Mentor text- love it, but how to best use it to teach writing? Donald Graves mentions that you should surround your writers with mentor text (he doesn't call it that, but that's what it is) of all different kinds and levels. I've always been reluctant to share mentor text if I don't think it's at exactly the right level for my kids. Huge DUUUUHHH moment. One of those things where you smack your own forehead and think "I know better than that! What's wrong with me?" No matter what level it is, each student will find something they can use from it and will self-level when given a variety of materials to choose from. Think of it as a mentor text buffet- all you can eat and someone else is picking up the tab.
Add this to my to-do list every week: find and use more mentor text with my students. I've got to do better about knowing what to do instructionally, and merging that with the reality of time to teach and plan. Darn national boards- they've made me look at my teaching harder, longer, deeper and made me want to fix it. It was the best thing I've ever done!
Now it's off to look for mentor text for our current project "American Dreamers".
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