Mentor Texts

In writing we have been writing "How to" books and practicing giving directions step by step.  Our writing includes numbered steps, pictures that support the directions, words that tell precise directions on how to complete each step, labels that help the reader understand the pictures and diagrams that clarify a step.  

Today we explored mentor texts to help us get new ideas on what we could add to our how to books to make them even easier for a reader to read and learn how to do what ever it is that we are teaching them.  

Students noticed:

• All of these books have steps with parts of things, then they add just a little bit so the reader can do what they are learning.
• Some of these books have numbers. for steps.
• Some steps have more than one picture.
• Their covers have words to tell you what you are learning how to do.
• The covers have pictures to show you what they are learning how to do.
• The covers have an author's name.

After we explored these books we went back into our own writing and looked for an opportunity to add one of these things to help our reader be more successful in learning whatever it is that we are teaching them.  Many students added covers with a title and a picture to match.