WritingFix: Mentor Text Lessons...inspired by Picture Books

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Mentor Texts: Picture Book Lessons, Grades 3-12
demonstration lessons shared at the NNWP's teacher workshops

Have you seen WritingFix's complete bibliography page?

Click here to access our resource page that shows every picture book and chapter book for which WritingFix has lessons and prompts! WritingFix receives a small donation from Amazon for each book purchased through our bibliography page. Help us keep WritingFix free-to-use by using the links we've placed on this page to place your Amazon order. Thank you in advance for supporting WritingFix in this way.

How did this page of quality lessons come about? In 2005, WritingFix and the Northern Nevada Writing Project received a generous grant that helped begin the very popular lesson collection you will find on this page. The generous $25,000 AT&T Grant, acquired with the help of the Washoe Education Foundation, allowed us to design and host a very different kind of inservice class for 100 Northern Nevada teachers, and that inservice made possible this page.

Members of the Northern Nevada Writing Project's Technology Team created and demonstrated eight brand new picture book lessons to the first 100 teachers who signed up; they then gave away 100 copies of each of the picture books so that class participants could teach any of the lessons back in their classrooms. At the inservice's end, each of the 100 participants brought in a different picture book to share, and each wrote a brief proposal for a 6-trait lesson inspired by their books. The best of those proposals became the lessons you can find on this page.

Our Picture Book Inservice continues in Northern Nevada. Each year, the NNWP offers a variation of the original 2005 Picture Book inservice. Instead of giving away picture books (since the grant is exhausted), we give to all class participants a copy of the NNWP's awesome print resource--The Going Deep with 6 Trait Language Guide (pictured at right). Our picture book inservice remains highly popular, and each year we try to add up to four new lessons here from the most recent class's participants.

"Your [Picture Books] inservice is--by far--the most valuable class I have ever taken as a teacher. Thank you for making me re-examine the way I talk about picture books with my students!" (Stacy D., elementary teacher)

"All of the presenters were wonderful. The lessons and books they shared were awesome, and I will be using their ideas in my classroom. Thanks for a wonderful experience!" (Nancy T., middle school teacher)

"As a high school teacher, I wasn't sure how much I would get much out of this class. You proved to me that picture books can be the inspiration for great high school mini lessons on writing." (Janet J., high school teacher)

Student samples being sought for every lesson on this page: Please enjoy (and adapt!) the free-to-use lessons on this page, and please share them with your colleagues. If you notice we're missing a student sample of a certain grade level, we want to hear from you. Each lesson features a link where you can freely post up to three samples from your classroom. We send a free copy of one of the NNWP's Print Resources to teachers who send us samples that we can post at each of the lessons.

A Discussion Prompt for Teachers Using this Page during Collaborative Professional Development: We have come to believe in the importance of incorporating a great mentor text into a writing. A mentor text is a published piece of writing whose idea, whose structure, or whose written craft can be analyzed andd discussed as a means of inspiring their own writing. During our teacher workshops, we help our participants understand these three purposes of a mentor text. Here is a link to a Powerpoint slideshow used by one of our trainers, Corbett Harrison; it explains the three categories of mentor texts we ask our teachers to think about. As you explore the lessons posted on this page--alone or with colleagues--here are two discussion questions to help you think about these lessons' design: "Is the mentor text being used to inspire an idea, a structure, or a craft skill from student writers? What's an additional mentor text that you might incorporate into the already-written lesson that would add another opportunity for students to think about ideas, structures, or writing skills?"

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For which writing trait do you need a lesson?

Idea Development

Organization

Voice

Word Choice

Sentence Fluency

Conventions

Become a Lesson Contributor:

This website celebrates original lessons posted by hundreds of real teachers. Many of our lessons were created during our Northern Nevada Teacher Workshops, but many others were created by outside-of-Nevada teachers who e-mailed their inspired ideas to us.

If what we've posted here inspires you to create an original lesson based on a favorite picture book, send it to us. Below is the template we use:

