teaching writing craft and grammar through mentor texts

Amia Kimoy Conrad- Christopher

Writing WorkshopUsing mentor texts to teach

writing and grammar.



Workshop Objectives

Teachers will demonstrate an understanding of:• Mentor texts and its use in teaching

grammar and writing.• Story maps to write stories


Genre

• Expository• Narrative• Persuasive• Reflective


Structure

A writer’s purpose affects:

Language

Purpose


How do we create tasks?• We set a purpose – what is the purpose for

writing? To inform, to clarify, to explain, to entertain?

• The purpose decides the language-• to inform will use what type of language? Formal

or informal? Why?

• To inform, clarify or explain will use what type of language?


Checklist• What is the purpose of the task?

• Can your students write according to the purpose- to inform, to clarify or to explain, to entertain?

• Can it lend itself to a sequenced exposition of events?

• Who is the audience?

• Can it be factual, can it be formal, lend itself to a narrative?

• Does it lend itself to report? Does the child have sufficient information on the who, what, where, when, how? Can you write a story?

• Will it motivate students to write?

• Will it motivate your students to write a story?


Story ElementsSettingCharactersPlot ConflictResolutionPoint of ViewThemeClimaxRising action


Exposition: This is the beginning of the story. The setting, characters, and background information are introduced.

Rising Action: The author introduces the conflict or problem that the character(s) must attempt to solve. Complications are introduced and the suspense builds.

Climax: The point of greatest interest or suspense in the story. It is the turning point in the story where the action reaches its peak.

Falling Action: The characters are getting closer to solving the conflict or problem.

Resolution: The conflict comes to an end or the problem is solved.

Story Elements


Story Elements


What is a mentor text?

• Any text or piece of text that can teach a writer about an aspect of writer’s craft, from sentence structure to quotation marks to “show don’t tell”.

• Sentence Stalking• Story Elements


Using a mentor text to teach writing

• King Log and King Stork• Purpose: Examining writer’s craft through

a story.• Interrogating the text and completing our

story map.• Examining conventions, language use

and sentence structure


Setting

• Setting is the “where and when” of a story. It is the time and place during which the story takes place.


Setting

Details that describe: Furniture Scenery Customs Transportation Clothing Dialects Weather Time of day Time of year

Time and place are where the action occurs

Characters

• The person, animals, and things participating in a story



Characters• Protagonist and antagonist are used to

describe characters. • The protagonist is the main character of the

story, the one with whom the reader identifies. This person is not necessary “good”.

• The antagonist is the force in opposition of the protagonist; this person may not be “bad” or “evil”, but he/she opposes the protagonist in a significant way

Plot (definition)• Plot is the organized

pattern or sequence of events that make up a story.

• Plot is the literary element that describes the structure of a story. It shows arrangement of events and actions within a story.



Parts of a Plot Exposition - introduction; characters, setting

and conflict (problem) are introduced Rising Action- events that occur as result of

central conflict Climax- highest point of interest or suspense

of a story Falling Action - tension eases; events show

the results of how the main character begins to resolve the conflict

Resolution- loose ends are tied up; the conflict is solved


Plot Diagram

21

3

4

5

1.Exposition• This usually occurs at the beginning of a short

story. Here the characters are introduced. We also learn about the setting of the story. Most importantly, we are introduced to the main conflict (main problem).


2. Rising Action• This part of the story begins to develop the

conflict(s). A building of interest or suspense occurs and leads to the climax. Complications arise


3. Climax• This is the turning point of the story. Usually the

main character comes face to face with a conflict. The main character will change in some way. This is the most intense moment.


4. Falling Action• Action that follows

the climax and ultimately leads to the resolution


5. Resolution• The conclusion; all

loose ends are tied up.• Either the character

defeats the problem, learns to live with the problem, or the problem defeats the character.



Putting It All Together1. Exposition 2. Rising Action

3. Climax

4. Falling Action5. Resolution

Beginning of Story

Middle of Story

End of Story


Diagram of Plot

Setting, characters, and conflict are introduced

Introduction/ Exposition

Deve

lopm

ent/

Risin

g Ac

tion

Climax

Falling

Action

Resolution

ConflictConflict is the dramatic struggle between two forces in a story. Without conflict, there is no plot.



