Are you struggling to know what quality mentor texts to use for your mini-lessons? Well, you’re in luck because I’ve put together a list of mentor texts by skills for K-2. How exciting!
I’ve got you covered!
Finding good mentor texts can be challenging. First, you need to look at your own personal library to see what you have and divide them by skill. Don’t try and ponder about what you don’t have yet…that can come later. It’s good to organize what you already have so you have a place to start from! Second, you need to figure out a way to keep your books so your students don’t mess with them and are available at a moment’s notice.
How Do I Organize my Mentor Texts?
I use clear plastic tubs with hanging files divided into skills.
I have one tub for Reader’s Workshop, Writer’s Workshop, Math Workshop and tubs for each Thematic Unit. Here is a picture of my tubs. I used foam letters to label them and I keep them under my desk so I can grab them quickly. The last thing I want is to be scrambling around trying to find my books!
After you are all organized, then you can start figuring out which mentor texts you need to buy. You can write a PTO grant, do a Donors Choose project, ask for books as gifts, or buy mentor texts with budget money or your own. I usually buy my mentor texts off of Amazon… they are quick and easy to find. And, who doesn’t like to shop???? Scholastic also has a lot of mentor texts too.
Mentor Texts for Writer’s Workshop
These are the skills that I separate my mentor texts by:
Learning to Write/Being an Author
Tiny Moments
Punctuation/Capitalization
Nouns
Verbs
Adjectives
Adverbs
Prepositions
Onomatopoeia
Pronouns
Dialogue/ Voice
Proofreading
Procedural Texts
Persuasive Texts
Narrative Texts
Informational Texts- Thematic Units
Mentor Texts for Tiny Moments
I read 2-3 mentor texts a week. Sometimes I use the same mentor text for several days especially if its a long story, or I want to revisit some parts of the book again like a tiny moment. Speaking of tiny moments, here are some mentor texts I use for this skill. This is one of the first types of writing I introduce to my students. These mentor texts provide vivid, clear and fun tiny moments for the students to understand so they can write their own later.
I also use interactive anchor charts and interactive notebooks to accompany these mentor texts. Since I use a Balanced Literacy framework, I switch my mini-lessons around from “I Do”, to “We Do”. This means that some days I may read a mentor text and then other days I may do interactive writing with interactive notebooks. Here are my anchor charts and interactive notebooks for Tiny Moments. I read Watermelon Day by: Kathi Appelt. It goes perfectly with Tiny Moments!
I have a teacher side where my students glue in their anchor chart on the left side of their notebook and on the right side is their interactive part that we did together. After they do their interactive notebook, then they can continue working on their tiny moment story independently.
Another type of mini-lesson I like to teach is grammar. I pull in a lot of mentor texts using grammar skills. Here are some mentor texts that I use for adjectives.
I spend one whole week on each grammar skill, but every day is a different kind of mini-lesson. For example, if its an “I Do” mini-lesson, then I read a mentor text. If it’s a “We Do” mini-lesson, then we do an interactive writing with an interactive notebook. Here are my examples of my anchor chart interactive writing and my interactive notebook activity:
I like to use post-it notes for the students to manipulate or write on, that way I can use my anchor charts again year after year. I keep them in a large spiral on my big book stand. Here is an example of my interactive notebook activity for adjectives:
If you are interested in my Amazing Adjectives Interactive Notebook activity, click here.
If you are interested in my Writer’s Workshop Mentor Texts and Vocabulary Cards By Skill, click here.
If you’re interested in checking out my Writer’s Workshop Mini-Lessons for the whole year click here.
Reader’s Workshop Mentor Texts
I have my mentor texts organized by skill as well:
Loving to Read
Text to Self Connection
Text to Text Connection
Text to World Connection
Text to Media Connection
Story Elements
Sequence of Events
Characterization
Theme
Inferencing
Synonym/Antonym
Narrative
Procedural
Persuasive
Informational- thematic units
You can teach the different genres during Reader’s and Writer’s Workshop!
Personal Narrative Mentor Texts
After reading these texts during Reader’s Workshop, you can have your students write their own story during Writer’s Workshop. For example, if you are reading about the Polar Express, you can have your students write a narrative about their own Polar Express Adventure, once they understand what a narrative is… If you’re interested in checking out my Polar Express resource, click here.
Persuasive Mentor Texts
You could read these mentor texts during Reader’s Workshop, and then have your students write a persuasive story during Writer’s Workshop. For example, if you read The Great Kapok Tree, then your students could write about persuading people to save the rain forests during writer’s workshop! I always like to include a crafivity in my writing as well.
And, of course besides teaching the genres, you need to teach the reading skills. It’s easy to incorporate the skills within the genres, you just need to know which genres to use.
Here are some mentor texts that I use for teaching Story Elements. I use folktales, fairy tales and fables mostly.
Story Elements Mentor Texts
Here is the anchor chart that I use for Story Elements:
For Reader’s Workshop, my students read their independently leveled book from my library (A-O) and then respond to the skill in their schema notebook. Here is a picture of my library. I have my genre posters above the library and my leveled tubs on one side and tubs of genres on the other side:
Here are some examples of my schema notebook graphic organizers that my students complete. I have them read a new book each day and then respond. This of course is after I have modeled how they are going to do this during my mini-lesson. (The “I Do” part.)
I also use these genre vocabulary cards to hang in my library. I take them down when I need them and put them on my pocket chart next to my big book stand.
If you are interested in my Reader’s Workshop mentor texts and vocabulary cards by skill for K-2 then click here.
If you are interested in checking out my Reader’s Workshop Mini-Lessons for the whole year click here . This resource includes lesson plans with the mentor texts, vocabulary cards, anchor charts and interactive notebooks for K-2.
I hope you got some great ideas for mentor texts for your mini-lessons! If you have any questions, please feel free to contact me on facebook! I have a facebook group called: Create Your Balance with Literacy. This is a place where teachers can collaborate and learn and grow about Writer’s Workshop, Reader’s Workshop, Guided Reading, Focus Poetry and Word Work. Come and join us and click here.
Love,
Kara
P.S.) If you’re interested in checking out my Fairy Tale Unit using mentor texts click here.
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