Using Mentor Texts to Teach 6 + 1 Writing Traits

Beverly A. DeVries is Professor Emerita at Southern Nazarene University, USA and teaches ESL to elementary students and adults. She is the author of the bestselling textbook Literacy Assessment and Intervention for Classroom Teachers, Sixth Edition.

Meet the Author

Preface

Chapter 1: Primary Fiction

Trait: Content – Those Shoes

Trait: Organization – Can I Be Your Dog?

Trait: Word Choice – Chrysanthemum

Trait: Voice – Julius: The Baby of the World

Trait: Sentence Fluency – Dear Peter Rabbit

Trait: Conventions – Memory Jars

Trait: Presentation – The Camping Trip

Chapter 2: Elementary Fiction

Trait: Content – Leo Geo and the Cosmic Crisis

Trait: Organization: Flashback – Jangles: A Big Fish Story

Trait: Word Choice – Magnificent Homespun Brown

Trait: Voice – Encounter

Trait: Sentence Fluency – Walk Two Moons

Trait: Conventions – Bud, Not Buddy

Trait: Presentation – New Kid

Chapter 3: Informational Primary Texts

Trait: Content – Dolphins and Sharks: Fact Tracker

Trait: Organization – ABC Insects

Trait: Word Choice – The Cloud Book

Trait: Voice – Sea Turtles

Trait: Sentence Fluency – Amazing Dolphins!

Trait: Conventions – North American Animals: Bald Eagles

Trait: Presentation – Life Cycle of a Butterfly

Chapter 4: Informational Elementary Texts

Trait: Content – Maybe Something Beautiful: How Art Transformed a Neighborhood

Trait: Organization – Cheetahs

Trait: Word Choice – Locomotive

Trait: Voice – Endangered Desert Animals

Trait: Sentence Fluency – Bananas!

Trait: Conventions – Moonshot: The Flight of Apollo 11

Trait: Presentation - Science Comics: Coral reefs: Cities of the Ocean

Chapter 5: Primary Poetry

Trait: Content – "What Is Yellow?" in Hailstones and Halibut Bones

Trait: Organization – "Picnic" Summer: An Alphabet Acrostic

Trait: Word Choice - "The Whales Off Wales" in Book of Animal Poetry

Trait: Voice – Won Ton and Chopstick: A Cat and Dog Tale Told in Haiku

Trait: Sentence Fluency – "Our Tree" in Sing a Song of Popcorn

Trait: Conventions – "Ickle Me, Pickle Me, Tickle Me Too" in Where the Sidewalk Ends

Trait: Presentation - "All Wet" in Ode to a Commode: Concrete poems.

Chapter 6: Elementary Poetry

Trait: Content – Bug Off! Creep, Crawly Poems

Trait: Organization – Count Me a Rhyme: Animal Poems by the Numbers

Trait: Word Choice - "The Turkey Shot Out of the Oven" in Something Big Has Been Here

Trait: Voice – "Foul Shot" in Reflections on a gift of a watermelon pickle

Trait: Sentence Fluency – "The Toy Eater" in Falling Up

Trait: Conventions – "Mirror, Mirror" in Falling Up

Trait: Presentation - "Cool, Sweet…But enough about me" in Ode to a Commode: Concrete poems.

Final Takeaways

References