Reading Mentor Texts

I love books. I love fiction books, nonfiction books, chapter books, and picture books. That’s one of the reasons I love incorporating mentor texts into my reading and lessons.

The options on how you incorporate mentor texts are almost limitless. You use mentor texts to model thinking strategies, as examples of quality writing, to engage students in a class discussion, and as springboards into reading and writing activities. Many of the lessons in my 3rd-5th Grade Reading Workshop Bundle include a mentor text.

Organization

I keep my reading mentor texts in plastic storage bins out of reach from students. They are stored them separately, because when they intermingle with my other books, they have tendency to disappear the day I need them. The books are grouped by reading unit, so I can easily locate them.

I keep a printout of all of the mentor texts in the tub, so I can easily reference what books I’ll be using. Of course, the books I use change from year to year, but it’s a nice resource to have.

When I first started using mentor texts, I felt that I had to read a new book for every single lesson. It took me awhile to realize that it’s perfectly fine to read or refer to the same book multiple times. I’ve certainly read some of my favorite books more than once {just ask me about Outlander}. If you’re short on time and don’t have time to read a book, you can refer to a book that you’ve recently read together.  This allows students to still have a literature reference and saves about ten minutes.

What About Reading Levels?

Another question or concern about reading mentor texts is the reading level of the book. I try not to worry too much about the reading level of a mentor text when selecting a book for my class. Instead, I focus more on how the book reflects a particular element and my students’ engagement with the book. Many years ago, I went to a Fountas and Pinnell conference, and one read A Memory Strand by Eve Bunting to the audience. Every single attendee of the conference was enchanted by the book. There were hundreds of silent teachers and few dry eyes be the end of the book. That book wasn’t on our reading level, but we were still able to connect with the book and learn from the book. I want the mentor texts to fully engage students. When selecting a mentor text, I try to choose books that have substance or meat to them, which allows for better class discussions.

Can I Substitute Mentor Texts?

Many teachers ask if they can substitute the reading mentor texts in my reading units for a different book of their choice, and the answer is definitely, YES!! All of the graphic organizers are questions were written so that they can be used with any book. In fact, unless it’s a book near and dear to my heart, I substitute almost all of the nonfiction books. I like using texts that align to what I’m teaching in either social studies or science. Sometimes if I see a golden opportunity, I also integrate with character education. Since every state has its own social studies and science standards, it’s impossible to create an all-inclusive integrated list for social studies and science.

I typically use the fiction books listed in the units, but every now and then I do make a change. Sometimes I substitute the text if the majority of my class has already read the book, or if I feel that the book isn’t the right fit for my class. I’ve included a few ideas of mentor texts you can substitute for the books within the unit. The lists below include alternatives to some of the books from Unit 1 (visualizing connections, and inferring) and Unit 2 (characters, setting, and plot). If you don’t see your favorites listed, that’s probably because they’re already included in the reading units! If you find this useful, I can do the same thing for units 3-6! Links to all of the books are included below!

When possible, I like to incorporate seasonal books as reading mentor texts. Even upper elementary students are still young enough to be excited about holidays. Goodness, I’m 34 {ouch} and I still love holiday activities, so I don’t think students are ever too cool….even though they may try and act like it.

If you’d like to read more about how I teach reading through mentor texts, be sure to check out this post! It’s packed with great ideas.

Links to All Mentor Texts

• Albert
• Canoe Days
• Circus Ship
• Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs
• Creepy Carrots
• Hallowilloween
• If You’re Not From the Prairie
• Fig Pudding
• Goggles
• Halloween
• Mr. George Baker
• Nettie’s Trip South
• Page by Paige
• Pete and Pickles
• Shortcut
• Silver Seeds
• Someday
• Sophie’s Masterpiece
• Sweet Clara and the Freedom Quilt
• The Black Rabbit
• The Can Man
• The Gardener
• The Night I Followed the Dog
• The Potato Chip Champ
• The Princess and the Pig
• The Relatives Came
• The Spider and the Fly
• The Storm Book