Note for the teacher For our next set of warm-ups, we will be using a mentor sentence to discuss parts of speech, author’s craft, and revision techniques. Each day, there will be something different to think and write about regarding the sentence. Instructions – 1. Have them paste the text in the AUTHOR’S CRAFT section (copies of the selection will be provided for you). 2. Each day, have them complete the “Invitation” and take a few minutes to discuss the sentence and their thoughts. *Note – To create more space on the page, just have students tape the top of the selection down, so that they can write underneath.

Sacred Writing Time Did you come to class with an idea to write about? As soon as class starts, quietly make that pencil dance! It’s December 1. He threw with all his might, but the third stone came skipping back. - From The Mysteries of Harris Burdick by Chris Van Allsburg READ Paste this excerpt in Author’s Craft section of your notebook. INVITATION TO NOTICE Jot down what you notice about the punctuation in the mentor sentence.

Sacred Writing Time Did you come to class with an idea to write about? As soon as class starts, quietly make that pencil dance! It’s December 2. He threw with all his might, but the third stone came skipping back. - From The Mysteries of Harris Burdick by Chris Van Allsburg READ INVITATION TO NOTICE Jot down what you notice about the parts of speech in the mentor sentence.

Sacred Writing Time Did you come to class with an idea to write about? As soon as class starts, quietly make that pencil dance! It’s December 3. He threw with all his might, but the third stone came skipping back. - From The Mysteries of Harris Burdick by Chris Van Allsburg READ INVITATION TO REVISE Copy the sentence and practice adding more words, changing the mentor sentence to make it more interesting.

Sacred Writing Time Did you come to class with an idea to write about? As soon as class starts, quietly make that pencil dance! It’s December 4. He threw with all his might, but the third stone came skipping back. - From The Mysteries of Harris Burdick by Chris Van Allsburg READ Paste this excerpt in Author’s Craft section of your notebook. INVITATION TO IMITATE Copy the sentence and practice adding more words, changing the mentor sentence to make it more interesting.

Sacred Writing Time Did you come to class with an idea to write about? As soon as class starts, quietly make that pencil dance! It’s December 5. He threw with all his might, but the third stone came skipping back. - From The Mysteries of Harris Burdick by Chris Van Allsburg READ INVITATION TO EXTEND In the Craft section in your notebook, borrow the mentor sentence, and write for 2-3 minutes… letting the line lead your thinking.