 Tools for a Writing Classroom: The Mentor Text of the Year Network
using Roni Schotter's Nothing Ever Happens on 90th Street to inspire writers during the 2008-09 school year At WritingFix, we are committed to developing new ways for our teacher users to actively participate while using this free-to-use website. In Nevada--thanks to the inservice workshops sponsored by the Northern Nevada Writing Project--many teachers actively participate in person, posting thoughtful ideas and lessons here on-line. Outside of Northern Nevada, relatively few teachers participate, though we know thousands of them are using the site. We want to change that, making this website a global community, where classroom ideas are freely exchanged.
To build an on-line community, each August, we will announce a new "Mentor Text of the Year." The book we choose will be one that has inspirational ideas or examples of writing craft that--we believe--student writers could easily learn from. We will always choose a book that is worth re-visiting multiple times throughout a school year. For the 2008-2009 school year, we have selected Roni Schotter's Nothing Ever Happens on 90th Street as our first mentor text of the year.
We encourage teachers who don't have the book to obtain a copy so that they might participate. We will encourage teachers who already have the book to revisit the text with new eyes. We will then ask a simple question: How can you use this book's unique ideas or its crafted words to inspire your students to write better? If you use the book in your own classroom this year, we encourage you to share how you used it on our Mentor Text Blackboard below.
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WritingFix's On-line Lesson: 90th Street |
Meet the Author: Roni Schotter |
In 2005, WritingFix posted a lesson that used Nothing Ever Happens on 90th Street as its "mentor text." Since being posted, it has remained one of the website's most popular lessons among teachers.
 The goal of the lesson is to have students craft one well-written paragraph that selectively uses each of the pieces of advice given to Eva in the picture book.
After students have taken their single paragraphs through the entire writing process, they can be invited to use the paragraph to launch an entire original story.
The goal of the lesson--first and foremost--is to skillfully build one paragraph. Students often do want to immediately turn their idea into a complete story, but this lesson is about stopping, thinking, and crafting one paragraph.
WritingFix's On-line Lesson: Using 90th Street's Advice
(Click on the lesson's title to access its overview and its resources on-line.) |
An e-mail message from Roni, author of 2008-09's Mentor Text of the Year:
 Dear Corbett and WritingFix,
Some time ago a teacher told me about your website and I checked it out and actually linked it to my website. I felt honored and delighted to read what you wrote and shared about my book. Now when you tell me that you have named 90TH STREET a "Mentor Text of the Year," I am truly honored!
When educators appreciate my books it is so special for me. You are the gatekeepers--the people who introduce children to the world of words and literature--a sacred trust, if you ask me. So, again, it is such an honor for me to know that you and other teachers consider my book of help and interest. I wrote it out of my passion for words and story, and out of my desire to share that passion with children and encourage them to recognize the stories in THEIR lives, and be inspired to write about them.
--Roni Schotter
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Student Samples Inspired by our On-Line Lesson |
More from Author Roni Schotter: |
 The Creature
by Tommy, seventh grade writer
Person/Character: a sailor
Place/Setting: a boat
Thing: a monster
Captain MacLeod had been sailing the oceans ever since he was a wee lad. This night was different; it was darker and deeper than ever before. Captain MacLeod was standing on the bow of the boat in his yellow rain suit. He had no use for it tonight, but he just loved wearing it. The black waves silently hit the side of the slippery hull, making the boat rock back and forth, back and froth. The sea spray scorched his eyes, but he didn’t care. The waves started to grow larger, rocking the boat violently. Then, a huge black mass arose out of the water. It had red eyes and smelled of rotten flesh. Suddenly, something crashed into the side of the boat. Captain MacLeod reached for his rifle. He aimed at the creature’s eye. “What if?” he thought. “What if I miss?”
 Pencil and Paint
by Kora, seventh grade writer
Person/Character: an artist
Place/Setting: a street
Thing: a pencil
She sat impatiently on the fading white scratched-up curb, hitting her pencil against the sketchpad impatiently. She sighed, almost growled, and I laughed. My best friend pressed her pencil onto the paper for a second as if to draw. I waited. She scowled a little, turned her pencil around in her hands, and erased the small mark she made. We’d been sitting here forever, me talking and trying to help, while she drew. Or really, tried to draw. Her pencil was dull, but the page was still as white and clean as fresh fallen snow. I looked down at the clock on my iPod – about an hour and a half had passed. I slid my hand along the curb. It was chipping. I pulled a falling piece of dried white paint off and threw it at her. The paint landed on the middle of the page. She smiled, and traced it.
