The Writing Thief: Using Mentor Texts to Teach the Craft of Writing

The Writing Thief: Using Mentor Texts to Teach the Craft of Writing

It’s been said that mediocre writers borrow, but great writers steal. Writing thieves read widely, dive deeply into texts, and steal bits and pieces from great texts as models for their own writing. Ruth Culham admits to being a writing thief—and she wants you and your students to become writing thieves, too! <br />Students learn more about reading and writing when we use mentor texts to explore how writing works. Within this book, you’ll discover more than 90 excellent mentor texts along with straightforward activities that can help you teach the traits of writing across the informational, narrative, and argument modes. Ruth presents exceptional examples of children’s literature and everyday texts, organized around the key qualities of the writing traits, that can give your students clear, enjoyable examples of good writing—which they can then pinch and pilfer as models for their own writing. <br />Chapters also include brief essays from favorite writing thieves—Lester Laminack, David L. Harrison, Lisa Yee, Nicola Davies, Ralph Fletcher, Toni Buzzeo, and Lola Schaefer—detailing the reading that has influenced their own writing. <br />Ruth’s warm, easygoing style and friendly tone make this a book you’ll turn to again and again as you guide your students to reach their full potential as deep, thoughtful readers and great writers. There’s a writing thief in each of us when we learn how to read with a writer’s eye! <br />