Mentor Texts for Process, genre and craft

by Laurie Stowell

San Marcos Writing ProjectCal State San Marcoslstowell@csusm.edu

“Originality is nothing but judicious imitation. The most original writers

borrow from one another. The instruction we find is like fire. We

fetch it from our neighbors, kindle it at home, communicate it to others and it

becomes the property of all.”-Voltaire

  “Bees ransack flowers here and flowers there; but they make their own honey, which is entirely theirs and no longer

thyme or marjoram. Similarly the boy will transform his borrowing, he will confound their forms so that the end-

product is entirely his…” -Michel de Montaigne

Integrating the teaching of reading and writing:

Process, genre and craft.

Reading and writing processes:Readers and writers:

Prepare by: Setting goals, setting purposes, planning, previewing,

questioning, forming hypotheses, engaging prior knowledge and experiences, establishing a stance, perspective and making choices

Make Meaning by:Using resources, making connections (to self, other

texts, the world), identifying patterns or organizational structures, selecting details, reflecting, organizing ideas, adjusting rate, rereading, visualizing, summarizing, elaborating, discussing, taking risks, and validating predictions or hypotheses.

Refine by: Monitoring for meaning, revising ideas, negotiating,

problem solving, reflecting, paraphrasing, self correcting, making adjustments and sharing and discussing with others.

Correlational research on reading and writing Those who read well also write well and those who

read poorly also write poorly. The best consistent predictors of writing quality were reading ability and language scores. This was true across grade levels.

Numerous studies repeatedly indicate that reading experiences (how much and how often) definitely contribute to writing performance.

Good writers engage in more leisure time reading than poor readers

Poor writers tended to have less reading experience Good writers in grades 9 and 12 did more voluntary

reading than poor writers and also tended to be female Superior writers in grade 12 had more extensive

reading experiences than average writers In young children it was found that the use of

compound and complex sentences increased as the level of reading comprehension increased. There is also a significant correlation between sentence maturity and reading achievement.

The type and amount of reading to which writers are exposed may influence their choice of topic, genre, writing style, and vocabulary, as well as affecting the values they hold regarding writing and heightening their understanding of the author's craft.

Reading and writing relationship In young children it was found that the use of compound and complex sentences increased as the level of reading comprehension increased. There is also a significant correlation between sentence maturity and reading achievement.

The type and amount of reading to which writers are exposed may influence their choice of topic, genre, writing style, and vocabulary, as well as affecting the values they hold regarding writing and heightening their understanding of the author's craft.

Literature vs. basal readers DeFord's studies (among others) found that

students in a literature based classroom (as opposed to a basal reader class) had a higher percentage of well formed stories, tended to write about classroom experiences (while others wrote about personal or family related topics) and produced a wider variety of literary forms. Children who use basal reader series that had stilted language and format tended to produce writing that was also stilted in language and format.

Three studies show that additional reading may be as good as, or better than grammar study in improving writing. Students who studied only literature wrote better compositions than students who studied only formal, traditional grammar. However there are some studies that refute some of this. Nothing in isolation is that good. The point is to amass a wide repertoire of strategies to draw on.

What writing does:

“Watching, noticing and thinking deeply will help them be better writers but it will also help them be

better scientists, sociologists, historians, mathematicians, and on and on. Watching, noticing

and listening-reading the world is what smart people do. All of the work teachers have been

doing with writer’s notebooks and lifebooks and journals is in support of this goal. Over time, we want students to develop more and more ways of

finding important ideas to bring to their writing desks.”

- Ray, K.W. (2001) The writing workshop: working through the hard parts (and they’re all hard parts).

How books teach writers:

* Explicitly*the book tells what writers do

*”Copying”

* Implicitly

*Borrowing and Improvising:

the language of literature, language patterns, literary format, traditional literary elements, i.e. characterization, plot, setting, tone, theme and style.

*Mentor texts (Calkins)

Explicit borrowing

I loved my friend I like my friend

He went away from me But she went away

There’s nothing more to say There’s nothing to say.

The poem ends the poem ends

Soft as it began soft as it began

I loved my friend I like my friend.

-Langston Hughes - Gabby (3rd grade)

Fortunately/Unfortunately(based on the book by Remy Charlip)

Once there was a new kid going to school

Unfortunately he was lost.

