Using Mentor Texts to Teach Writing and Enhance Creativity

"Mentor text" is a buzz-word in education circles, but what does it mean? How can teachers use mentor texts effectively in the classroom to teach reading and writing?

Free PD Presentation on Using Mentor Texts

I recently had the opportunity to explore the topic of mentor texts and create a professional development presentation for my Idaho Coaching Network class. The result is "Using Mentor Texts to Enhance Creativity," and it's free to you from Christian Teacher, Public School for educational or PD use.

This presentation focuses on teaching writing using mentor texts such as "Four Eyes" by Nikki Grimes, "April Rain Song" by Langston Hughes, "Hope is the Thing with Feathers" by Emily Dickinson, and "The Rainy Day" by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow. The grade-level examples are approximately third-sixth, though the principles for using mentor texts extend lower and higher.

It's twenty-four below here in southern Idaho, and the snow is reaching record depths, but my mind turned toward spring when creating this Google Slides presentation. Hence the rainy-day, umbrellas-and-rubber boots theme. I hope you enjoy!

Know of a great strategy or resource to use with mentor texts? Have a favorite mentor text that you use in your classroom? Share in the comments!

More teacher resources:
Free Ninth Grade Vocabulary Presentation with Lots of Images to Help Kids Learn Words
Visit Brevity on Teachers Pay Teachers
Freebies from Dover Publishing

Encourage a Teacher by Sharing Christian Teacher, Public School

"And let us not be weary in well doing: for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not." Galatians 6:9

There are days when we all need a word of motivation and encouragement to keep us going. In this new year, build someone up by using the social media buttons to share this blog with a teacher in your life.

Let's pray today that God will guide and bless us

• in our personal walk with Him
• in the use of our time
• in our lesson preparations
• in our classroom management
• in our communication with colleagues, students, and parents
• in our skill as teachers
• in our continuing professional education
• in our vision for the future.

Upcoming Guest Post on Carrie Fancett Pagels's Blog for Landlocked, My New Poetry Chapbook

". . .for I have learned to be content in whatever circumstances I am." 

Philippians 4:11

I'd dearly like to be able to say the words above with Paul, but contentment is one of the greatest challenges I've faced in life. Just when I think I'm finally learning, something gets me thinking about what I want that I don't have. May God continue to teach me, and may I be willing to listen in this new year!

The struggle for contentment is prominent in my poetry. Coming up soon, I'll be celebrating the launch of my new chapbook, Landlocked, with a guest post on Carrie Fancett Pagels's blog. Carrie is a writer friend I met online through my mother, author Susan Page Davis. I'm looking forward to chatting with Carrie and her readers. Make sure to stop by and say hello!

Landlocked: Poems by Amy Ballard

Landlocked is my first poetry collection. It's about growing up in Maine and moving to Idaho, a state that is vastly different, notably by being dry and landlocked. It's about being uprooted and undergoing the difficult process of adapting to a new place. It's about learning contentment despite a very real homesickness.

This chapbook, or short collection of poems, is a project I've had on the back burner for fifteen years. Two of the poems found publication in magazines before being included in Landlocked. Others won honorable mentions in contests. Even back in 2002, when I first started thinking of creating a chapbook, I knew what its theme would be. I didn't know the motif of postcards would appear when the book finally came together! Both the first and the last poems in the collection mention postcards. In the first, a postcard makes me homesick. In the last, I savor the view of the trees lining the creek and accept that I live in a postcard-perfect place. In between are glimpses of the journey toward that sense of contentment.

You can help this book reach a wider audience by visiting my Web site, amyballard.com. Click on the "Landlocked" tab and use social media buttons to boost. Thanks for making a difference!

Stop by my Pinterest collection for Landlocked, where I've pinned some vintage postcards and other images that fit the theme of my book.

Did you know Christian Teacher, Public School is on Pinterest, too? Stop by for encouragement and blessings for the new semester!

Write for Your Health

Last year when my students were studying The Odyssey, I sat down after school one day and wrote a flash fiction story inspired by some of Odysseus's adventures. I sent it in to a contest sponsored by the San Francisco Bay Area chapter of the American Christian Fiction Writers association. When I found out this fall that my story had come in second, I was delighted. The story, "Beeves on the Barbie," is now live on the organization's Website, so stop by for a few chuckles.

Illustrated Faith Praise Book

This fall and winter have been a productive time for my freelance writing life. God has richly blessed me in allowing me a few quiet moments here and there to write for my own pleasure and with the aim of publication. Just recently, one of my submissions was accepted by a writing blog, The Artist Unleashed. My guest blog post will appear there in early March.

Freelance writing isn't lucrative for most people, especially when writing can't be their day job. But the writing life brings many intangible rewards, catharsis being an important one. I urge you to write for your own health. Maybe that would be a good New Year's resolution. Start a prayer diary, begin your memoir, write a letter, collect your Facebook notes into something longer. Writing will soothe you, help you think through problems, and preserve your precious memories.

ESV Single Column Journaling Bible, Summer Garden

Some of the gifts I gave this year reflect my love of writing. For myself and my children, I bought a wide-margin Bible from Dayspring (affiliate link). Also from Dayspring, I gave my daughter a box full of Illustrated Faith goodies and a praise book to write in. I wasn't sure if she would like them at first, since spiritual tools aren't first on every child's wish list at Christmas, but she loves them. I hope and pray that the pens, stickers, markers, and other supplies will help her learn about God's rich blessings that are just for her.

Happy New Year, and happy writing in 2017! May you teach and live in the strength of Jesus Christ.

For further reading:
10 Ways to Be a Teacher-Leader
Learning Through Writing: Choose Your Own Adventure
A Paying Opportunity for Writing About Teaching (deadline Dec. 31, 2016)