Meaning Matters

12 Days of Snowmen Adventures

Written by Lauren Mitsis

Lucy Calkins knows the power of using mentor texts to illustrate craft- specific to small moments, details, repetition, and more. Mentor texts provide the scaffolding and examples necessary for students to create new stories. Rereading these texts is essential since it allows students enjoy the text and then an opportunity to use it so they can apply ideas/ techniques. Firs...

Written By Kim Turgeon

Writing instruction has certainly changed over the past 10 years. Two components that have greatly improved are the use of mentor texts and the expansion of the types and genres of writing taught.

Through the use of mentor texts teachers help students build connections between the books they have read and the writing that they compose. This is such a powerful tool for any writer. This was reiterated as I sat listening to William Landay, the autho...

Turn me on to… Reading!

What do you do to encourage and inspire reading?

written by Lauren Mitsis

Jim Trelease’s Read Aloud Handbook has been passed around schools and neighborhoods for years. When I heard him speak, I knew he was addicted to books, reading, and passionate about his message. In his book, he reviews several studies. On...