Mentor Texts
5 Reasons Mentor Texts should be a part of your classroom instruction
Help Students Make Powerful Connections
Great mentor texts should be relatable to children. Children should be able to connect to an actual experience that is similar to that of the characters, have similar traits as certain characters, or simply be able to relate to a character's feelings. Believe it or not, a picture book can mean the world to a student who may be struggling with something in their life. It could also inspire a student to chase a dream they have always wanted.
They Are a Model for Writing
As teachers, it is our job to model the writing process and what good reading looks and sounds like. This goes without saying. But sometimes, our modeling isn't enough. People think and write in different ways. There is no one way to write a narrative or make connections with a text. It is important for students to hear different voices and see different writing styles.
They Are Rich in Vocabulary
Mentor texts are SO rich in vocabulary. The days of teaching kids the meanings of words through pencil, paper, and dictionary are OVER! Yes, I said it. When students hear vocabulary in a text and are given a short explanation of it with the use of real examples or pictures, they retain it because it is attached to MEANING.
They Are Culturally Diverse
We live in a country that is diverse. We need diverse books! We need books that are multicultural because we want all students to see themselves in books. We want them to see their culture represented. It is equally important for our students to learn about people from different cultures and backgrounds. When students see themselves within a text and recognize that everyone is unique and different, your classroom environment changes. It becomes inviting, respectful, and encouraging.
They Model Author's Craft
It is so easy to pull out skills and strategies through read alouds. Teachers can use mentor texts to explicitly teach strategies such as visualization, summarizing, text features, etc. These lessons can be a great springboard for diving deeper into texts and will help build strong comprehension skills.