introducing mentor texts – moving writers

July 13, 2015July 8, 2015Rebekah O'Dell

Summer Mentor Text Countdown Week 6 – Mentor Texts for the First Week of School

Are you ready to start planning for the first week of school? We use mentor texts in our classes from the very first day of school. We want to lay down a strong foundation and also some strong expectations that mentor texts will be our go-to source for inspiring our work, giving us how-tos, and […]

February 2, 2015February 16, 2015Rebekah O'Dell

I’ve found some mentor texts…now what?

You’ve collected some awesome mentor texts to support your writing study. You’ve photocopied them and passed them out. Then what? How do we connect students with mentor texts in a way that will actually help them write? What are the first steps? My students have been immersed in a mentor text writing study for […]

August 25, 2014August 22, 2014Rebekah O'Dell

Introducing Mentor Texts & Introducing Ourselves

In my classroom, the school year typically comes on like gangbusters. I begin fast and furious as a sort of illusion — more for my benefit than for the students. It’s as though I feel that the faster I tread the beginning-of-school water, the less I’ll feel like I’m drowning. This year has been very different. […]