by Lorraine McDonald
When texts are mentors, they are quality examples of the language and meaning connections which are your teaching point(s). Students become familiar with the overall sequence and theme of the text, they revisit the details of the text/excerpt multiple times, and they are guided to view it through a writer’s lens, to examine the composing techniques for their effectiveness and meaning.
This chapter explores how teachers can select relevant texts to act as mentors, decide the focus of teaching language content, design a pertinent teaching sequence that includes talk about the text, guide students’ close reading and applicable task work, then hand over to students, empowering them to try something new in their own writing. Learn more about this critical process.