I came across a mentor text in The New Yorker magazine that I would use
in my classroom to support their writing. The mentor text is called The Book That I Haven’t Started Writing Yet
Will Be The Best Book Ever, and it is written by Annabelle Gurwitch. This
mentor text is fun and is relevant for every student. This article is relevant
to every student because it allows the students choice and a chance to demonstrate
their voice through writing. This mentor text is not specific to any particular
topic and allows room for students to choose to write about themselves or about
something fictional. The author has a specific voice and tone to the article,
and this could be discussed with the class while reading it. My idea would be
to have the students read this article, and then write their own piece about
the book that they haven’t started yet.
According to Marchetti and O’Dell a
mentor text should have certain requirements, and the mentor text I have chosen
is a great fit. As the book states, “Sentence study takes the pressure off
students to produce a sustained piece of writing and instead invites them to do
something more manageable: write a sentence using the craft they noticed a
mentor using” (Marchetti, O’Dell, 2015, 89). As a class the sentence
structures, craft moves, and vocabulary could be discussed together. The writer
of the mentor text uses words such as “copious” and “uncompromising” and these
words could be defined as a class (Gurwitch 2018). It would be important to
also talk about why the author is using these words and the effect that this
craft has in the writing. This mentor text uses challenging vocabulary as a way
of demonstrating craft in the article. My students could use the vocabulary
that we are working on in the classroom to create their own article in a
similar craft that the mentor uses.
This mentor text is short and allows
for time during the class period to read, discuss, and write. The students
would be able to easily identify craft moves, and they would be able to create
their sentences based off of the mentor text. One example of this in the mentor
text states, “The photo on the back flap of my unwritten book will be black and
white. I will be gazing off into the distance with an insouciant smile”
(Gurwitch 2018). The students would be able to recognize that they are
describing their fictional book and author picture with adjectives. This mentor
text allows for flexibility as well, and I could see myself using either the
whole article or just excerpts like the one above.
While this mentor text would take a
moderate amount of scaffolding because it does include complex vocabulary it is
a fun and engaging mentor text. I could see myself using this mentor text in my
classroom as a quick write for students or as a lesson in writing workshop. As
the book states, “What is key is to select mentor texts that are based on your
student’s current hobbies and interests” (Marchetti, O’Dell, 2015, 25). This
mentor text is a great fit for all students, because it allows them to fit it
to their current interests. I look forward to using this mentor text in my own
classroom and experiencing the benefits of mentor texts.
References
Gurwitch, Annabelle. “The Book That I Haven't Started Writing
Yet Will Be the Best Book Ever.” The New Yorker, The New Yorker, 20 Feb. 2018
Marchetti, Allison, and Rebekah O'Dell. Writing
with Mentors: How to Reach Every Writer in the Room Using Current,
Engaging Mentor Texts. Heinemann, 2015.
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