March
30
March
16
How to Create or Find Rubrics on Wonder’s Online Suite
March
16
How to Use Mentor Text
Hey teacher,
As teachers, we are always looking for a one-stop resource to teach multiple concepts. I’ve found that using a mentor text provides this opportunity in a fun and purposeful way!
Why is a mentor text so useful? It allows students to notice, practice, or apply a certain skill or strategy while using a book. Most of the time it’s a picture book, but not necessarily.
When using a mentor text, it’s important to decide what skill(s) you want students to focus on. I wouldn’t necessarily teach multiple skills in one lesson, but instead use the same text throughout a week or two while teaching whatever concepts I wanted to teach. For example, your focus skill in a nonfiction text could be main idea.
I usually follow the same process regardless of whether the text is narrative or expository, but here’s some special tips for using mentor texts with an informational focus! The gradual release model is a great way to ensure kids get the support and the practice they need!
- Read the text without interruption. Informational texts can be lengthy, so you may need to read it in sections, or only use one part. During the first read, don’t analyze or dissect the text. Allow students to read it for enjoyment. There is much to learn from nonfiction texts, after all.
- Next, explain or describe the skill you are wanting students to notice. Reread the section you want to use as your focus. Model the strategy of finding the main idea. Let them hear your thinking out loud.
- Then I’d have students work in partners or groups, while finding the main idea of another section. Always monitor and provide guidance as necessary. Listen to their thinking and clear up any misconceptions.
- I’d finally have students work on finding main idea independently using a different text. Provide feedback and continue to help students that are struggling.
If you’d like to see another example of how to use a mentor text in your classroom, you can read more on this blog post.
Needing a little more support with nonfiction texts? This blog post has some great information as well as some FREE documents for you to use in your classroom.
Happy teaching!
Chrissy Beltran
March
9
Editing and Revising
Hey teacher,
As if it isn’t hard enough to teach students to write, we also have to teach them to want to fix their writing. There’s a huge emphasis on “want to” because most kids aren’t fans of writing, much less having to go back into their writing in order to make it sound AND look good.
Once you’ve got your routine down, and your students know how to execute their writing piece, you will need to model for them about how to go back into their writing in order to make it a much better writing piece.
It’s important to spend some time explaining the difference between editing and revising.
In editing, students make their writing look better by correcting punctuation, spelling, and capitalization. In most cases, this seems easier for them to do.
Revising is tougher to teach because this is when an author makes their writing sound better and clarify their effect on the reader. This can include adding more descriptive language, appropriate transitions, taking out writing that doesn’t add to the focus of the piece, or possibly moving sentences around.
This. Is. Hard.
When first introducing revising, I always take a classic book. Pick any book that you know they will really enjoy. Back when I taught second grade, I used Lilly’s Purple Plastic Purse.
To be honest, you can use this book for so many other writing skills, but revising was my favorite. I’d take the sentences in the first few pages and take out all the descriptive words; all the language that makes it a great book. I’d read the “book” with my boring sentences and I’d ask how they liked the story so far.
Most will say they like it and that’s because they don’t know better. I’d make up an excuse to not read the rest, and we’d move on to something else. The next day, I’d gather them again, and read the real Lily’s Purple Plastic Purse. Then I’d ask them which version they liked better.
Obviously, now they like the real version better. We discuss specific examples of sentences that they loved. What words did the author use to help up visualize different details? We compared the boring sentences in the first version versus the ones in the new book. We also discussed how authors, the very same authors that write their favorite picture and chapter books, have to go back and reread their writing in order to edit and revise.
Those books are NEVER the first draft they wrote. (I never share that famous authors sometimes pay someone else to do a lot of their editing and revising. :))
Sometimes when students write a writing piece, they don’t make the connection that they are the authors of that piece. If they want their reader to enjoy it, they need improve it.
I’ve found it easier to give students a checklist of things to look for when editing and revising their writing and having them do it in partners. With enough practice and guidance, they will get better at doing this. Writing conferences with students to discuss the process is also extremely helpful to them.
I’ve gathered many editing and revising lesson ideas, tips, and tools for you on Pinterest. Head on over to my blog for an interactive way I helped my students with editing and revising while focusing on writing test prep. There you will find two weeks of free lessons using this interactive activity!
Happy teaching,
Chrissy Beltran
P.S. Did you grab the Freebie from the blog post above and love it? Then you’ll also love my other interactive paragraphs. Hands On Revision and Editing:Winter, Hand On Narrative Revision and Editing Paragraph a Week, or Hands On Expository Revision and Editing Paragraph a Week.
March
9
5 Activities to Get Kids Writing
February
19
Grammar Mentor Sentences-Interactive Notebook
Hey Teacher,
When I first became a 4th grade writing teacher, I admit I was somewhat clueless on how to best teach all things writing.
I taught grammar from error, putting up passages that required kids to correct the errors…but it was always the same kids who noticed what was wrong with the passage, and the others weren’t getting the direct instruction they needed. They relied on whether something “sounded right” and you know a lot of kids don’t have access to that kind of oral language!
It wasn’t until I began implementing mentor sentences into my English language arts block, that I really understood how language worked.
While yes, I knew all about parts of speech and types of sentences, I had always taught reading and writing in isolation. It wasn’t until I realized how writing and reading were interconnected that the lightbulb went off. I mean, you can’t have a good book without good writing, and you can’t be a good writer without reading.
Mentor sentences changed everything about my grammar instruction because they model for students what a well-written sentence should look like and helped them apply grammar skills to create them.
Using Mentor Sentences
Every week, students got a new sentence, which we dissected daily. Each day they had something new to do using the same sentence.
- Monday: Notebook activity to dissect the sentence
- Tuesday: Grammar hunt table
- Wednesday: Apply the same skill to new sentences
- Thursday: Manipulate the sentence
- Friday: Create your own sentence; Hunt for a similar sentence in your book; Weekly quiz
Visit my my blog post about mentor sentences. It gives a more detailed explanation of each day of the week that will get you started!
Pros to using mentor sentences with your students.
- Every day you use the same sentence but focus on a different skill.
- Use the book students are reading, could be their own book, shared reading book, or your modeled reading book, to find similar type of sentences. (Connecting reading and writing!)
- If you use it weekly, it becomes a habit, and students can eventually do it on their own in a station/center.
- Since students are using color pencils or markers, it makes it fun for them.
- Students begin to mimic the sentence in their writing and writing improves.
Wondering which mentor sentences resource to start with? Try the Fourth Grade Mentor Sentences for Grammar. This resource builds the foundation of what will be expected throughout the other mentor sentences resources. And even though it says fourth grade, I have used this resource with third graders and have had great success!
Happy Teaching!
Chrissy Beltran