Fortunately, a friend showed him where to go.

Fortunately he found a map

Unfortunately, it was the wrong state.

Fortunately, he got on a bus.

Unfortunately, the bus broke down.

Fortunately, it was across the street from the school.

…

by Steve, a 6th grade English learner

Implicit borrowingWhen children’s lives are filled with literature and good writing, one

never knows from where they will borrow and what will become

mentor texts:

“In this the darkest night, in this the darkest sea,After coral was born, there came the mud-digging grub,

and its child, the earth worm.There came the pointed star-fish, and the rock-grasping barnacle,

and its child the oysterand its child, the mussel.

There came the moss which lives in the sea,And the fern which grows on the learn.In this the darkest nightThere came the fish,and all the creatures of the sea.There came the lurking shark and the darting eel,

moving quickly through the high weeds.”

In the night still dark by Richard Lewis

Deanna’s “Creatures of the Night”As the night falls, a young fox runs from the cold into his warm den. A mother bat soars out of her cave on her nightly rounds of searching for food for her babies. A bright light attracts a lonely moth flying by. A frog lets out a soft croak before it dives into the ink colored pond. An owl perches above on a high branch scanning the grounds for her prey. A rat pokes his head out of the ground revealing his bright red eyes and down below on the river bottom, fish swim, swim, swim until morning comes into view. In the distance a coyote lets out a sharp and piercing howl. An opossum lurks behind a soft green bush, looking for trouble. And into this night, unknown to all the animals, the wolf stalks the forest waiting for the right moment to devour the unsuspecting.

Which animal will be his next victim? A strong burst of wind rustles the leaves on the trees and startles a sleeping bird. Hours pass and slowly the sun begins to appear from beneath the horizon. And for the night creatures who have escaped the wolves clenching jar, another day dawns.

Elements of narrative:

* Character

* Setting

* Plot

* Tone

* Language

* Theme

Teaching writing explicitly with a book

1. Introduce the book

2. Give a focus for listening (descriptive language, character, plot development, etc.)

3. Read the book or part of a book (If students are not familiar with the book, give a brief summary beforehand)

4. Students take notes in writer’s notebooks.

5. Discuss: What did you notice?

6. Record their responses on chart or overhead

Elements of narrative:

Character

There’s a boy in the girl’s bathroom by Louis Sachar

Bradley Chalkers sat at his desk in the back of the room-last seat, last row. No one sat at the desk next to him. He was an island.

If he could have, he would have sat in the closet. Then he could have shut the door so he wouldn’t have to listen to Mrs. Ebbel. He didn’t think she’d mind. She’d probably like it better that way too. So would the rest of the class. All in all, he thought everyone would be much happier if he sat in the closet, but, unfortunately, his desk didn’t fit.

“Class,” said Mrs. Ebbel. “I would like you all to meet Jeff Fishkin. Jeff just moved here from Washington D.C., which as you know, is our nation’s capital.”…

Mrs. Ebbel smiled at him. “Well, I guess we’d better find you a place to sit.” She looked around the room. “Hmmm, I don’t see anyplace except, I suppose you can sit there, at the back.”

“No, not next to Bradely!” a girl in the front row exclaimed.“At least it’s better than in front of Bradley,” said the boy next to her….“That’s right,” Bradley spoke up. “Nobody likes sitting next to me!” he smiled a strange

smile. He stretched his mouth so wide, it was hard to tell whether it was a smile or a frown.As Mrs. Ebbel began the lesson, Bradley took out a pencil and a piece of paper and scribbled.

He scribbled most of the morning and sometimes on the paper and sometimes on his desk. Sometimes he scribbled so hard his pencil broke. Every time that happened, he laughed. (p. 1-2)

What do we know about Bradley and how do we know it?

*The teacher doesn’t like him

*Few (if any) students like him

*Troublemaker

*Teacher apologizes for seating a child next to him. He sits in the last seat, last row

*No one wants to sit next to him

*Scribbles on desk, seemingly not paying attention

How does the reader learn about character?

•Description: physical, emotional or mental

•Interior monologue: character expresses thoughts, feelings, fears, etc.