ConflictConflict is a problem that must be solved;

an issue between the protagonist and antagonist forces. It forms the basis of the plot.

Conflicts can be external or internalExternal conflict- outside force may be

person, group, animal, nature, or a nonhuman obstacle

Internal conflict- takes place in a character’s mind


Types of External Conflict

Character vs Nature

Character vs Society

Character vs Character

Character vs Fate QuickTime™ and aTIFF (Uncompressed) decompressor

are needed to see this picture.


Type of Internal Conflict

Character vs. Self


Special Techniques used in a Story

Suspense- excitement, tension, curiosity Foreshadowing- hint or clue about what will happen

in story Flashback- interrupts the normal sequence of events

to tell about something that happened in the past• Symbolism – use of specific objects or images to

represent ideas• Personification – when you make a thing,• idea or animal do something only humans do• Surprise Ending - conclusion that reader • does not expect


Point of View• First Person Point of View- a

character from the story is telling the story; uses the pronouns “I” and “me”

• Third Person Point of View- an outside narrator is telling the story; uses the pronouns “he”, “she”, “they”


Types of Third-Person Point of View

• Third-Person Limited• The narrator knows the thoughts and feelings

on only ONE character in a story.

• Third-Person Omniscient• The narrator knows

the thoughts and feeling of ALL the characters in a story.


ThemeThe theme is the central, general

message, the main idea, the controlling topic about life or people the author wants to get across through a literary work

To discover the theme of a story, think big. What big message is the author trying to say about the world in which we live?

What is this story telling me about how life works, or how people behave?


The Theme is also • the practical lesson ( moral) that we

learn from a story after we read it. The lesson that teaches us what to do or how to behave after you have learned something from a story or something that has happened to you.

Example: The lesson or teaching of the story is be careful when you’re offered something for nothing.


Other elements

• Grammar• Mechanics• Dialogue• Creole


Grammar vs. Mechanics

• Grammar includes principles that guide the structure of sentences and paragraphs.

He likes to eat pizza, but I like spaghetti.


Grammar vs. Mechanics

• Mechanics is how we punctuate to achieve meaning (punctuation, capitalization, paragraphing, formatting).

“Let’s eat Grandma.”

“Let’s eat, Grandma.”


Syntax• Examples of Syntactical Complexity

• Multiple subject: The deer and the beaver are walking toward the stream. • Multiple object: The boy is carrying the fishing net and pail.• Infinitive used as an object: The girl wanted to play her guitar.• Gerund used as an object: He enjoys catching frogs.• Compound Sentences: The man is trying to light a fire, but he doesn’t have enough

matches.• Complex sentence: The girl e-mailed her family while sitting in the tent.• Prepositional phrase: The frog jumped out of the stream.

• The girls sat on the log.• The eagle soars over the trees.

• Relative clause: The camp leader is the man who started the fire.• The younger sister is the girl that plays the guitar.• The deer drinks from the stream, which flows through the

forest.


Principles We Know• Construction of a Simple Sentence Subject + Verb + stands on its own

• Construction of a Compound SentenceSentence, + Conjunction +

sentence.

Moving on… Complex Sentences


Independent clause(Simple sentence)

Subject Verb


The duck flew.

An Independent Clause

•Is a sentence•Stands on its own•Is perfectly fine as it is


The duck flew.But sometimes we want

more Pictures or images Information Specifics Description

So how do we add information to our sentences without making run-on or incorrect sentences?


The duck flew.

What you add to the sentence• Can’t be a whole new sentence• Can’t stand on its own— it must be…


IndependentThe duck flew.

flapping its wingsThis has a noun and a verbDoes it stand on its own?Does it express a complete thought?

It’s Dependent


independent clause (sentence)

must lean on an

The duck flew, flapping its wings.


There are three basic complex sentence patterns

• Add information at the beginning of a sentence

• Add information in the middle of a sentence

• Add information at the end of a sentence


, closing .

Beginning ,, interrupting ,

Complex SentencesThe three basic patterns…


Planning for writing

• What do students know?• What do they need to know?• What is the end result• How are you measuring they are reaching

there?• What about the process approach and a

portfolio to track student’s work?


Thank you

teaching writing craft and grammar through mentor texts

Education