Description:

Nick Allen’s plan to obstruct Mrs. Granger’s lesson backfires when she instead assigns him to write an essay on the origin of each word in the dictionary. While researching he discovers not only that word’s meaning is determined by regular people but he also finds a cold pen on the street that he names “Frindle”. It doesn’t take long for the whole school to start using the word “Frindle” especially when Mrs. Granger outlaws the word and sends anyone who uses the word to detention. Soon the whole country is using the word and Nick realizes the power words have.

Connection to Genre:

This book takes place at a school and fifth grade class much like the one students who read it attend every day. Realistic fiction creates a fictional story in a real place with fictional characters acting like real people. This story feels real because because of all the connection to real experiences students have. 

Use in Classroom:

As a mentor text, this would be useful when having students create a fictional story set in a place they already know. Maybe we would write a story about a fake student in our classroom, or they could brainstorm about other places where they could create their own narrative. Or we could create fake words of our own and give them definitions and write stories about the word.

Description: 

This is the story of Dr. Temple Grandin, a scientist with autism that used her different way of thinking to create animal husbandry techniques that better care for cattle across the country. The story is about her upbringing when she was expelled from school for having an altercation with another student. After, she was sent to her Aunt’s farm where she found her love for animals. Though she faced many challenges she persevered and earned three college degrees and is now a public speaker traveling around the world speaking of autism and animal husbandry techniques.

Connection to Genre:

Dr. Temple Grandin’s story and feelings of being alone or different from others is an experience everyone has felt. Her life can help students to unpack their own feelings of loneliness and help 

Use in classroom:

When asking students to write personal biographies of themselves., this would be a great mentor text. My lesson would start by reading this to the class then asking about how they relate to Dr. Grandin’s story. We could spend time discussing, then have them work on a biography of their own.

Description:

Harry Potter wakes up under the cupboard on 34 private drive every day, until there is an owl who delivers an invitation the the wizarding school of Hogwarts. After he discovers he is a wizard and can leave his terrible life with his Aunt and Uncle the Dersleys, he makes new friends and learns how to use magic. Soon he learns that in the wizarding world he is incredibly famous for being responsible for the demise of an evil wizard named Voldemort. Exploring with friends they stumble upon a three headed dog and a plot for a teacher to try and bring Voldemort back to life. All three of the friends must work together to stop this evil plot.

Connection to Genre:

Harry Potter is a great example of a fantasy world. With magic, monsters, and fantastical name such as Querrel, Dumbledore, and Voldemore this book paints a story of a magical world where anything could happen. However, almost none of these things could happen in the real world. 

Use in Classroom:

When asking students to make up stories of their own with creatures, places, and people who do not exist in the real world, this book could be a great reference point. Because of how well know the story already is, I am not sure that we would need to read very far as a class. Showing how to introduce new ideas and creatures into a story and then use a magical creature as a plot devise is hard to do and something that this could could help explain.

Description:

In Roan’s last year at Jedi Academy, Roan encounters many different problems at school. A mystery person is setting him up for trouble with all of his peers in school. He is set on a mission to try and findout who the bully is that keeps terrorizing his last year at school.

Connection to Genre:

Much like fantasy this book contains people, places, and creatures that cannot exist in the real world. However, this book’s use of impossible technology is what makes this science fiction. Lightsabers, spaceships and floating objects with the force all make this a great example of science fiction.

Use in Classroom:

The Jedi Academy series of books all bring students into another side of the story of Star Wars. As a mentor text I could use this to star a lesson on invention. After reading of the many different technologies used in the Star Wars universe, would could brainstorm of problems as a class that an impossible technology could solve. Then each student can pick and idea and go write about their impossible invention.

Description:

For those who are obsessed with football, this book has all the information you need. The Football Fanbook has statistics, NFL records, and player biographies. With pictures of players and memorable moments from NFL history this book can tell you everything you need to know about football and the NFL.

Connection to Genre:

The Football Fanbook does not have any story it is trying to tell, only information. This informational text organizes years of history, payer statistics, and game strategies into one place where readers can find the information easily. 

Use in Classroom:

Writing informational texts is on of the many standards my students will have to meet in my classroom. Using an informational book that relates to them can help them to understand the usefulness and how to write them. In the classroom, I would ask students to find certain facts for me in these books, then ask what they are able to discover on their own. Then they would use these facts to write a paragraph of their own about the NFL or a team of their choosing to explain what football is to someone who had never heard of it.

Description:

Where the Sidewalk Ends is a collection of silly and funny poems by Shel Silverstein. The poems range from subjects like how loud my father farts to what its like to be one inch tall. There is no overarching narrative just great short poems that students can relate to. 

Connection to Genre:

This collection of poems is a great example of rhyme and meter that students can use to learn about. This shows that a collection of poems do not need to relate to each other, and each poem can stand on its own. 

Use in Classroom:

This is one of my favorite collections of poems and something that would be a lot of fun to read aloud to students. This would be the start of a unit on writing poems, and I would read a poem at the start of every lesson to get us started in writing one of our own. Each student would be asked to write a poem that would then all be gathered together to create a book of poems of the class.