I am beyond passionate about writing. I truly believe that writing is the corner stone to all thinking. Through writing children gain higher level thinking, use their creative talents, strengthen their reading and speaking abilities, and so on! Writing is POWERFUL!
I have one rule in my classroom (okay well maybe more than one) but anyways, we never ever write if it does not relate to a text we are reading. Why? Because you need to connect reading and writing in those little minds. They need to know how easily reading and writing flows together.
I like start writing workshop by JUST READING! We don’t fill out a story map or take a comprehension quiz. (every once in a while we do do some comprehension questions to get them thinking, who am I kidding) I show them how to enjoy the story and get into it! After reading the book, we discuss how we could write just like these authors. We brainstorm different ideas on how we could write books that are similar to these authors that we are reading. Then, we discuss that type of writing and we work our way through the writing process. Let me tell you these kiddos have some amazing writing when they can connect it to what they just read. They are creative, but also have something that they can compare and connect their writing too. I LOVE IT!
So, today I decided to provide you with the list of all my favorite mentor texts that relate to writing! Stay tuned to the end of a freebie!!! WOHOOOOO!