Diary of a Worm by Doreen Cronin is a book that tells the story of a young worm's daily life through diary entries. The worm shares his thoughts, experiences, and challenges of living underground and dealing with school, friendships, and family. The book explores what it's like to be a worm with observations about worm life, like how worms never have to take baths but also have to be careful of getting stepped on.

This is a great mentor text for the writing trait “conventions” because it perfectly models the use of proper grammar, including punctuation, spelling,  and capitalization. 

In the classroom, during read-aloud, we would point out the use of punctuation and capitalization within the writing. After, I would pull up some sentences from the book on the board without the correct grammar. As a group, we will work together to fix it.  Then, we would transition to having the students write their own little diary entries as the worm. After writing, the students will move into small groups to peer review eachothers’ passages and correct any mistakes. When complete, the students will go back to their own writing to edit and revise any mistakes they might have made.

Dog Breath: The Horrible Trouble with Hally Tosis by Dav Pilkey,  is a book about a lovable dog named Hally who has a major problem—her breath smells horrible. Hally’s family loves her, but they can't handle her bad breath, so they decide they need to give her away. However, in the end, Hally's smelly breath unexpectedly saves the day, making her a hero and showing that even flaws can be strengths.

The book is a good mentor text for the trait “idea” because of its message about accepting differences and finding value in what might seem like flaws. The story’s central idea is Hally’s breath. Her breath goes from being her biggest problem to her greatest asset. 

I would use this text as the read-aloud for a mini-lesson on “ideas”. During reading, we would pause periodically to talk about what the book is telling us about Hally so far. After reading we would discuss what the main idea of the book was and how it brought us to that conclusion. Then, we could move into small groups and come up with our own problem ideas and solutions (ex. A bird that sings to much). After coming up with ideas and solutions as a group have student move individually and write their own stories.

17 Things I’m Not Allowed to Do Anymore by Jenny Offill is a book about a young girl getting into trouble for a series of things. Throughout the book, she lists off the various things she did and how she’s not allowed to do them anymore. For example, the first page of the book states, “I had the idea to staple my brother’s hair to his pillow. I am not allowed to use the stapler anymore.” 

This book is a good mentor text for the writing trait “voice” because of its distinct perspective of the girl’s point of view and tone.

In the classroom, I would use this book as a read-aloud after introducing voice to my students. During reading, I would pause to ask how the girl seems to be feeling/ what her tone is. After reading, we’ll use the whiteboard as a group to list characteristics of tone/voice shown in the book. Then, the students get into small groups and create their own section of the book. Finally, after sharing the sections created, the students can circle back to their own writing and try to add more voice.   

Don't Take Your Snake for a Stroll by Karin Ireland is a funny book full of advice about the dos and don'ts of taking some unusual pets in public. The story uses rhyming text to describe situations where animals, like snakes, tigers, and elephants, are out of place in everyday scenarios. The main idea is that while pets are great, some animals just don't belong in places like school, stores, or the park. 

This book is a good mentor text for sentence fluency because it uses rhythmic and flowing sentences, keeps tone, and even though it has a repetitive structure shows variation in the text. 

In the classroom, after a read-aloud, I would pull a few sentences from the book. We would focus on how long or short some sentences are and how the rhythm affects how the book sounds. Afterward, we could compare and contrast sentences that seem short and choppy to some other longer descriptive sentences with more flow. As a group, we’ll take the choppy sentences and transform them. After that, students can work on sentences within their writing and then go into pairs to allow partners to check for fluency and flow and give critique when needed.

13 Words by Lemony Snicket uses thirteen carefully chosen words to build a book. The story has lots of characters, including a bird, a dog, a boy, and more. Each word plays a critical role in advancing the plot and connecting the characters.

This book is a good mentor text for word choice because it introduces different vocabulary words and it uses each word in context. For example, “Word number 5 is Busy. The bird and the dog have finished the cake, they even licked all the icing off the box. They have stacked up their dishes in the sink. “That hit the spot!” said the dog, “But now I think you better get busy.” The page goes on to state all the stuff the bird needs to get done and continues to use the word busy repeatedly.  

In the classroom, I would use this book for read-aloud when introducing word choice. After reading, we would go through the 13 words and discuss what they all mean as we add them to our word wall.  Then I would encourage students to create their own story or go back through one they’ve written and add at least one or more of our new words into their story.

Click, Clack, Moo: Cows That Type by Doreen Cronin is a book about clever cows who gain the ability to type on a typewriter. The story revolves around Farmer Brown, who is surprised when his cows start making demands by typing out notes. They want better living conditions, like electric blankets to keep warm at night. When Farmer Brown refuses, the cows go on strike, refusing to give milk. Eventually, the hens join in, demanding blankets too, and stop laying eggs.

This book is a good mentor text for organization because it has a clear sequence of events from beginning to end, smooth transitions between each page, and a focused plot. 

In the classroom, for a lesson on organization in writing, I would first talk about organization. Then read aloud this mentor text. After reading, discuss the book and what happened at the beginning, middle, and end of the book. We will then transition to graphic organizers,  as a group we will fill out the organizer mapping out the book. Next, the students would get a second graphic organizer to work out their own stories on. I’ll go around observing students and helping out when needed. We’ll come back into small groups to share our planned out stories and get feedback from our peers. And finally, after sharing work we’ll individually start writing our stories.