I love using a good picture book to start any lesson – reading, writing, and math! Today I’m going to share with you my 8 Favorite Writing Mentor Texts.
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Letter Writing:
- Dear Mrs. LaRue – Letters from Obedience School – This book is a fun way for students to see how letters are written and the letter writing format. Ike writes letters to his owner to share how “bad” it is at obedience school. These letters are fun and engaging and help show students what to include in a typical letter.
- The Jolly Postman or Other People’s Letters – I loved this book as a kid and love to use it at the beginning of my letter writing unit. The Jolly Postman takes us on a journey as he delivers letters and mail to various people – Cinderella, The Giant, Witch from Hansel and Gretel. As he delivers the mail we get to open the envelopes at each address and see what is inside. Although all of the mail is not letters, there are multiple letter examples in there and this is a fun way to start letter writing.
Opinion Writing:
- Animals Should Definitely Not Wear Clothing – First and foremost, this book is hilarious and it’s also great to teach opinion writing. This book provides a variety of scenarios where animals are wearing clothes. Students can then write their own opinions about whether or not animals should wear clothing.
- Earrings – In this story, the main character really wants earrings and is trying to persuade her parents to let her get them. This is a great opinion discussion and students can debate about whether or not she should get earrings.
- I Wanna Iguana – The little boy in this story wants a pet iguana and is trying to convince his parents! Another great persuasive story where students can write their opinions and back it up with reasons.
Narrative Writing:
- Poor Pluto – Great book written by an actual 3rd grade class. This is perfect to use when your students are getting ready to publish their work.
- Rocket Writes a Story – This book is perfect for what to do when a writer gets stuck! In this book, Rocket looks to words to help inspire him and gets ideas for his story from his friends.
- The Best Story – This story is great for introducing your narrative writing unit. The main character tries to write all of these creative, adventurous stories to get the “best story.” She learns that the best stories are ones that come from the heart and are about your own life.
Click the book links above to check them out and add them to your classroom library!
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