research
Inference
Infographics
Caldecott Project
 Use
them to mentor how to look closely at
details in pictures and how they enhance
or tell the story
 Can be used to mentor how to find
evidence within text
 Can be used to lead students write a lead
statement
Mrs. Santandrea’s lead activity
“The beginning of a piece of writing is like the front door to your house. You want your
guests or reader to feel welcome and compelled to want to stay and linger.”
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Question Leads: begins by asking the reader an interesting question
Example- Have you ever felt scared and excited at the same time?
Snapshot or Image Lead: begins with the author “painting a picture” for the reader
Example- I was lying in my bed watching the light from the sun make tiny square
patterns on my bedroom wall. I could hear a mosquito buzzing around my head,
and the smell of pancakes was just beginning to make its way up the stairs.
Talking Lead: begins with dialogue
Example- “Quick! Hit the floor!” my dad yelled. “Whatever you do don’t look up,”
my mother added as I dropped to the floor and slid myself under the bed. It was a
terrifying night for my family when we discovered a bat in the house.
Action Lead: gets the reader quickly involved in the story by starting with an
exciting event or some kind of action
Example- I threw on my favorite red dress and quickly scrambled down the stairs as
fast as I could. It was my 8th birthday and I couldn’t wait for the party to begin.
Setting Lead: begins by creating a mental movie of the time and/or place for the
reader
Mentor a lead question…
 Mrs.
Unser’s Lead“Wow! Holy cow! Did you notice the way
the eyes on the characters in this story pop
out in these illustrations?” I asked Patrick. At
that moment I thought to myself, “This must
be a book that has won the Caldecott
Award?” To my surprise, it had not, but I
definitely think it should!
Graphic
Organizer
Introduction
Body
Reason
#1
Details
Reason
#2
Details
Reason
#3
Details
Conclusion
for
Opinion
Writing
The LMS role in a project like
this…
 Knowledge
of Caldecott
 Explain the selection process
 Mentor how to be a “judge”
 Get your art teacher involved
 Model how to research history and the
copyright date
 Teach students about the quality of
“agelessness and timelessness”
Modules – Theme
What are human rights, and how do real
people and fictional characters respond
when those rights are challenged?
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Grade 5 ELA Module 1 – Human Rights
Civil Rights & Human Rights
 Bringing a Human element to what they already know about Rosa Parks
 Connecting the theme of Esperanza Rising to Cesar Chavez
 Human Rights and Children’s Rights - Making personal connections
Grade 4 ELA Module 4,Unit 1
 Suffrage
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Vote For Books
Mock Election
5th grade Module 3A
In this brief unit, students will build their background
knowledge about the importance of sports within the
American culture over time.
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Use All Star by Jane Yolan
Build on the theme of what
makes a person an “All Star”
Use Pebble Go and their 100
Dollar Bill project start a mini
research project
Then use resources like
Omingraphic’s Biography today
Students choose a modern day
“All Star” (their opinion that will
need to be supported by
evidence)
Final step compare their
selected “All Star” to Jackie
Robinson
Creativity and Connections
 Be
creative
 Have fun
 Have purpose
 Think outside the box