Mentor Texts Imitation Inspiration and Improvement Using mentor

Mentor Texts: Imitation, Inspiration, and Improvement

Using mentor texts in the teaching of writing. . . Higher Order Concerns Lower Order Concerns • Ideas, organization • How can Ernest Hemingway help with HOCs? • Word choice, sentence structure • How can Eminem help with LOCs?

Rhythmic Prose: the original • Eminem’s “Lose Yourself” music contributes to a striking Chrysler commercial. – aired Superbowl 2012 – set in Detroit http: //www. youtube. com/watch? v=SKL 254 Y_jtc&feature=player_detailpage -

Rhythmic prose: the text unpacked I got a question for ya. What does this city know about luxury, huh? What does a town that’s been to hell and back know about the finer things in life? Well I’ll tell ya. More than most. You see, it’s the hottest fires that make the hardest steel. Add hard work and conviction and the know-how that runs generations deep in every last one of us. That’s who we are. That’s our story. Now it’s probably not the one you’ve been reading in the papers. The one being written by folks who’ve never even been here, who don’t know what we’re capable of. Because when it comes to luxury it’s as much about where it’s from as who it’s for. Now we’re from America, but this isn’t New York City. Or the Windy City. Or Sin City. And we’re certainly no one’s Emerald City. This is the Motor City. And this is what we do.

Rhythmic Prose: Playing with Structure • Harry Noden’s Image Grammar likens the writer to an ‘artist’ and writing acts to ‘brushstrokes. ’ • In terms of parallel structure: • Literal That’s who we are. That’s our story. • Grammatical Structures connected with conjunctions Add hard work and conviction and the know-how that runs generations deep in every last one of us. Structures created with repeated phrases This is the Motor City. And this is what we do. Clauses The one being written by folks who’ve never even been here, who don’t know what we’re capable of.

Popular Digital Texts & Teaching Writing – Digital texts are. . . • All around us. • Easily accessible. – Digital texts help students… Stay engaged. Make classroom-to-life connections. Recognize various grammars. Develop a ‘common vocab’ for discussing grammar. Experiment with word choice, structure/form, punctuation, and rhythm. • Add ‘brushstrokes’ to their ‘artist palettes’ (Noden) • • •

Let’s Experiment! • Take a few minutes to review your Fletcher inspired memoir and Lyon inspired poem. Choose one. • Let’s spice this piece up with ‘brushstrokes’: – Note existing or add literal repetition to your piece. What are its effects? – Note existing or add grammatical repetition to your piece. What are its effects? • How do we work with or envision working with mentor texts in our classrooms? – Copy-change poetry? Memoir? Digital texts? ‘Brushstrokes’?