Strategies for Teaching Writing – Mentor Text Transformations

Getting ideas on paper can be hard.  Some kids don’t know how to organize their writing. Some try to make it perfect right off the bat. One of the best strategies for teaching writing is using Mentor Text Transformations.  

Writing transformations of mentor texts is a great way to get students writing.  Transformations take the patterns and organization of pieces of writing and allows students to follow those in order to write their own stories.  

What makes these so great is that it takes the guesswork out for students who get writer’s block when it comes to organizing writing. 

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Mentor Text Transformation Strategies for Teaching Writing 

One of my favorite ways to teach writing is with a mentor text transformation of the book, When I Was Young in the Mountains by Cynthia Rylant.  This book lends itself easily to finding those key sights, smells and sounds of moments in your past.  I am always amazed at how these transformations come to life and take on their own elements.

This is a great book to use when kicking off your personal narrative unit.  This allows students to fine tune moments and get in the practice of focusing and remembering key details.  Here are a few ideas to get students started on their own stories: 

• When I Was Young at the Beach
• When I Was Young in the Apartment
• When I Was Young in the Summer 
• When I Was Young at Christmas
• When I Was Young in South Carolina

Using personal narratives when using strategies for writing makes it easy for students to draw on their own back ground knowledge.

Mentor Texts Transformations Writing Lesson Plan

Objective: Students will write a transformation of the book When I Was Young in the Mountains, by Cythnia Rylant

Procedure:  

1. The teacher will read When I Was Young in the Mountains aloud. 
2. The teacher will guide students through modeling how to write a transformation of the story using a time in his/her past.  
3. The teacher will guide students to come up with a time in their past and focus on the memories they have from that time period.
   • Pick a place you spent time when you were younger. 
   • List 4-6 things about the place. 
   • Write a paragraph about each of the things listed starting with the phrase, “When I was young in…”
4. The teacher will help students through the writing process. 
5. Students will make final copies into books.  They can draw pictures or bring in pictures from that time in their lives.  

Assessment: Final drafts of the transformation

Mentor Text Transformation Writing Strategies Example

Here is my example that I use with students: 

When I Was Young in the Country by Jessica Zannini

When I was young in the country freedom poured into the woods surrounding my house.  I explored every inch until I could find my way home with my eyes shut. The lightning bugs flickered to light the night and the animals became my friends.  

When I was young in the country, I got my first dog.  She was a pure bred mutt who arrived in a neighbor’s yard.  She was yellow and smiled a great big smile that would make the saddest person in the world light up.  My dog had the purest heart of anything I have ever known.  She was a loyal companion to all and by far, my best Lady. 

When I was young in the country we acquired a stray cat.  The cat was as wild as they come. I named him Murphy after the great Atlanta Brave, Dale Murphy.  Murphy became Murphelle the day we found out she was pregnant.  She had a little boy we named Dusty, since he entered the world covered in dust. 

When I was young in the country, I found a goat in the woods.  I named him Billy and visited him on my daily rounds.  Occasionally he would get loose and eat my mom’s geraniums.  This usually resulted in a swift kick from my dad.  I swear Billy would return just to play with my dad, not to eat the geraniums.  

When I was young in the country, I learned that some animals must leave.  Murphette took off in search of wonders and left her son with us.  He was full of mischief and got into trouble. He was saved by my wonderful dog who picked him up out of the road as a car sped towards him.  Not long after that, he too took to the road and followed in search of his mother.

When I was young in the country I found my greatest love.  The horse across the street filled my daydreams.  Misty Springtime was her name.  All I had to do was sit on the fence and holler, “Mist” and she would come running.  For her to do this filled my heart with pride. It is the closest I ever came to feeling that I had my own horse.   

When I was young in the country I spent 2 years in search of the infamous beaver who built the dams we used to cross the creek.  My dog, Lady, must have met with him a billion times for she would always catch sight of him on our walks.  Only once did I see him, but I continued to search until the day we moved.  

When I was young in the country the animals were my best friends.  We would spend hours together just sitting by the creek, watching the day tick by.  I can feel the ease of life and smell the sweet smell of summer as I think of being young in the country.  

Mentor Text Transformations Book Suggestions: 

• Click, Clack Moo, Cows that Type 
• Diary of a Worm
• Don’t Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus
• The Night Before Christmas

Writing Transformation is one of the strategies for writing that can help students get over the fear of the page and get their words and ideas in writing.  

Want more strategies for teaching writing?  Try these:

Writing Prompts – These are great starters for getting ideas on paper.

Writing Guides and Graphic Organizers – The organizers let students plan out the writing before starting to string words together into paragraphs.

Writing Conference Guides – These FREE guides help teachers as they talk to students about their writing.

Writing Lesson Plans – These lessons will give you more strategies for teaching writing.