Welcome to Teach Mentor Texts, a blog that focuses on sharing books that can be used to promote all areas of literacy! I'm Jen and I started this blog in 2010 when I realized I read so many books that I need to devote an entire blog to sharing great books I find.
Teaching with mentor texts has become the center of my teaching philosophy. Since 2009, when I worked on all the requirements for National Boards certification in early and middle childhood literacy, I have been reading voraciously about best practices in reading and writing. I have learned so much from the professional books I have been reading since then.
Teaching with mentor texts has become the center of my teaching philosophy. Since 2009, when I worked on all the requirements for National Boards certification in early and middle childhood literacy, I have been reading voraciously about best practices in reading and writing. I have learned so much from the professional books I have been reading since then.
When I started teaching I relied on worksheets and workbooks to practice reading and writing with my students. Now, I incorporate authentic mentor texts. All the books I have read and all the research shows that the kids who read more are the kids who do better on reading tests. I got to thinking about my life as a reader. I want all my students to grow up and be lifelong readers just like me...well, do I read worksheets? Do I fill out reading logs after I finish a chapter or 20 minutes of reading? Do I read a book that is way to hard for me or that doesn't interest me at all? Of course not. I started thinking about what I do do as a reader now and what I want my students to get from reading.
I always have a book with me and can read anywhere at any time for 3 minutes or 3 hours. I listen to books on CD when I'm in the car. I like to find books I can relate to somehow or that I'm in the mood for. I choose books that are fun to read, not books about advanced calculus or astrophysics or biometrics. I love to talk to my friends and family about books. I am in a book club where I meet up with my friends in fun restaurants to talk about a book we have all read. How could I share this love of reading with my students?
My focus became choosing mentor texts that would be the basis of my lessons. Now, with each book that I read, I am thinking about what reading strategies I would model or think-aloud for students, what vocabulary I would pull out to work on, and what writing elements I could ask my students to emulate. My goal is for students to interact with a text and use it to further their literacy skills.
This blog is devoted to sharing all the mentor texts I have come across and to help teachers easily locate a specific text that will target what their students need. I encourage you to come back and see new books I have added as well as to comment about how a book worked for you with your students!
Parents, I also welcome you to my blog! Reading with your children is absolutely imperative in helping them succeed an all areas of literacy. Please use my blog as a resource based on your child's needs.
You may see me refer to reading a book with Peanut, that's my oldest son. He is 4 years old and loves Toy Story, Crazy Bones, and Legos. He currently wants to read all the Star Wars early readers he can find at the library. We learning about Jedis and the powers of the force! We've been reading with the baby, too - although I need to stop calling him the baby! Little Bean just turned one and is walking all over the place now. He's loving all the board books with animals. We crack each other up making elephant sounds.
Kellee also here at Teach Mentor Texts. Kellee and I met on Twitter when we found out we both loved to read The Baby-sitter's Club when we were younger. Here's more about Kellee:
I have always been a reader. When I was younger, my mom made the mistake of telling me that she would always buy me any book I asked for- it is a wonder she isn’t broke, because I sure took advantage of that promise! My favorite childhood authors were Dr. Seuss, Carolyn Haywood, Roald Dahl, Beverly Cleary and Ann M. Martin. I also loved to read Peanuts, Garfield, and Archie comics.
Now I read over 100 books a year. I mostly read juvenile, middle grade or young adult though I throw in some professional books and a few adult books throughout the year. I have a book with me at all times including in the car where I listen to audio books. Now, my favorite YA book is The Giver and my favorite adult book is The Sun Also Rises.
I never ceased loving reading and even went on to get my Bachelors in Literature. After my undergraduate degree, I had to decide how to share my love of reading and decided that teaching was the perfect occupation (and my mom & sister said “I told you so!” since they’d always said I’d be a teacher). I went on to get my Masters in Elementary Education with an ESOL endorsement and a reading certificate.
I have been fortunate enough to teach middle school for the last 5 years. I taught 6th grade ELA (English Language Arts) for 3 years, 7th grade ELA for 2 years and am now teaching intensive reading to 6th and 7th graders. I have built up my classroom library to over 200 middle grade and young adult titles (thank goodness I have an understanding husband! Love you Jim!). My goal as a teacher is to help each student find the lifelong love of reading that I have been lucky enough to have. As a teacher now, though, I’ve had to refocus how I read each book- not just for fun, but also as a possible addition to my classroom. I was lucky enough to have Jen offer to let me contribute to her blog regularly so I can share with others the great books and resources I find!
Please address any questions or comments to Jen@teachmentortexts.com or kellee.moye@gmail.com
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