2015 ARA Young Authors Conference Presentation: Mentor Text

Topic: Using Mentor Texts to Identify Writing Craft Techniques

Instructional Tips: Read the mentor text for enjoyment! Then, discuss with a partner what made the text enjoyable to read. Re-read the text identifying and defining the good writing craft and techniques used by the author. Draft or revise a piece of writing, intentionally using 1 or 2 of the craft techniques identified. Read the draft or revised piece of writing aloud to a partner. Cite the source or text where the craft techniques were identified (make a text-to-text connection). Add newly identified craft techniques to a writer's notebook and/or a classroom anchor chart to refer to during writing. Continue this process using various mentor texts by the same or different authors.