3 Mentor Texts to Inspire Young Readers

Are you a fan of mentor texts? Personally, I think they are a necessity that all teachers should utilize. Literature that is rigorous and can be read multiple times will make the perfect mentor texts. Choosing mentor texts should be intentional and planned. NO WINGIN’ IT ALLOWED! You’ll want to look for poems, articles, picture books, or even chapter books that will address numerous skills and standards.

Spending time reading books to children is a surefire way to promote a love for reading. I love to read the 3 chapter books in this blog post, along with a multitude of picture books, articles, and poems, that will help to build a strong foundation for the young readers in my class. Read until the end so you can see how I thread these books together throughout the school year and end with fun projects! 🙂

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Mentor Text- Charlotte’s Web

Charlotte’s Web by E.B. White is a classic book that touches the hearts of young and old readers alike! In this book, Wilbur faces the possibility of demise at the end of the season. Charlotte, the spider devises a plan to save Wilbur’s life. This is at the top of my mentor text list because it is an enjoyable read AND you can address numerous skills & strategies while reading this book. Not sure which ones… I started a list for you below. 🙂

• Character Change- Wilbur and Fern both change throughout the story.
• Theme- There is a great lesson about the importance of friendship.
• Point of View- There are numerous parts of the story where characters express how they feel about an event.
• Summarizing-Readers can summarize the major events.
• Visualizing- The author’s words paint a picture that aids readers in visualizing the events.
• Dialogue- Readers can determine whether the narrator or a character is speaking.
• Extended Activities- Also read articles, picture books, or poems about farms, spiders, pigs, friendship, etc.

Charlotte’s Web is one of my favorites to read in grades K-2! It is the perfect mentor text that sparks a love for reading and animals. This is a great book to begin reading at the beginning of the school year because it gives you the opportunity to model your thinking for the strategies and skills that arise while reading. I usually start this book in September and finish it right before Christmas Break with a movie viewing.

I created this Charlotte’s Web Novel Study that addresses the Common Core Standards for 2nd grade. There is an activity for each chapter that allows readers to really dive deep and show their understanding of the book.

Mentor Text – Babe The Gallant Pig by Dick King-Smith

Babe The Gallant Pig by Dick King-Smith is the perfect follow-up to Charlotte’s Web. It has many similarities to Charlotte’s Web that your young readers will enjoy pointing out. In this book, Babe narrowly escapes his fate to become Christmas dinner by showing off his sheep herding talents. The content and language in this book may be too much for Kindergarteners BUT I think 1st and 2nd graders will enjoy reading about the secret talent that Babe has. I created a list of skills & strategies that will align with this book for you below.

• Compare and Contrast- You can compare Babe to Wilbur or just compare the two books in general.
• Theme- A great book about friendship.
• Point of View- Farmer Hogget’s point of view about Babe will change throughout the story.
• Summarizing-Readers can summarize the major events in this story or in each chapter.
• Text Connections- Readers can connect this book to Charlotte’s Web or their personal experience.
• Cause & Effect: There are numerous events in the story that cause other events to occur.
• Synthesis- Readers’ thinking may change about the outcome of Babe’s life.
• Extended Activities- While reading this book, read articles, picture books, or poems about farms, border collies, sheep, sheep trials, etc.

Babe the Gallant Pig has rich language and vocabulary that will help readers visualize the events that occur in each chapter. The sheep trials at the end of the story always leave my class in awe! Like Charlotte’s Web, this is a classic that your young readers will enjoy!

Mentor Text – The Boxcar Children #1

The Boxcar Children by Gertrude Chandler Warner is the perfect book to read right after Spring Break. I like to end the year teaching the class about resilience, resourcefulness, and being grateful through the characters in this book. Henry, Jessie, Benny, & Violet are orphans. Determined to make it on their own, they set out to find a place to live. They find an old, red boxcar to shelter them from a storm. Against all odds, they make this their new home and become the Boxcar Children. After reading this book, your young readers will love the adventures that the characters encounter throughout this book series. Check out the list below for which skills and strategies to address while reading.

• Character Traits-Readers can describe each character.
• Theme-A great book about determination.
• Summarizing-Readers can summarize the major events in this story or in each chapter.
• Text Connections-Readers can connect this book to their personal experiences.
• Cause & Effect-There are numerous events in the story that cause other events to occur.
• Inferring- Readers can infer what may happen to the young children throughout the book.

Mentor Texts – Culminating Projects

Charlotte’s Web, Babe, & The Boxcar Children are books that I enjoy reading to my class each year. As an end-of-the-year project, students create a diorama that depicts their favorite part from one of these books. Then, they present their diorama to the class and explain the elements that are present in that part of the story. You can purchase the Literature Diorama Project in my Teachers Pay Teachers store.

Throughout the year while learning informational standards, readers can learn about farming and the specific animal characters within the books. I usually do a deep dive into the world of spiders while reading Charlotte’s Web. And at the end of the year, students complete a farming project and create a PowerPoint presentation.

Using the books mentioned in this blog post adds a bit of cohesion and threads learning together from the beginning of school until the end. At the end of the year celebration, we enjoy the fruits of our labor! Each student brings in an item from the type of farming they researched.

Literature Diorama Projects

Informational Farming Projects

End of Year Party

Here are few books that can be used to complete the research project.

You can see all of the books in the Start to Finish Series in my Amazon Store Front.

Thanks for sticking around until the end of this post! I’d love to know which books you enjoy reading as mentor texts. Don’t be shy…comment down below!