•Observed by others: other characters observe (and may comment on) behaviors, mental state, etc.

•Actions

•How the character interacts or responds to others

Stories with fully developed main characters:Jesse Autobiography of my dead brother by W.D.

Myers

Bud Bud, not buddy by P. C. Curtis

Birdy Catherine called Birdy by K. Cushman

Lucy The ballad of Lucy Whipple by K. Cushman

Little Willy Stone Fox by J. Gardiner

Holden Catcher in the Rye by J. D. Salinger

Steve Monster by W. D. Myers

Sarah Sarah plain and tall by P. MacLachlan

Esperanza Esperanza Rising by Pam Munoz Ryan

Junior The absolutely true diary of a part time Indian

T.J. Jones Whale Talk by C. Crutcher

Maniac Maniac McGee by J. Spinelli

Cassie Roll of thunder hear my cry by M. Taylor

Moon Shadow Dragonwings by L. Yep

What stories and books in your reading curriculum could be used

as models for strong character development?

Elements of narrative

Setting

Owl Moon by Jane Yolen

It was late one winter night, long past my bedtime, when Pa and I went owling. There was no wind. The trees stood still as giant statues. And the moon was so bright the sky seemed to shine. Somewhere behind us a train whistle blew, long and low, like a sad, sad song.

I cold hear it through the woolen cap Pa had pulled down over my ears. A farm dog answered the train, and then a second dog joined in. They sang out, trains and dogs, for a real long time. And when their voices faded away it was as quiet as a dream. We walked on toward the woods, Pa and I.

Our feet crunched over the crisp snow and little gray footprints followed us. Pa made a long shadow, but mine was short and round. I had to run after him every now and then to keep up, and my short, round shadow bumped after me.

But I never called out. If you go owling you have to be quiet, that’s what Pa always says.

Twilight by Stephanie Meyer“The constant whooshing of the rain and wind

across the roof wouldn’t fade into the background. I pulled the faded old quilt over my head and later added the pillow too. But I couldn’t fall asleep until after midnight, when the rain finally settled into a quieter drizzle.

Thick fog was all I could see out my window in the morning and I could feel the claustrophobia creeping up on me. You could never see the sky here, it was like a cage.” (p. 11)

How do we learn about setting?

*Description of what a place looks like

* Description through the other senses

*What characters tell the reader

* Focus on smaller details to build a bigger picture

*Description of a feeling that a time or place give a reader

Try this:

Think of a place (or a time and place in your past) you like to go for a visit,

vacation, occasionally to have a moment to yourself or daily. Using one of the techniques the authors mentioned

use, describe that place by using the senses, building it from small details, the feeling the place gives you or a

combination of techniques. If it helps to sketch it out first, try that.

Stories with integral settings:* Tuck Everlasting by Natalie Babbit

*City of Ember by Jeanne DuPrau

*Julie of the Wolves by Jean Craighead George

*From the mixed up files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler by E.L. Konigsburg

*The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald

*To kill a mockingbird by Harper Lee

* Twilight by Stephanie Meyer

*The invention of Hugo Cabret by Brian Selznik

*Hatchet by Gary Paulsen

*Bridge to Terebithia by Katherine Paterson

*Tiger Rising by Kate DiCamillo

* Tar Beach by Faith Ringgold

What stories and books in your reading curriculum have strong settings that could be used as

models?

Effective Leads*Typical (It was a day at the end of July.)

* Action

* Dialogue

*Interior monologue

*A surprise

* Reaction

*Drop reader into middle of story and go back later to tell beginning.

Wringer by Jerry SpinelliHe did not not want to be a wringer.

This was one of the first things he had learned about himself. He could not have said exactly when he learned it, but it was very early. And more than early, it was deep inside. N the stomach, like hunger. But different from hunger, different and worse. Because it was always there. Hunger came only sometimes, such as just before dinner or on long rides in the car. Then, quickly, it was gone the moment it was fed. But this thing, there was no way to feed it. Well, one way perhaps, but that was unthinkable. So it was never gone.

In fact, gone was something it could not be, for he could not escape it any more than he could escape himself. The best he could do was forget it. Sometimes he did so, for minutes, hours, maybe even for a day or two.