“There,” she said, showing me a haphazard square. And all of a sudden we couldn’t stop laughing.
Got a student sample to share from your classroom? Send it to us at publish@writingfix.com |
WritingFix's second favorite Roni Schotter picture book:
The Boy Who Loved Words
This is the story of a boy who loves words so much that he collects them and keeps them in his pocket.
Two newer books from Roni:
The House of Joyful Living
A semi-autobiographical picture book, this is the story of the apartment building Roni was born into whose nickname was "The House of Joyful Living," probably because it had a Roof Garden where everyone gathered to share their food, affection, and the stories they told of helping other people.
Doo-Wop Pop
This is the story of a group of shy, sidelined children who are inspired by their school's custodian, the former star of a doo-wop/rock-and-roll group, to "stop being the carrots that stay out of the soup, dive in with the potatoes, be part of the group." |
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Participate in this Network! Share an Idea on our Blackboard |
Our Mentor Text of the Year Blackboard:
If you have inspired your students to write, using Nothing Ever Happens on 90th Street as a mentor text, share how you used the book with us on this Blackboard. Send your adaptations and ideas to us at webmaster@writingfix.com. At the end of the school year, we will host a drawing and reward one teacher who shared with us with $100 in Amazon picture books for his/her classroom.
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"I love this book, but I find it to be a long story to read aloud in one sitting with my fifth graders. The first third of the book is about Eva getting writing advice from her neighbors, then the last two-thirds is about the story she creates. I break it up so that on the first day we read up to her getting the fourth piece of advice (from the soup lady).
"For a few days we just talk about the advice and try it out in our own journals. A few days later, we review the advice and then read the rest of the story."
--Dannie P., Texas
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"What a great choice for your book of the year! I have used this book for the past four years at the beginning of the year to kick off my picture-book writing lessons!
"After reading the book to the students, I tell them that for homework they have to pick a spot by their house, inside or out, where they can sit quietly for fifteen minutes observing everything around them. Their assignment is to write down every thing they see, hear, feel, smell, etc. in fifteen minutes.
"The next day in class we revisit the characters in the story and their writing tips for Eva. Then the students read over their lists, eliminating any thing that they don’t think will fit in their 'Nothing Ever Happens…' stories. (The title of their story will be their address put in place of '90th Street.' This really seems to personalize the story for them, as everyone likes to write about themselves!)
"Next, we talk about the elements of the story that they should include….a bit of poetry (alliteration seems to work best for fourth graders!), a hint of romance (usually they choose to have animals fall in love at this age!), stretching the truth to make the story better, and finally using 'spicy' words to make their story come alive!
"After editing and revising, the students add they own touches to the cover and we present the stories for everyone to read! They remember these writing tips all year in all of the other writings that they do, especially that the whole world is a 'stage' and there are stories everywhere! This book is also a great way to introduce the writing traits, beginning with 'ideas.'"
--Christine L., North Carolina
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"I teach 6th grade. I planned on having the kids 'map their neighborhood' to get ideas for writing personal narratives. I modeled the neighborhood where I grew up. The class was excited as they drew their own neighborhoods and label events within those areas. One kid drew a great map and then said, 'I can't think of anything that ever happens in my neighborhood.'
"I jumped to grab the book and read it to the class as they finished up their maps. After a little more prodding and questioning, he realized that every home, vacant lot, and street had a story he could tell.
"The book is longer than most picture books but really helped my class see the "story" in everything. I will go back to this book several times to help illustrate points as I have the kids working in writer workshop."
--Liz R. - Utah
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"After reading Nothing Ever Happens on 90th Street, I had my students form groups based on which advice they liked best. Students worked in small groups to paraphrase the advice onto sentence strips, or write a quote from the book about the advice. I placed the sentence strips on the bulletin board along with each character's picture.
"Now after students finish a piece of writing, they highlight their favorite part. Students place their best writing exerpts onto sentence strips, which are added under the advice from the book."
--Nicole F., Nevada
Send your "90th Street Blurb" to us at webmaster@writingfix.com. At the end of the school year, we will host a drawing and reward one teacher who shared here with $100 in Amazon picture books for his/her classroom.
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