Mentor sentences are well-written
sentences that showcase the author’s craft from texts used in the
classroom. Sentences are chosen based
upon their features such as: grammar, mechanics, style, and language. Using mentor sentences allow students to
notice well-written work and apply those techniques in their own writing. It helps students find the good and use it,
rather than noticing errors in sentences that they have to find and moving
on. Mentor sentences are a great way to
present grammar by integrating it into what is already being read in the
classroom. For more detailed information
about using mentor texts, Jeff
Anderson is
the guru!
Why should I use mentor sentences?
#1
You are already using quality literature for reading and writing. Use them for grammar as well! With the
structure and using a book you’ve already read, you won’t be scrambling to “fit
grammar in.”
#2
Students learn from example- seeing it in context, and then using
it. They need to know what something
amazing should look like before asked to “fix it.” They need to practice and create, rather than
simply identifying it. Their knowledge
and writing will improve!
#3 Mentor sentences position students be
successful from the beginning. It is
based upon what they know or notice, rather than what they don’t, and builds
from there.
#4 It only takes about 10-15 minutes per
day!
Day
1*
Give students their sentence and have them glue it in their journals. This
sentence comes from a text you have already read, or one you will that week.
(If you haven’t read it to them yet, kids can’t wait to hear that sentence when
you read the book. You could have a
whole class signal when they hear the “magic sentence” for that week.)
*
Practice reading the sentence together fluently. Call on a few volunteers to read it by
themselves, and then read it a few more times together.
*
Ask them to notice what is great, unique, or new in this sentence. How is this sentence different from
others you’ve seen? How is it the same?
What makes it awesome? What do you think I chose THIS sentence out of ALL of
the sentences in this book? What about the way this sentence is written stands
out to you? * Have
them write down at least 3 things that they notice on their own. Give them a few minutes, then gather together
and share what they noticed. Add them to a chart, have them tell you why for
everything. Have students try to guess what it was that made you pick out that
sentence.
Day
2 *
Independently, students rewrite the sentence in their notebook, skipping lines
in between, and label all of the parts of speech they know. Gather together, have students share what
parts of speech they know and WHY or how do you know- ie. how
do you know it is a noun, or a preposition, or why the comma goes there. Make it a conversation, and if they are
missing pieces, make them teaching moments. Mentor sentences give you the
opportunity to hit several aspects of grammar repeatedly and spiral. This allows you to not need to teach grammar
in isolation.
Day
3 * The goal is to revise the sentence and make
it sound even better than it already does.
During this process, they need the reminder that adding more or making
it longer does not always make it better.
Model changing the sentence by exchanging verbs, prepositions, etc. * Talk about the decisions you made and why
you chose to make them. I
changed _____ to make it more vivid. I
put it in all capital letters like the author did as well. I used the preposition _____ instead of ___
because I thought it fit better with ______.
Anchor
charts, the thesaurus, etc. can support students with the revision. * Have students write their own sentences,
or if you are just starting out, with a partner. Ask a few volunteers to share and have the
rest of the class listen. Remind them
that they are to keep the meaning of the sentence, and your goal is to make it
sound better.
Day
4-
*Their goal is to write like the author by changing the meaning of the sentence
and trying to keep the structure the same.
Imitation is the highest form of flattery. J If
the author used a metaphor, compound sentence, special punctuation- so should
you! Again, model writing a sentence while talking through your thinking of how
you are making choices. * Then if
needed, match word by word, or phrase by phrase to highlight the similarities
between your sentence and the author’s.
* Next, let the students write and imitate the sentence. Choose about 4
students to have them share their sentences.
If you want to put this on a bulletin board, write them on sentence
strips or paper to hang up on the board.
It’s okay if they don’t have every element from the mentor sentence, the
importance is that they are trying some of the elements! Will they be perfect?
NO! but they are better than the other boring sentences you might be getting
otherwise.
Day
5 * You could give a mentor sentence quiz that
assesses whatever the focus is for that week and could also spiral back to
include previous skills. Students edit
the mentor sentence and circle the errors and rewrite it correctly. You could include multiple choice for
examples of parts of speech, figurative language, type of sentence, etc.
Here are some examples of formats for
questions.
Circle the __ errors in this
sentence. Rewrite the sentence correctly
below.
What type of ____________________ is ______________?
A. B. C. D.
A. B. C. D.
1.Bare bones- Students write the sentence at the top of a page in their notebooks, and then do each day below that on the same page.
●
2.Mixture- Type the sentence and copy so multiple fit on a page. Cut them out and have students glue it on the top of their notebook page. Students do the rest of the work below in their notebook.
●
A. B. C. D.
1.Bare bones- Students write the sentence at the top of a page in their notebooks, and then do each day below that on the same page.
●
2.Mixture- Type the sentence and copy so multiple fit on a page. Cut them out and have students glue it on the top of their notebook page. Students do the rest of the work below in their notebook.
●
Circle
the __________ in the following sentences.
a.
b.
c.
d.
What type of ____________________ is
used/in the sentence?
List
the
___________ that
are in the sentence above.
________ __________ ___________ ___________
Underline the __________ and circle the
_________ in the following sentence (s).
There are many ways to organize your
mentor sentences and student responses. Here are a few options…
1.Bare
bones- Students write the sentence at the top of a page in their notebooks, and
then do each day below that on the same page.
●
2.Mixture-
Type the sentence and copy so multiple fit on a page. Cut them out and have students glue it on
the top of their notebook page. Students
do the rest of the work below in their notebook.
●
3.Handout
as a single sheet or cut out and glue the following response sheet in their
notebook.
I have made a PDF of resource to implement Mentor Sentences into your classroom. For more information, you should read Jeff Anderson's books. :) Mentor Sentences
