Teaching young writers can be a challenge, especially when theyโre just beginning to put their ideas on paper. Using mentor texts for writing is a wonderful way to support their growth. A mentor text is simply a book that models a specific writing strategy, structure, or writing convention that students can learn from and apply to their own writing. Rather than just telling students how to write, mentor texts for writing show students how real authors do it. Let’s take a look at how to use mentor texts for writing and 10 of my favorite books.
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Using mentor texts for writing is simple. Read the book, lead the class through a discussion about what the author does well, and let students try it in their own writing. Remember, you are in charge so selecting a book that helps support the skills your writers need work on is key. Just like with an interactive read aloud, you want to read the book before the lesson and have pre-planned where to stop and have a discussion. Mentor texts for writing can highlight:
Here are 10 mentor texts for writing to use in your writing lessons, along with focus ideas to bring them to life.
In A Squiggly Story by Andrew Larsen, the main character isnโt sure how to write, but his sister encourages him to start small and build from there. Add this story to your mentor texts for writing for sure!
Focus Idea: Encourage storytelling through drawings and inventive spelling. We all start somewhere and no two writers are the same!
Something to Try: Let students sketch their stories first, then add words little by little. This helps struggling writers gain confidence in their storytelling.
In One Word from Sophia by Jim Averbeck, Sophia uses different strategies to persuade her parents to get her a pet giraffe.
Focus Idea: Choosing the best words for impact, writing with robots vocabulary, and persuasive writing structure.
Something to Try: Have students write about their dream pet using precise, persuasive language. Encourage them to think about the strongest words to convince their audience.
Night of the Veggie Monster uses quick, dramatic sentences to describe a childโs reaction to eating vegetables. After all, not everyone loves veggies!
Focus Idea: Using short sentences and repetition for effect.
Something to Try: Challenge students to write about a dramatic moment using short, punchy sentences.
In Idea Jar, a teacher keeps a jar full of story ideas, showing that ideas can come from anywhere.
Focus Idea: Brainstorming and organizing writing ideas.
Something to Try: Create a classroom idea jar where students write down topics theyโd like to explore in writing. Have students add an Idea Jar to their writing folder of tools!
The Day You Began beautifully explores the feelings of being different and finding your voice. It’s a wonderful back to school read aloud, but also leads perfectly into writing a personal narrative.
Focus Idea: Writing about real life experiences.
Something to Try: Have students write about a time they felt new or different, encouraging them to add emotions and details.
Oops Pounce Quick Run! tells a whole story using just one word per page. WOW! There are not many books that can do this. But together, with the words and illustrations, we see that both carry weight and are important in storytelling.
Focus Idea: Using strong action words, great illustrations, and sequencing.
Something to Try: Challenge students to write a super-short story using only ten words or less to focus on strong action verbs and their illustrations.
The Most Magnificent Idea shows that creativity takes time and that revising ideas is part of the process. We all start with something, fail, learn, and try again–even in writing! This book is powerful for showing just that so add it to your mentor texts for writing!
Focus Idea: Teaching revision and perseverance.
Something to Try: Have students revise a piece of writing, focusing on one improvement like adding details or better word choices.
In The Word Collector, the main character loves discovering and saving words. If your students need to jazz up their writing with some stronger vocabulary words, be sure to add this book to your mentor texts for writing. It’s a great inspiration!
Focus Idea: Collecting new and interesting words to use in writing. You may like this anchor chart idea HERE.
Something to Try: Start a Word Collection Class Journal where students write down new words they love and try to use them in their writing, or grab this FREE vocabulary collecting page.
Two Problems for Sophia is full of fun dialogue that brings Sophiaโs character to life. If your students love One Word From Sophia, they will love this book from the same series for your mentor texts for writing collection.
Focus Idea: Using dialogue and punctuation in writing to show personality.
Something to Try: Have students write a conversation between two characters using speech bubbles before transitioning to full sentences. When they are ready, have them add dialog to their writing in a traditional way.
In A Perfectly Messed-Up Story, the main character learns that mistakes are okay and things don’t have to be perfect, including our writing! This is a great read aloud to add to your list of social skills and emotional learning books!
Focus Idea: Overcoming perfectionism in writing.
Something to Try: Encourage students to write messy drafts without erasing. Model this for them as you write so they can see how you are thinking as you mess up and try again. Then, celebrate the creativity in their imperfect stories.
Using mentor texts for writing helps students see how real authors craft their words, structure their stories, and revise their work. By incorporating these books into your lessons, you can model good writing in a fun, engaging way, give students concrete examples of writing strategies, and boost confidence in young writers.
Which mentor text will you try first? Let me know in the comments.
I’m a K-1 teacher who is passionate about making lessons your studentsย loveย and that areย easy to implementย for teachers.ย ย Helping teachers like you navigate their way through their literacy block brings me great joy. I am a lifelong learner who loves staying on top of current literacy learning and practices. Here, youโll find the tools you need to move your K-2 students forward!
