Mentor Text:Which Famous Musician Who Died at the Age of 27 are you? A BuzzFeed Quiz by Eirean Bradley Writing Techniques: Poetic form Theme Social commentary Presenting research Background: I decided to use popular culture as the anchor for the Lit course I’m currently teaching. It’s been going quite well. In my prep work for […]
Melissa Surber teaches 11th grade Junior and Senior College Prep English and AP Literature and Composition at Troy Buchanan High School in Troy, Missouri, an hour north of St. Louis. She is in her 18th year of teaching and just recently became National Board Certified. Connect with her at @ELAWordsmith. Mentor Texts: Patton Oswalt Facebook […]
Mentor Text: “The Red Wheelbarrow” by William Carlos Williams Writing Techniques: Poetic form Focusing on main idea Brevity Background: Last year, I made a conscious decision to dedicate April’s Mentor Text Wednesday posts to poetry, in honor of it being National Poetry Month. I plan to continue that tradition. This week, I want to share […]
Mentor Text: Someone Will Come Along: Rogue One, Logan and Hope by Jessica Plummer Writing Techniques: Writing Literary Analysis Essay Structure Background: If, as Stephen King would say, you are a “Faithful Reader,” then you know I’m a bit of a geek. If you’re here for the first time… Hi, I’m Jay, and I really […]
Mentor Text: Fortunately, the Milk by Neil Gaiman Writing Techniques: Creative Writing Voice Humour Considering Audience Background: A beloved part of my day is right before my daughters’ bedtime, when we read. I have a six year old and a four year old, and each is currently obsessed with a different book. My oldest is […]
Mentor Texts: “In praise of Joanne Rowling’s Hermione Granger series” – Sady Doyle Writing Techniques: Character analysis Applying a critical lens Voice Background: I am re-reading the Harry Potter series with my oldest daughter. We’re reading the gorgeous illustrated editions. This means that we are now on our second go-round with Chamber of Secrets, as […]
Mentor Texts: Rolling Stone magazine’s Threat Assessment infographic Entertainment Weekly magazine’s The Bullseye infographic Writing Techniques: Organizing information Tone Visual presentation Background: Hi. I’m Jay and I’m a recovering magazineaholic. I’ve mentioned it here before, but magazines are wonderful things, especially for a mentor text based teacher. They contain, if you’re getting a variety of […]
Mentor Text: excerpt from “Who Wants to Shoot an Elephant” by Wells Tower Writing Techniques: Research writing Writing counterargument Exploring difficult issues Expanding writing Background: It is a terribly kept secret that I am a huge fan of The Best American series. These annual collections of writing litter my workspaces, and live in every corner […]
Mentor Text: 10 Inspiring,Confusing and Humorous Eulogies of the Famous via The Atlantic Writing Techniques: Specific Form Considering Audience Background: This is actually a post that should be subtitled “What I’ll Do Better Next Time” My Grade 11 students are in their final weeks of classes, and we’ve been working on MultiGenre Projects based upon research […]
Mentor Text: Women of Isis Infographic by Karishma Sheth & Thomas Alberty Writing Techniques: Editing Purpose Presentation Background: I’m a huge fan of The Best American Series. As a reader, and a teacher, I find them valuable beyond compare. There are a handful, such as poetry, non-required reading, short stories and science-fiction and fantasy, that […]
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