as part of explicit or supportive instruction/guided practice of a skill or concept
when conferring with students to give examples
to model speaking, reading, and writing strategies, processes and skills, showing the reciprocity amongst the language processes (read alouds, write alouds, think alouds) when students are practising a skill or concept
to inspire students’ writing and representing
to support the research process to answer inquiry questions
to provide students with exemplars of assessments
to demonstrate aspects of the craft of writing
to engage students to use their full linguistic and cultural potential
to engage students with an anchor text in relation to a central inquiry question or theme
to engage students in critical discussion about literature and author’s choices
The Bias Evaluation Instrument, Know the Signals: A Guide for Selecting Learning Resources that Value Black Students' Lives, and Guidance for Selecting Short Term Learning Resources are used to support the selection of texts.
carefully select a text(s) that:
relates to the central or inquiry question
demonstrates the skill, concept or genre that you will explicitly teach
reflects students’ interests, needs and lived experiences
Sharing their interest and passion for a text
Demonstrating through the text the skill, process, or strategy that is being explicitly taught
Providing opportunities for students to discuss and ask questions during supportive instruction/guided practice
Referring back to mentor texts while conferring with students, working with small groups, and giving feedback
Using multiple mentor texts as examples of a technique or strategy, particularly if students need further instruction or inspiration
Highlighting important or unfamiliar vocabulary
Discussing author’s craft and its relation to purpose and audience
Participating in the explicit instruction
Discussing and reflecting on the mentor text and how they can apply the concepts and strategies modeled by the text and the teacher during supportive instruction and collaboration
Connecting the mentor text to their central or inquiry question
Finding inspiration to apply to their own speaking, reading, writing and representing
Suggesting mentor texts for use
Using their full cultural and linguistic potential
For EAL/FAL students, this may mean that texts are included in their home language(s)
Through observations, conversations and products consider whether students have transferred strategies modelled in the mentor text to their own reading and writing
Consider whether the use of mentor texts have expanded students’ own text selection
Prepare next steps for instruction based on assessment of students' understanding of concepts and skills taught
Teacher Support Document
Some mentor texts can contain sensitive subject matter, ideas, or language. These texts provide important opportunities for students to engage in meaningful learning, but may need to be approached in a particular way. This document is meant to provide some guidance for teachers in selecting and teaching controversial texts
According to the research,
Students experience increased achievement when mentor texts:
● expose them to a wide range of texts (poetry, narrative, information, digital, visual, texts from different cultural backgrounds, etc.)
● engage them and connect to their lived experience. This is of particular importance for students from historically marginalized groups
● provide a balance of narrative, informational, visual, and poetic texts
● are in a variety of formats, including digital
Students need to:
● receive explicit instruction in reading comprehension strategies using mentor texts
● read exemplar texts that familiarize them with important features of writing which they can emulate
● develop strategies to read digital text. Research shows students devote less time to reading onscreen and have lower comprehension scores of digital texts and so must be taught how to navigate images, videos, and digital texts
To print Use of Mentor Texts, click here.