Reading with a Writer’s Eye
Our Grade One students have been focusing lately on reading “like a writer” by noticing the author’s craft. Through reading aloud ‘Mentor Texts’, we try to model how authors use word choice, techniques and structure to make their writing better.
‘Owl Moon’ by Jane Yolen is such a great mentor text that we have been reading lately. The book was selected with the purpose of studying how the author has used her five senses to describe the setting in an artistic and creative manner in order to create vivid images in our minds.
Part of the guided practise is to have our students inquire about how different authors have used different writing techniques, such as sound effects, punctuation, similes, etc. to make their writing more effective. With their partners, they will investigate different books and find interesting language and skills that they could incorporate in their own writing.