Our template for picture book lessons

Our 6 Most Popular Picture Book-inspired Idea Development Lessons
Lesson: Using 90th Street's Advice Mentor Text: Nothing Ever Happens on 90th Street by Roni Schotter Focus Trait: Idea Development Support Trait: Word Choice	Lesson: Silly Animal Problems Mentor Text: Dog Breath by Dav Pilkey Focus Trait: Idea Development Support Trait: Organization	Lesson: Unique Imaginary Friends Mentor Text: Ted by Tony DiTerlizzi Focus Trait: Idea Development Support Trait: Word Choice
Lesson: Rolling with the Animals Mentor Text: Duck on a Bike by David Shannon Focus Trait: Idea Development Support Trait: Organization	Lesson: What Got Stolen? Mentor Text: Grandpa's Teeth by Rod Clement Focus Trait: Idea Development Support Trait: Organization	Lesson: Fierce Wondering Stories Mentor Text: Amelia's Notebook by Marissa Moss Focus Trait: Idea Development Support Trait: Voice
More for Idea Development
Idea Development: A Foundation for your Writing Visit WritingFix's Idea Development Homepage for dozens more lessons, prompts, and resources that focus on this very important writing trait. Learn more about our original "Building a House with the Traits" metaphor at our 6 Trait Homepage.	Additional idea development picture book lessons: Top Secret Rule Reasons (Mentor Text: The Secret Knowledge of Grown-ups) The Important Thing about Good Writing: Details! (Mentor Text: The Important Book) Caught Up in the Moment (Mentor Text: The Summer My Father Was Ten) Showing Nice Things without Ever Saying Nice (Mentor Text: Show; Don't Tell) Unlikely Diary Keepers (Mentor Text: Diary of a Worm) Scheming Against an Adversary (Mentor Text: Enemy Pie) Fairy Tales in New Settings (Mentor Text: Bubba, the Cowboy Prince) *Scary Somethings* (Mentor Text: Harry and the Terrible Whatzit ) *Other Bad Cases* to Write About (Mentor Text: A Bad Case of Stripes) Show How You Deal with Anger** (Mentor Text: When Sophie Gets Angry...Really Angry)	Our New Idea Development Post-it Note: Visit WritingFix's Post-it Note Resource Page for some fresh ideas for revision and response!

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Our 6 Most Popular Picture Book-inspired Organization Lessons
Lesson: A Scientific Mishap Mentor Text: Dogzilla by Dav Pilkey Focus Trait: Organization Support Trait: Idea Development	Lesson: Floating Down a River Mentor Text: Daisy Comes Home by Jan Brett Focus Trait: Organization Support Trait: Idea Development	Lesson: Three-Meal Weather Mentor Text: Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs by Judi & Ron Barrett Focus Trait: Organization Support Trait: Word Choice
Lesson: Between Repeated Catch Phrases Mentor Text: Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day by Judith Viorst Focus Trait: Organization Support Trait: Sentence Fluency	Lesson: Weird Animal Adventures Mentor Text: Tuesday by David Wiesner Focus Trait: Organization Support Trait: Idea Development	Lesson: Powerful First Paragraphs Mentor Text: Brave Margaret by Robert De San Souci Focus Trait: Organization Support Trait: Idea Development
More for Organization
Organization: The Main Structure of the Writing Visit WritingFix's Organization Homepage for dozens more lessons, prompts, and resources that focus on this very important writing trait. Learn more about our original "Building a House with the Traits" metaphor at our 6 Trait Homepage.	Additional organization picture book lessons: The Sibling Report (Mentor Text: Tub-boo-boo) Pros, Cons, and Hooks (Mentor Text: How I Became A Pirate) Overcoming a Personified Fear (Mentor Text: There's a Nightmare in my Closet) Who's to Blame Stories (Mentor Text: Because a Little Bug Went Ka-Choo!) Fracturing Tales Through Titles (Mentor Text: The Wolf Who Cried Boy) "Oh, That's Good!" "No, That's Bad!" (Mentor Text: That's Good, That's Bad) *"Beyond Happily Ever Afters... "* (Mentor Text: Once Upon a Cool Motorcycle Dude) A Vocabulary Fashion Show (Mentor Text: Miss Alaineus: A Vocabulary Disaster)	Our New Organization Post-it Note: Visit WritingFix's Post-it Note Resource Page for some fresh ideas for revision and response.

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Our 6 Most Popular Picture Book-inspired Voice Lessons
Lesson: Start with What Isn't There Mentor Text: Caves by Stephen Kramer Focus Trait: Voice Support Trait: Word Choice	Lesson: Interjected Emotions! Mentor Text: No David! by David Shannon Focus Trait: Voice Support Trait: Conventions	Lesson: I Wanna [Something] Mentor Text: I Wanna Iguana by Karen Kaufmann Orloff Focus Trait: Voice Support Trait: Word Choice
Lesson: Giving Voice to Opposites Mentor Text: I Am the Dog I Am the Cat by Donald Hall Focus Trait: Voice Support Trait: Idea Development	Lesson: "Just the Facts, Ma'am." Mentor Text: The Web Files by Margie Palatini Focus Trait: Voice Support Trait: Conventions	Lesson: Unusual Friendly Letters Mentor Text: Dear Mrs. LaRue: Letters from Obedience School by Mark Teague Focus Trait: Voice Support Trait: Word Choice
More for Voice
Voice: Adding Appropriate Amounts of "You" Visit WritingFix's Voice Homepage for dozens more lessons, prompts, and resources that focus on this very important writing trait. Learn more about our original "Building a House with the Traits" metaphor at our 6 Trait Homepage.	Additional voice picture book lessons: A Pet's Adventure Story (Mentor Text: Good Boy, Fergus!) Serendipitous Fairy Tale Tabloids (Mentor Text: Fairytale News) Voicing an Original Fairy Tale Narrator (Mentor Text: The True Stories of the Three Little Pigs) Put 'em on Oprah! (Mentor Text: Cindy-Ellen: A Wild Western Cinderella) "Don't Eat Me!" Monologues (Mentor Text: My Brother Dan's Delicious) Creative Convincing (Mentor Text: Click-Clack-Moo)	Our New Voice Post-it Note: Visit WritingFix's Post-it Note Resource Page for some fresh ideas for revision and response.

