I Can Write like That! A Guide to Mentor Texts and Craft Studies for Writers' Workshop, K-6

You know the importance of using mentor texts when teaching author's crafts to your young writers. But how do you a busy teacher with only so many hours in a day find great mentor texts? With so many children's books available and so little time to peruse them all, matching books to writers workshop minilessons remains a challenge.

Here is the resource to make your search for just the right books a little easier. Authors Susan Ehmann and Kellyann Gayer bring you a resource built out of their love of great children's books, their vast experience in the classroom, and their passion for teaching young writers.

The heart of this book is an extensive annotated bibliography that details examples of 27 author's crafts found in 150 high-quality children's books. But there's so much more! This book can serve as your go-to writers workshop resource by providing you with:

A quick reference to turn to when you need to find the right mentor text to teach a specific author's craft, such as alliteration, hyperbole, onomatopoeia, personification, rhyme, voice, and many more
Age-appropriate craft studies that fit into your existing curriculum
Tools to help you match the books you already have in your classroom or school library with the crafts they demonstrate

In these pages you ll discover engaging fiction and nonfiction children's books and ideas for using them to their maximum potential as teaching tools. And you will find new ways to give your students a priceless gift exemplary models for their own writing. Realize the reward of having your students listen to a well-written story then identify the author's craft and say, I can write like that!

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Ehmann and Gayer have written the most comprehensive resource book to date for using mentor texts. The 'book club' part of the book is only 61 pages. Even the most overwhelmed teacher can find time for this one. The rest of the book is an annotated bibliography including a summary, craft features, and text features. After using Ehmann and Gayer's carefully presented suggestions, your writing workshop will never be the same. -- --Shari Frost, Director, Literacy Partners Project; Contributor, Choice Literacy