Mentor Texts: Excerpt from Labors of the Heart by Claire Davis Writing Techniques: Word Choice Background: In Nova Scotia, where we usually spend July, there is an amazing chain of thrift stores. They usually have an interesting selection of books, which corresponds nicely with my having more time to read. This year, I really lucked […]
Mentor Text: Jesse Newton’s Facebook post about his Roomba and dog poop Writing Techniques: Anecdotal writing Descriptive writing Humour Background: I’m originally from Nova Scotia, on the east coast of Canada. That means that there are a few things hardwired into my soul. One of these things is an appreciation for a good story. I […]
Mentor Texts: An Open Letter to Taylor Swift From a Disillusioned Fan by Ashley Devine An Open Letter to a Canadian Boy by Sher Maryn LeBay An Open Letter to Hillary Clinton’s Haters by David Hershkovits An Open Letter from Chris Sale’s Jersey to Chris Sale by Joe Schiller Open Letter website Writing Techniques: The […]
Mentor Texts: Mama’s Eyes by Justin Townes Earle Lyrics Audio (via YouTube) Chris Carrabba’s cover (via YouTube) Writing Techniques: Writing Memoir Writing Poetry Background: This is a mentor text that I’ve been sitting on for a long time. Justin Townes Earle is the son of legendary singer-songwriter Steve Earle, and a fine songwriter […]
Mentor Texts: Batman: Evolving the Legend by Kristian Williams (@kaptainkristian) (Any of the videos on his YouTube channel are awesome!) Writing Techniques: Presentation Analytical or Critical Writing Pop Culture Writing Curation of material to augment presentation Background: You’ve already reacted with a sigh or a fist pump. Another geeky one. This is another one […]
Mentor Texts: Fandom is Broken by Devin Faraci Ghostbusters, Frozen, and the strange entitlement of fan culture by Jesse Hassenger Yes, Disney Should Have A Queer Princess by Devin Faraci Fandom isn’t ‘broken’—it’s just not only for white dudes anymore by Charles Pulliam-Moore Writing Techniques: Informative or Explanatory Writing Writing Opinion Connecting texts Responding to […]
Mentor Text: An Open Letter to the Person Who Stole My iPod: Please Let Me Explain My Music Collection by Dan Ozzi (Be aware, contains some cussin’!) Writing Techniques: Reflective Writing Humour Writing about music Background: In Canada, this past weekend was a long weekend. I did my best to shut off the TeacherBrain and […]
Mentor Text: Various Poems Writing Techniques: Writing poetry Writing around a theme or topic Building a writing community Background: Though it’s no longer something that I do, I have taught Art. It’s pretty clear in my classroom, as I do a lot of work that incorporates visual elements. I love having students express their learning […]
Mentor Text: Swindle magazine Icons issues The Time 100 Issues The Time: Person of the Year Issues Tributes to Merle Haggard from Rolling Stone magazine Excerpts from Brad Meltzer’s Heroes for my Son & Heroes for my Daughter Profile of Frederick Law Olmsted from Nick Offerman’s Gumption Writing Techniques: Writing biography Focusing presentation of research […]
The beauty of Jay’s Mentor Text Wednesday posts is that they give us an instant idea — something to take back into our classrooms immediately, something to tinker with and fit to our students’ needs, and something to expand the way we think about mentor texts and the possibilities for our students’ writing. It’s easy […]
moving writers 