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Our 6 Most Popular Picture Book-inspired Word Choice Lessons
Lesson: An Onomatopoetic Field Trip! Mentor Text: Rattletrap Car by Phyllis Root Focus Trait: Word Choice Support Trait: Idea Development	Lesson: Serendipitous Character Descriptions Mentor Text: Tough Boris by Mem Fox Focus Trait: Word Choice Support Trait: Idea Development	Lesson: Hoot and Howl... Mentor Text: Halloween Hoots and Howls by Joan Horton Focus Trait: Word Choice Support Trait: Conventions
Lesson: Details and Vocabulary... Mentor Text: Tulip Sees America by Cynthia Rylant Focus Trait: Word Choice Support Trait: Idea Development	Lesson: The Color of Love Mentor Text: I Love You the Purplest by Barbara M. Joosse Focus Trait: Word Choice Support Trait: Organization	Lesson: Haiku Riddles Mentor Text: If Not for the Cat by Jack Prelutsky Focus Trait: Word Choice Support Trait: Idea Development
More for Word Choice
Word Choice: Shiny Moments in your Writing Visit WritingFix's Word Choice Homepage for dozens more lessons, prompts, and resources that focus on this very important writing trait. Learn more about our original "Building a House with the Traits" metaphor at our 6 Trait Homepage.	Additional word choice picture book lessons: What If... Poems (Mentor Text: What If... ) Poems to Bug Your Reader (Mentor Text: insectlopedia) Special Place Poems (Mentor Text: A Quiet Place) Listen to the Word Choice of Authors (Mentor Text: Listen to the Rain) Noun-Inspired Animal Reports (Mentor Text: We Are Bears) Alliterative Insects (Mentor Text: Clara Caterpillar)	Our New Word Choice Post-it Note: Visit WritingFix's Post-it Note Resource Page for some fresh ideas for revision and response.

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Our 6 Most Popular Picture Book-inspired Sentence Fluency Lessons

Lesson: Special Days or Places to Love

Mentor Text: All the Places to Love by Patricia MacLachlan

Focus Trait: Sentence Fluency
Support Trait: Idea Development

Lesson: Showing with Participial Phrases

Mentor Text: Dancing in the Wings by Debbie Allen

Focus Trait: Sentence Fluency
Support Trait: Conventions

Lesson: Counting Sentences' Words

Mentor Text: Owl Moon by Jane Yolen

Focus Trait: Sentence Fluency
Support Trait: Idea Development

Lesson: School Song Parodies

Mentor Text: Take Me Out of the Bathtub and other Silly Dilly Songs by Alan Katz

Focus Trait: Sentence Fluency
Support Trait: Idea Development

Lesson: The Five-Transition Adventure Planner

Mentor Text: Meanwhile by Jules Feiffer

Focus Trait: Sentence Fluency
Support Trait: Idea Development

Lesson: Ain't Gonna Rain No More

Mentor Text: I Ain't Gonna Paint No More! by Karen Beaumont

Focus Trait: Sentence Fluency
Support Trait: Word Choice

More for Sentence Fluency

Sentence Fluency:
Helping Words "Float" Together

Visit WritingFix's Sentence Fluency Homepage for dozens more lessons, prompts, and resources that focus on this very important writing trait.

Learn more about our original "Building a House with the Traits" metaphor at our 6 Trait Homepage.

Additional sentence fluency picture book lessons:

Animals Not to [Verb] with... (Mentor Text: Don't Take Your Snake for a Stroll)
Ballads about Family (Mentor Text: Family Reunion)
Impersonating Great Poets (Mentor Text: Science Verse)

Our New Sentence Fluency Post-it Note:

Visit WritingFix's Post-it Note Resource Page for some fresh ideas for revision and response.

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Our Three Featured Conventions Lessons inspired by Picture Books
Lesson: Personifying Punctuation Mentor Text: Punctuation Takes a Vacation by Robin Pulver Focus Trait: Conventions Support Trait: Idea Development	Lesson: Interjections and Questions Mentor Text: Yo! Yes! by Chris Raschka Focus Trait: Conventions Support Trait: Voice This lesson is undergoing revisions! Check back soon.	Lesson: Instead of Said Dialogue Adventures Mentor Text: Good Dog, Carl by Alexander Day Focus Trait: Conventions Support Trait: Idea Development
More for Conventions
Conventions: The Final Piece of the Picture Visit WritingFix's Conventions Homepage for more lessons, prompts, and resources that focus on this very important writing trait. Learn more about our original "Building a House with the Traits" metaphor at our 6 Trait Homepage.		Our New Conventions Post-it Note: Visit WritingFix's Post-it Note Resource Page for some fresh ideas for revision and response.

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