Mentor Sentences Sentences Daily Tasks

Use this slide as an introduction to the purpose of Mentor Sentences and what to expect throughout the process.

Day 1: Invitation to Notice You are invited to notice all of the things about what make this sentence a good mentor sentence. It could be use of exciting words, descriptions, figurative language, vivid verbs, grammar usage, and much more. There is no limit to what you might find! Glue sentence in your notebook List what you notice Consider: Why do you think I chose this sentence? Student work independently to make their list, then we come together to share. Write down all of they noticed on chart paper. Students should tell “why” what they noticed is important. If students find the reason the sentence was chosen, put a star beside it. If they don’t mention the reason, tell them. Remember to include information regarding sentence structure or types.

Day 2: Invitation to Notice – Parts of Speech Write the mentor sentence in your notebook exactly as it is written, skipping lines in between. You are invited to locate and label all of the parts of speech you find in the mentor sentence. Independently label the parts of speech. Be ready to answer “why” or “how” you know. Review or teach the grammar skill of the week we are focusing on using the sentence. noun verb preposition pronoun adverb conjunction adjective article interjection

Day 3: Invitation to Revise Your job today is to revise the sentence to make it even more descriptive and exciting. Rewrite the sentence and try adding or changing adjectives, specific nouns, and vivid verbs. Stretch it out to make your new sentence a brand new mentor sentence. Consider: Making verbs more vivid Adding or changing adjectives Making nouns more specific Using figurative language Using synonyms Remember: The overall meaning should not change, but instead just make the sentence better. Share a revision with the students and discuss what revisions were made.

Day 4: Invitation to Imitate Today you are invited to imitate the mentor sentence. Use the structure of the sentence to create a brand- new sentence that no one as ever seen before. Try to use the style and order used. Use the author’s style, but with your own words. Remember: You are practicing writing like an author! Include the things you noticed on Monday that the author of the mentor sentence used I’m looking for the best new sentences to add to our board! TIP: Consider writing a sentence you can use in your own writing piece. Share an example with the class and discuss.

Option: Invitation to Manipulate Today you will write the sentence using a different structure that maintains the meaning of the original mentor sentence. You may choose to write the words on cards or paper and cut them apart to help you manipulate them. Remember: You are practicing writing like an author! I’m looking for the best new sentences to add to our board! Since there may be a limited number of ways to manipulate the sentence, refrain from giving an example for this day. Instead, lean only on student suggestions for discussions. Teachers may choose to have sentences prepared for cutting apart or premade word cards. Further use of cards could be used to make sentences with different meanings using the same words. This can be fun.

Option: Invitation to Dictation Today you will write a dictation of the mentor sentence. Remember to listen carefully as the mentor sentence is read aloud. It will be repeated only three times. Can you get all pieces correct the first time? If not, let’s edit to correct it. Students may be able to self check this using the sentence given on day 1.