But this thing did not like to be forgotten. Like air escaping a punctured tire, it would spread out from his stomach and be everywhere. Inside and outside, up and down, day and night, just beyond the foot of his bed, in his sock drawer, on the porch steps, at the edges of the lips of other boys, in the sudden flutter from a bush that he ad come too close to.

Everywhere.

This thing, this not wanting to be a wringer, did it ever knock him from his bike? Untie his sneaker lace? Call him a name? Stand up and fight?

No. It did nothing. It was simply, merely there, a whisper of featherwings, reminding him of the moment he dreaded above all others, the moment when the not wanting to be a wringer wold turn into becoming one. (p. 3-4)

Seven Brave Women by Betsy Hearne

In the old days, history marked time by the wars that men fought. The United States began with the Revolutionary War. Then there was the War of 1812, the Civil War, the Spanish American War, the First World War, the Second World War, the Korean War and the Vietnam War. But there are other ways to tell time. My mother does not believe that wars should be fought at all. She says history should be her story too, and she tells stories about all the women in our family who made history by not fighting in wars.

What stories and novels in your reading curriculum have good

leads. How about effective endings?

Word Choice

Guess who my favorite person isby Byrd Baylor

She said, “Tell your favorite color.”

I said, “Blue.”

But she said, “See you’ve already done it wrong. In this game you can’t just say it’s blue. You have to say what kind of blue.”

So I said, “All right. You know the blue on a lizard’s belly? That sudden kind of blue you see just for a second sometime-so blue that afterwards you always think you made it up?”

“Sure,” she said. “I know that kind of blue.”

Then she told me hers and it was brown. Maybe I looked surprised because she said, “Not many people appreciate brown but I don’t care. I do. And the one I like best is a dark reddish brown that’s good for mountains and for rocks. You see it in steep cliffs a lot.”

Then we chose our favorite sounds. She said hers was bees

but not just one or two. She said it takes about a thousand bees buzzing in all the fields around to make the kind of loud bee sound she likes.

Hello Oceanby Pam Munoz Ryan

I see the ocean, gray, green, blue

A chameleon always changing hue.

Amber seaweed, speckled sand,

Bubbly waves that kiss the land,

Wide open water before my eyes,

Reflected in a bowl of skies,

Glistening tide pools and secret nooks-

I love the way the ocean looks.

I smell the ocean, the fresh salt wind,wafting lotions from suntanned skin.Aromas from some ancient taledisclose their news when I inhale.Reeky fish from waters deep,fragrant ore from holes dug steep.Drying kelp and musty shells-I love the way the ocean smells.

Breaking Dawn by Stephanie Meyer

A new vampirepages 387-389

415-417

Simile and Metaphor* Quick as a cricket by Don and Audrey

Wood* “Cliché” by Eve Merriam*Hailstones and Halibut Bones by Mary

O’Neill* “Morning” by Eve Merriam*My side of the mountain by Jean

Craighead George*Bridge to Terebithia by Katherine

Paterson

Graham’s story:On an early Saturday morning, my darn alarm clock came on. The loud noise was singing “Sugar and Spice and all things nice”. My sister turned the volume up on my radio. The noise sounded like a bulldozer going through the house. I woke up very slowly and walked like a turtle to the restroom. To wake me up, I turned the faucet on and the ice cold water gushed out into the sink. I stuck my hands under the cold water. My hands started to tingle. Shivering goosebumps went up and down my spine as fast as a running rabbit. I took the water and put it on my face. My eyes were as hard to open as a stuck locker. Then all the computers turned on in my brain. It’s like little mice saying, “Mission Control, come in Mission Control, Mission control, come in. All systems are going.” I walked like a human being for once to my room. My teeth were chattering together, just like a beaver chewing a tree down.

Worst analogies ever written in high school• The little boat gently drifted across the pond exactly the

way a bowling ball wouldn't.• Her hair glistened in the rain like nose hair after a sneeze.• Her eyes were like two brown circles with big black dots

in the center.• He was as tall as a six-foot-three-inch tree• The politician was gone but unnoticed, like the period

after the Dr. on a Dr Pepper can.• John and Mary had never met. They were like two

hummingbirds who had also never met.

