Double Duty Mentor Text...Imagine the Possibilities!
My students need authentic and engaging mentor text to impact and inform all aspects of the writing process. This includes such books as Happy Like Soccer, I Wanna New Room and How to Babysit a Grandpa. Plus, these books will double as great mentor text for whole group and home comprehension lessons too!
FULLY FUNDED! Ms. Ruppert's classroom raised $273
This project is fully funded
Celebrating Hispanic & Latinx Heritage Month
This project is a part of the Hispanic & Latinx Heritage Month celebration because
it supports a Latino teacher or a school where the majority of students are Latino.
My Students
I work at a Title I School. Most of our students are from low income families which is reflected by our 89% free or reduced price lunch status. The community is made up of primarily Spanish speaking families. This is apparent in our 83% Hispanic demographic. The majority of our kids are English language learners. Although many face socio-economic challenges, they come to school every day willing to learn.
Who are MY students?
Well that’s a question I typically answer with – “every child I’ve had the pleasure of making an academic impact on.” I have 36 curious 8 year-old students in my third grade class and I live in a tight community where when I stop by the market down the street, I will most likely bump into a family I know. Most of the children come from immigrant families who value education greatly. Most are from households who have two hard working parents who do their best to provide the best quality of life for their children. I have been blessed with the opportunity to give their child the best education I possibly can, and I have no intentions of giving anything less.
My Project
My students need authentic and engaging mentor text to impact and inform all aspects of the writing process. This includes such books as Happy Like Soccer, I Wanna New Room and How to Babysit a Grandpa. Plus, these books will double as great mentor text for whole group and home comprehension lessons too! What is mentor text? Mentor text is any book or text that is just right for instructing a mini lesson in the writing process or in better understanding a comprehension strategy. The best way to explain it is, mentor texts show the students instead of just telling "the how".
"...texts that you can learn from, and every writer [and reader], no matter how skilled you are or how beginning you are, encounters and reads something that can lift and inform and infuse their own writing [and reading]." says Ralph Fletcher from the Great Choice Literacy Podcast.
These books will be used to help students use their "writer's and reader's eye" to look for what they can learn from them. I will use these books in whole group lessons to show my readers and writers what real authors do to make their writing interesting. The learning doesn't stop there though! These books are so great that we will read them again and again for multiple purposes. According to research, multiple readings of a text improves and refines the students comprehension of a text. (Gallagher, K. Deeper Meaning. Stenhouse Publishing.)
These books will not only enhance the students' writing, but provide instruction on many different comprehension strategies as well. Text this good begs to be read again and again. After being used for classroom instruction, students will have the chance to "check" these books out to share with their families at home. A discussion guide will be included to get parents and siblings involved. I can't wait to see what these incredible books will make possible in my classroom. Thank you for your support on my project.
More than half of students from low‑income households
Data about students' economic need comes from the National Center for Education Statistics, via our partners at MDR Education. Learn more
DonorsChoose is the most trusted classroom funding site for teachers.
As a teacher-founded nonprofit, we're trusted by thousands of teachers and supporters across the country. This classroom request for funding was created by Ms. Ruppert and reviewed by the DonorsChoose team.
