Mentor Texts for Non-Fiction Writing

Is It a Fruit? by Jan Pritchett is a great text to use for K-3 nonfiction writing.  (Rigby book)
1. The title mentors writers on how to hook a reader with a question.
2. The author provides 3 details to support what characteristics are needed in order to be labeled as a fruit.
3. The question "Is it a fruit?" and details/evidence to support are repeated.
4. Simple pictures and lables are provided.
5. For students ready to add more as they work through the unit and their piece there are "extras"- each page has a Fruit Fact and the author provides a table.  
6. There is an index at the end of the text to mentor how to create one too. It's an easy way to show how a reader would  use the table to to better understand the teaching point- is it a fruit-yes or no?

This simple text could be used several time over the course of the week.  It could be the model for all of these elements of non-fiction writing without having to find a million texts.

Happy Writing! 

Critical Literacy to Inspire Opinion Writing

After reading The Giving Tree to a group of 5th graders I asked them to draw mind pictures to illustrate multiple perspectives.  Since the story is from the narrator/authors voice we explored whose voice was missing.  Students wrote from the perspective of the tree and the boy to reconstruct the text.  I thought it was a great critical literacy lesson and then used it to introduce an opinion writing unit.

The writing started with a read aloud and note taking about what position students agreed with.  Is the tree weak or strong?  Students then used the text to find specific examples to support their position and debate with their classmates.  Hopefully the oral communication of supporting a position will enhance the students ability to write an opinion piece too.

The original argument idea came from the reading and writing project.  I had planned on using the lesson, but realized how reading and writing from a critical stance could help students see they how a character could be viewed differently based on perspective.