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1 Writers Workshop Mentor Texts with Teaching Points Personal Narrative and Realistic Fiction Grades 2-4 created by Erica Trobridge

2 Personal Narrative and Realistic Fiction Mentor Texts Grades 2-4 Mentor Text: A Birthday Basket for Tia by Pat Mora Creating a vivid setting with sensory language. Symbolic objects and Repetition of phrases I smell beans bubbling on the stove. Mama is cutting fruit pineapple, watermelon, mangoes. I sit in the backyard and watch Chica chase butterflies. I hear bees bzzzz. I put a book in the basket. When Tia comes to our house, she reads it to me. It s our favorite book. I sit close to her on the sofa. I smell her perfume. I put Tia s favorite mixing bowl on the book in the basket. Tia and I like to make bizcochos, sugary cookies for the family Rule of three Comeback lines Ending with feelings/ action. I put a flowerpot in the mixing bowl on the book in the basket. Tia and I like to grow flowers for the kitchen window. I put a teacup in the flowerpot that is in the mixing bowl on the book in the basket. When I m sick, my aunt makes me hot mint tea, hierbabuena. I put a red ball in the teacup that is in the flowerpot in the mixing bowl on the book in the basket. On warm days Tia sits outside and throws me the ball. Mama looks under the table. She looks in the refrigerator. She looks under my bed. No, I say. Not for you, silly cat. This is a birthday basket for Tia. Silly cat. Books are not for sitting. Silly cat, I say. Then the music starts and my aunt surprises me. She takes my hands in hers. Without her cane, she starts to dance with me

3 Mentor Text: Amazing Grace by Mary Hoffman Introduce the main character in the first sentence List of actions, with final action being most significant Action that shows character trait Grace was a girl who loved stories. 1 Grace went into battle as Joan of Arc [until the part where it says]...most of all Grace loved to act out adventure stories and fairy tales. But Grace kept her hand up. But Grace kept her hand up Ending with comeback line After the ballet Grace played the part of Juliet, dancing around her room with her imaginary tutu. If Grace put her mind to it, she can do anything she want Mentor Text: Whistle for Willie by Ezra Jack Keats Strong lead: Introduce the Oh, how Peter wished he could whistle! problem in the first 5 sentence Use of simile to show how something happens Quick as a wink, he hid in an empty carton lying on the sidewalk. 10 Inner dialogue and punctuation Wouldn t it be funny if I whistled? Peter thought. Willie would stop and look all around 11 Multiple attempts to solve a problem to see who it was. Peter tried to whistle, but he couldn t. Peter tried to whistle again but still he couldn t Ending with action He stood there and tried to whistle again. He blew till his cheeks were tired. But nothing happened. He looked into the mirror to practice whistling. Still no whistle! He whistled all the way there, and he whistled all the way home

4 Mentor Text: I Lost My Bear by Jules Feiffer Strong lead: Introduce the problem in the first sentence UH-OH... I can t find my bear. 4-5 Nobody will help me find my bear. So I cried. 14 Repetition of cause and And nobody stopped me. So I stopped myself. It found my lost purse. And inside my purse effect was a bunch of other things I lost. So I played with them But which stuffed animal? If I throw one of my 19 Inner dialogue(questions) favorites, what if I lose that one too? Capitalizing whole word for OH NO! MY BUNNY RABBIT! 22 emphasis/exclamation GOODBYE! GOODBYE! GOODBYE! 23 GOODBYE! GOODBYE! Ending with a question Aren t I the best detective? 40 Mentor Text: The Wednesday Surprise by Eve Bunting Beginning with an opinion I like surprises. 5 Showing how something Anna! She s hurrying, her big, cloth bag 8 happens bumping against her legs. Building suspense (Keeping information from the reader) They re all going to be so surprised on Saturday, I say. Showing a character trait with action Oh yes, the birthday, Grandma says vaguely, as if she d forgotten again... Grandma is tricky. Character s response That makes me smile. 17 Inner dialogue (questions) I hold it, imagining I can still feel the desert sun hot inside it. How long did it lie there? What kind of rock is it? 19 Showing (not telling) feelings Ending with emotion My heart s beating awfully fast as I unzip the bag and give the first book to Grandma... I squeeze Grandma s hand and she stands and begins to read. I run to her and she puts her cheek against mine. The best ever, I say

5 Mentor Text: Brave Irene by William Steig Strong lead: Introduces a character in the middle of action also Action that shows character trait Voice: Show how something is said Show not tell (with action) Action that shows character trait Character vs. nature Mrs. Bobbin, the dressmaker, was tired and had a bad headache, but she still managed to sew the last stiches in the gown she was making. But I love snow, Irene insisted. Dress warmly, pudding, her mother called in a weak voice. The wind whirled the falling snowflakes about, this way, that way, and into Irene s squinting face. She pushed out her lip and hurried on. 10 It hurried her along and made her stumble. Irene resented this; the box was problem enough. Easy does it! she cautioned the wind, leaning back hard against it. All text on these pages Inner dialogue (questions) Sentence length variation (simple and complex sentences) character vs. herself Ending: Referring back to the heart of the story Would her mother understand, she wondered, that it was the wind s fault, not hers? Would the duchess be angry? But she managed to get to her feet and start moving. It hurt. Home, where she longed to be, where she and her mother could be warm together, was far behind. Why not freeze to death, she thought, and let all these troubles end. Why not? She was already buried. And never see her mother s face again? Her good mother who smelled like fresh-baked bread? In an explosion of fury, she flung her body about to free herself and was finally able to climb up on her knees and look around....and what a brave and loving person Irene was. Which, of course, Mrs. Bobbin knew. Better than the duchess

6 Mentor Text: Mr. Lincoln s Way by Patricia Polacco Strong lead: Introduces main Mr. Lincoln was the coolest principal in the 1 character in first sentence whole world, or so his students thought. character description by (entire first page) 1 what the character does Identify problem as contrast Absolutely everybody thought so except 4 to first page Eugene Esterhause. Inner dialogue Mr. Lincoln wondered. Was it possible 7 that... dialogue + action shows You ll think of something, Eugene. I know 17 character trait you will, Mr. Lincoln said. And he put his hand on Eugene s shoulder Ending with dialogue/emotion I ll make you proud of me, Mr. Lincoln. I promise. 37 Mentor Text:

7 Thank you for downloading this product! You can find my other teaching resources here: Making Inferences Unit Reading Response Through the Year Show Don t Tell Writing Task Cards Partner Reading Unit Common Core Opinion Writing Unit Credit for the borders:

SYRACUSE CITY SCHOOL DISTRICT

SYRACUSE CITY SCHOOL DISTRICT Grade 05 Unit 01 Assessment B Grade 05 Unit 01 Reading Literature: Narrative Name Date Teacher Revised 10/22/2013 Reading Standards addressed in this unit: RL.5.1 Quote accurately