Persuasion with mentor author Sindy Mckay

"Ben and Becky Get a Pet" is a hilarious story by Sindy McKay about two siblings who convince their parents that they are ready to get a pet. They have quite an adventure while picking out a pet at the mall pet store.

I would use this story to introduce a lesson in persuasion. The parents' concern in this story are whether or not their children would be responsible enough to take care of a pet. I would have my students discuss what is involved in taking care of a pet and what some of their parents' concerns might be.

Next I would introduce the different types of persuasion that could be used to try an convince their parents to allow them to get a pet. We would discuss which type of persuasion would be most effective for this situation and then they would write a persuasive letter to their parents about getting the pet that they did their research paper about.

Minilesson:
1. Review animal from research paper.
2. Decide on style of persuasion to use in letter.
3. Write persuasive letter including relevant information regarding animal from research paper.
4. Share letter in small groups.
5. Review persuasive argument and word choice.
6. Revise and publish letter.

Ohio writing applications benchmark E: Using persuasive strategies, including establishing a clear position in support of a proposition or a proposal with organization and relevant evidence.

Research paper with mentor authors Alvin and Virginia Silverstein and Laura Silverstein Nunn

"A Pet Or Not" is a wonderful book by Alvin and Virginia Silverstein and Laura Silverstein Nunn. This book looks at unusual and exotic animals and whether or not they would make good pets. The thing that I love about this book is the way the authors present the information. For each animal, there is a picture, a fast facts chart, basic history of the animal and bizarre facts. I would use this book as an example of how to present the facts about a specific animal in a way that the reader can just skim the fast facts charts or read the paragraphs for more in depth information.

Next, I would show the students an episode of "Dogs 101" and "Cats 101" from the Animal Planet cable channel. They do a great job of giving basic information about several breeds including an informational chart after each animal is presented.

I would have my students each choose one specific breed or type of animal, such as a leopard gecko or an Alaskan malamute dog. Then allow them to spend two days at the school library to research for specific facts about their animal. We would have already discussed and written up the information that they need for their "facts" chart such as possible medical problems, grooming needs, type of house, good with children or not, and so on. They would also need to write one or two paragraphs with additional information such at the history of the breed or animal.


Minilesson:

1. Choose specific animal.
2. Research and gather information about your animal.
3. Organize into "facts" chart and paragraph information.
4. Copy a picture of the animal.
5. Design and create a power point layout for your information.

Ohio writing applications benchmark D: Produce informational essay or report with clear main idea supported by facts, detail, examples and explanations.

Endings with mentor author J.R.R. Tolkien

The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien is a wonderful adventure story that includes hobbits, elves, dwarves, goblins and even a dragon. I have chosen Tolkien as a mentor author for helping students work on conclusions for their stories. He spends the last two chapters telling his readers what has happened to all the major characters in the story. The main character, Bilbo Baggins is found in his cozy home at the beginning of the story and eventually returns there to write the story of his grand adventure.

Minilesson:

1. Reread the last two chapters of "The Hobbit".

2. Help the students create a list of transitional ending words to be posted in the classroom.

3. Have students get out the story that they wrote after the lesson involving "Hatchet".

4. Review ending by asking questions such as, "Did I tell what happened to..." and place each major character's name at the end of the sentence.

5. Students get into small groups of two or three, read each others stories and offer feedback about the endings. Were any questions left unanswered?

6. Students make final revisions to the ends of their stories.

Ohio writing process benchmark D: Using revising strategies to improve overall organization and clarity.

Organization with mentor author Gary Paulsen

Hatchet is a wonderful story about a thirteen year old boy named Brian who is the sole survivor when his plane crashes in the Canadian wilderness. He has only the clothes he is wearing and a hatchet that his mother gave him before he left. The author, Gary Paulsen takes his readers step by painful step through Brian's struggles to find enough food to survive in the harsh wilderness.

Paulsen's book "Hatchet" it a great story to use when demonstrating how to use "what if" questions and progressive plotlines to help create a story. The main character, Brian, finds himself in a frightening situation that he never even imagined could happen. Gradually he learns how to fend for himself in the wild through a series of trials and errors.

After the students have read the story "Hatchet", I would demonstrate how to ask "what if" questions to develop ideas for stories. Then I would introduce a progressive plotline to them and explain how this is a great way to map out a story before starting the writing process.

Minilesson:

1. Students ask "what if" questions that can be posted in the classroom to help provide ideas for stories.

2. Create progressive plotline of "Hatchet" and post in classroom.

3. Students write a series of their own "what if" questions in their journals.

4. Students choose one "what if" as the theme for their own stories.

5. Students create a progressive plotline for their stories.

Ohio writing processes benchmark C: This lesson uses a graphic organizer to clarify ideas for a writing assignment.

Voice with mentor author Lester Laminack

Lester Laminack's book "Saturdays and Teacakes is a great mentor text to use to illustrate the use of voice to students. Laminack recaptures the excitement and simple joy of a child having his Grandmother all to himself on Saturday and their weekly rituals. I would introduce this book to my students prior to starting a writing project about their favorite memory as a child. (Since students at this age level no longer consider themselves "children"!!!) Even though it is a children's book, I would use it with middle school students.

Minilesson:

1. Students will write a story about their favorite childhood memory.

2. Explain that this story was written by an adult about a favorite memory of his and they should pay special attention to the emotions the author is able to evoke with not only the words he uses but also the punctuation and font.

3. Read story to students.

4. Discuss how the author's voice is felt.

5. Reread the story.

6. Have students write their own memory.

7. Allow students to share story with class.

Ohio writing applications benchmark A: Use narrative strategies to develop a consistent point of view.

Word Choice with mentor author Brian Jacques

Brian Jacques is a wonderful author to use as a mentor for descriptive word choices. He paints such vivid pictures of the characters, settings, action, and especially the food in his books in the Redwall series. This is way I chose him as a mentor for illustrating descriptive word choices for this minilesson.

"Martin the Warrior" is a tale told to the inhabitants of Redwall Abbey during a time when they had forgotten much about the mouse who helped found their abbey. They learn about Martin's life as a young mouse and how he escaped from a dreadful tyrant chieftain named Badrang.

I would begin the lesson by reading the first two chapters of the story for my students, occasionally pointing out some of the words used to describe some of the characters, setting, and action. Then I would explain how these words help me to see a picture of the story in my mind. After I finish reading the section. I would ask the students what some of their favorite descriptive words were. Then I would do the following.

1. Divide the students up into three groups.
2. Have the students read the next chapter.
3. Each group would look for one of the following types of descriptive words: characters, setting, or action.
4. Each group would share the words they found with the class.
5. Each student would then chose one of their journal entries and pick 5 words they could change or add descriptive words to the entry.

Ohio writing process benchmark E: Select more effective vocabulary when editing by using a variety of resources.

Welcome to My Blog

I am going to feature a variety of authors whose books can be used to demonstrate to middle school students various strategies for writing.