Mentor Text List for Writers' Workshop

Elementary literacy coaches and teachers will love this resource as they work to effectively implement Writers' Workshop in their classrooms. This packet includes an extensive list of mentor texts to use for instruction during writers' workshop.

Mentor texts, often called anchor texts, are published pieces of writing that teachers can use to teach a particular writing skill. They are often well-loved pieces of children's literature from celebrated authors, that teachers and students will want to read again and again. These carefully chosen texts offer students clear examples of quality writing and give teachers the opportunity to teach the craft of writing in the context of an authentic piece of literature instead of as an isolated skill.

I compiled this 36 page list using suggestions from leading authors in writing instruction for children. Also included are links to quality lessons that use mentor texts, all from reliable sources. This list is targeted for students in K-5th grade, although there are several books that could be used effectively with older students. You will also receive a bibliography of suggested professional resources for mentor texts from the authors that I've found to be the most helpful.

Suggestions for Use: I am a literacy coach, and I have created a binder for this list. Each page is in a page protector so that teachers can easily browse through the long list to find what they need. I've worked hard for the past few years to build our mentor text library. Teachers can come to my room and look through our collection of mentor texts that I have organized in crates by topic. This list is in a notebook right beside the crates. I've highlighted the books on the list that are available in our professional collection. I also refer to this list every time I go to a used bookstore or yard sale, hoping to find titles for bargain prices. This list was also given to our librarian, and she highlighted all of the books that she has in our school library. My goal was to make it as easy as possible to get these mentor texts into teachers' hands. I know how little time they have, and I wanted to make it easy to use this teaching strategy that has proven to be effective in teaching thousands of students to write. I hope it helps you, too!