This book is filled with mentor texts and writer’s notes after each text. The book begins with a how to on how to use the book. The Ralph Fletcher, the author, has a section where he introduces himself. The texts are all short texts that you can easily use or incorporate into your lessons. They are also ELL friendly, for they are short, but word friendly.
I think that this is a great book for every writing teacher to have in their classroom. Since there are a bunch of short texts, it makes it easier to pull from when you are trying to put a lesson together. Also, since the author writes these short texts, then has a writer’s notes section, it is easy to figure out how to use each text in the classroom. He takes the time to give you background on the pieces and he takes the time to tell you how he would use it in the real world classroom.
I am really enjoying this book and I am really glad that I got it. I was looking for mentor texts for a lesson, and these that he has in here are perfect. You could use these texts to teach about so many different things, and I think it is also nice to have the author’s feedback on what you can do. I highly recommend it.
Golden Pieces (Since this book is made up of short texts, I chose some of my favorite pieces.)
“Shaping the Story”- Have you ever been lost? Getting writing right and shaping your writing into something beautiful.
“The Family Plot”
“Developing a Character by Describing One Physical Attribute”- “One of the hardest things in fiction is to make a character come alive in the mind of a reader” (30)
“Squished Squirrel Poem”-Can you write about a squished squirrel?
“Using Personification”
Daily Cup of Tea 