• The lamp just sat there, like an inanimate object.• His thoughts tumbled in his head, making and

breaking alliances like underpants in a dryer without Cling Free.

• Her vocabulary was as bad as, like, whatever.• The revelation that his marriage of 30 years had

disintegrated because of his wife’s infidelity came as a rude shock, like a surcharge at a formerly surcharge-free ATM.

Try one of these: “I remember” by Edward Montezfrom The Martian Chronicles by

Ray Bradbury“My wicked, wicked ways” by

Sandra Cisneros

.

What books, stories, poems and other texts in your reading curriculum are

good examples of effective word choice: specific, sensory, appropriate,

etc.?

Sentence Fluency

“I have a dream” .“I have a dream that one day on the red hills of

Georgia, sons of former slaves and former slave-owners will be able to sit down together at the table of brotherhood.

I have a dream that one day the state of Mississippi, a state sweltering with the heat of injustice , sweltering with the heat of oppression, will be transformed into an oasis of freedom and justice.

I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their character. I have a dream today!”

There is a fifth dimension beyond that which is known to man. It is a

dimension as vast as space and as timeless as infinity. It is the middle ground between light and shadow,

between science and superstition, and it lies between the pit of man’s fears and the summit of his knowledge. This is the dimension of imagination. It is an

area we call...

THE TWILIGHT ZONE

Voice Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson Voices in the park by Anthony Browne Once upon a cool motorcycle dude by Kevin O’Malley Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger Bull Run and Seedfolks by P. Fleishman Out of the Dust and Witness by K. Hesse Monster by Walter Dean Myers True Believer by Virginia Euwer Wolff The true story of the three pigs , Math Curse, Squids will

be squids by Jon Scheizka and Lane Smith The Amulet of Samarkand by Jonathan Stroud Joyful Noises by Paul Fleishman

The Amulet of Samarkand

“I hate the taste of mud. It is no fit thing for a being of air and fire. The cloying weight of earth oppresses me greatly whenever I come in contact with it. That is why I am choosy about my incarnations. Birds, good. Insects, good. Bats, okay. Things that run fast are fine. Tree dwellers are even better. Subterranean things, not good. Moles, bad.” (Bartimaeus p. 12)

Bird by bird by Annie Lamott“…Life is lukewarm enough! Give us a little heat. If I’m going to read about a bunch of people who drive Volkswagons and seem to have Volkswagon sized problems and the writer shows them driving around on top of the ice, I want a sense that there’s a lot of very, very cold water down below. I eventually want for someone to crash through. I want people who write to crash or dive below the surface, where life is cold and confusing and hard to see. I want writers to plunge through the holes…In those holes exists all sorts of possibility including the chance to see who we are and to glimpse the mystery.” (p. 197)

What are the qualities of voice?• Point of view• Humor• Use of dialect, regional speech, slang, etc.• Conversational tone: speak directly to the reader• Surprise• Playfulness• Expertise• Passion• Appropriate to audience

What other books do you use that are good examples of voice?

Elements of informational writing

How do writers make informational texts interesting to

read?

Tell stories in the essay

*America’s Best Science writing 2009

(Nurse’s story)• “My turn” in Newsweek• This I believe• The danger of a single story

Hottest, coldest, highest, deepestby Steve Jenkins

“The hottest spot on the planet is Al Aziziyah, Libya, in the Sahara, where a temperature of over 136 degrees has been recorded. Your body temperature is 98.6 F., room temperature is usually 68 F. and water freezes at 32 F. “

He compares new information to things that are familiar.

Lincoln: A photobiographyby Russell Freedman

The morning he died, Lincoln had in his pocket a pair of small spectacles folded into a silver case; a small velvet eyeglass cleaner: a large linen handkerchief with A. Lincoln stitched in red; an ivory pocketknife trimmed with silver; and a brown leather wallet lined with purple silk. The wallet contained a Confederate five dollar bill bearing the likeness of Jefferson Davis and the clippings praised him. As president, he had been denounced, ridiculed, and damned by a legion of critics. When he saw an article that complimented him, he often kept it.

Freedman chose interesting bits of information that made Lincoln human

Through my eyes by Ruby Bridges

When I was six years old, the civil rights movement came knocking at the door. It was 1960, and history pushed in and swept me up in a whirlwind. At the time, I knew little about the racial fears and hatred in Louisiana, where I was growing up. Young children never know about racism at the start. It’s we adults who teach it.

She tells about history from a first person or personal perspective.

Eleanor Roosevelt by Russell FreedmanEleanor Roosevelt never wanted to be a president’s wife. When her husband Franklin won his campaign for the presidency in 1932, she felt deeply troubled. She dreaded the prospect of living in the White House.

Proud of her accomplishments as a teacher, a writer, and a political power in her own right, she feared that she would have to give up her hard-won independence in Washington. As First Lady, she would have no life of her own. Like other presidential wives before her, she would be assigned the traditional role of official White House hostess, with little to do but greet guests at receptions and preside ver formal state dinners.

The author gives the reader some (perhaps) surprising information.

Shipwreck at the bottom of the worldby Jennifer Armstrong

Just imagine yourself in the most hostile place on earth. It’s not the Sahara or the Gobi Desert. It’s not the Arctic. The most hostile place on earth is the Antarctic, the location of

the South Pole. North Pole, South Pole-what’s the difference? The Arctic is mostly water-with ice on top,of

course- and that ice is never more than a few feet thick. But under the South Pole lies a contintent that supports glaciers

up to two miles in depth. Almost the entire southernern continent is covered by ice.

Just imagine: put yourself there.

Elements of persuasive writing:

*Written for a specific audience

*Strong thesis statement

*Uses facts to support opinion

*Refutes counter arguments

*Strong conclusion

Red is best by Kathy Stinson

*Written for a specific audience

*Strong thesis statement

*Uses facts to support opinion

*Refutes counter arguments

*Strong conclusion

*Mom

*Red is best

*I like my red stockings,red jacket, red boots, etc.

*My mom says, “Wear these. Your white stockings look good with that

dress.” But I can jump higher in my red stockings.

*Red is best

Earrings by Judith Viorst*Written for a specific audience

*Strong thesis statement

*Uses facts to support opinion

*Refutes counter arguments

*Strong conclusion

* Mom and Dad

*”I want them. I need them. I love them. I’ve got to have them.”

*”Teachers and lady dentists have them. Mothers and even grandmothers have them.”

*”They say I’m too young.”

“I’m not too young. I’m actually mature for my age. I clear plates after dinner. I take a shower without being told.”

*I want my ears pierced NOW- not when I’m 20, 40, 80 or 100 years old.

Don’t let the pigeon drive the bus by Mo Willems

Types of persuasion

*Asking Politely “Hey, Can I drive the Bus? Please.”

*Giving A Reason “I’ll be careful.”

*Compromise “I’ll tell you what, I’ll just steer.”

*Referring to others who are supposedly similar (ex. My brother) “My cousin Herb drives a buss almost every day.”

*Pretending to do desired task “PIGEON AT THE WHEEL.” 

*Whining “I never get to do anything.” “No fair.” “I have dreams you know!”

*Pleading “C’mon! Just once around the block?”

*Trickery “Hey I have an idea. Let’s play “Drive the Bus.”

*Bargaining “I’ll be your best friend?” “How bout I give you five bucks?” “What’s the big deal?” “It’s just a bus!!!”

*Referring to others in authority “I bet your mom would let me.”

*Pleading for sympathy “I have dreams you know.”

*Bullying “LET ME DRIVE THE BUS!”

Aspects of writing process

How does a writer get ideas?“If you were a writer you would search for

ideas,” mother said. “ideas are everywhere. The more you look for ideas, the more you will find.”

“Is the idea the story?”

“No the idea is just the beginning of the story. If you were a writer you would let ideas bounce in your brain while you watched them grow and turned them over to see the other sides, and poked them and pushed them and pinched off parts of them, and made them go the way you wanted them to go.”

If you were a writer by Jean Lowery Nixon

When I write nonfiction, I always choose subjects I’ve always been curious about: evolution, how cuts and bruises heal, how a chick grows inside an egg... Occasionally, I get an idea for a new book from one I wrote before. For example, when I was

working on A fish hatches, I was fascinated to learn how a fish is adapted for swimming and breathing underwater. This gave me the idea for a series about animals’ bodies. The first book was A frog’s body…Sometimes a book comes out of a very personal experience I’ve had. I wrote How you were born for our daughter Rachel, when she was 4 years old.

On the bus with Joanna Cole by Joanna Cole with Wendy Saul

Nothing ever happens on 90th Streetby Roni Schotter

Here are some helpful hints Eva receives from her neighbors:

*The actor, Mr. Sims suggests “Watch the stage carefully, observe the players carefully and don’t neglect the details.”

*The baker, Mr. Morley, says, “Try to find the poetry in your pudding…There’s always a new way with old words.”

*Th ballerina, Alexis, tells Eva to “use her imagination…stetch the truth…ask what if?”

*Mrs. Martinez suggests Eva “Add a little action…A little of this. A little of that. And don’t’ forget the spice. Mix it. Stir it. Make something happen. Surprise yourself!”

The Circus Surpriseby

Ralph Fletcher

The Fruit Bowl Project by Sarah DurkeeWriting is like painting a bowl of fruit. We all

see the same bowl of fruit, but paint it in different ways. Eighth grade students are

challenged to each write a piece based on only seven simple elements: school, sixth grade, a reading test, a dropped pencil, an angry girl,

lunch, and milk out the nose. The book contains 50 student projects ranging from rap to haiku,

monologue, fairy tales, a screen play, etc.

RevisionAll the long way to school,And all the way back,

I’ve looked and I’ve looked, And I’ve kept careful track,

But All that I noticed, Except my own feet,

Was a horse and a wagon, On Mulberry Street.

That’s nothing to tell of, That won’t do of course…

Just a broken down wagon, That’s drawn by a horse.

That can’t be my story. That’s only a start.

I’ll say that a zebra was pulling that cart!

And that is a story that no one can beat,

When I say that I saw it on Mulberry Street.

And to think that I saw it on Mulberry Street

By Dr. Seuss

Author Studies

Features of Betsy Byars books:1. Never an intact family2. Page turner – reads fast – good pacing3. Use of metaphor and simile4. Kid characters are realistic5. Kids always clearly face a problem 6. Kids usually have to figure it out or face it themselves7. Good primary character development (secondary characters

not so good)8. Usually a helping or caring adult

When YOU get to know author’s work well, you can refer students to them when they need specific help:

How does Betsy Byars keep us interested? How does she keep the story moving and tell all the important parts?

How to choose authors for author studies:

* Author has several books available: in print and/or in the library

*Author has several books in the same genre

*Books that are age appropriate and engage readers emotionally and/or intellectually (Books the students will read!)

*Books that evoke a range of responses

*Books that connect to students’ lives

*Books with memorable language

* Author has distinctive identifiable features to his or her writing like Van Allsburg’s surprise endings, Henkes’ characters, Paterson’s language

*Autobiographical and/or biographical information available about the author

*Select quality literature: a void series books or books with formulaic plots and shallow characters. What do you want writers to reach toward?

What authors make good author studies?A few suggestions:

*Gail Gibbons *Kevin Henkes*Eric Carle *Eve Bunting*Chris Van Allsburg *Steve Jenkins*Patricia Polacco *Cynthia Rylant*Paul Goble *Jane Yolen*Betsy Byars *Cynthia Voight*Katherine Paterson *Chris Crutcher*Walter Dean Meyers *Avi*Lawrence Yep *Gary Paulsen* Pam Munoz Ryan

When the main character is an author:Cleary, B. Dear Mr. HenshawAmato, M. Please write in this bookFitzhugh, L. Harriet the SpyGantos, J. Jack’s black book

___________. Hole in my lifeWoodson, J. LocomotionMyers, W. D. Bad boyGrimes, N. Jazmine’s NotebookKallok, E. Gem (12 year old author- published book)Lipsyte, R. Summer RulesLittle, J. Hey world, here I amLowry, L. Anastasia KrupnickDurkee, S. The fruit bowl projectMoss, M. Amelia’s Notebook (There are several Amelia books)_________Rachel’s journey, Emma’s journal and Hannah’s Journal (historical journals)Baskin, J., et al. The notebook girls: Four friends, one diary.Warren, F. Post Secret

Evaluation

Basho and the Fox

By Tim Myers

The End