Looking Up To Mentor Sentences

Lesson Plan - Get It!

Audio:

In this lesson, you will learn how to make your writing better with mentor sentences.

• But first, how do you learn something new?
• How did you learn to make the cookies?
• Do you usually look at a good example or a bad example?

Most people, when learning something new, usually look at a good example of what to do instead of focusing on what NOT to do. This is what you did when you watched the video on how to make chocolate chip cookies!

So, when you study writing and especially grammar, you should do the same thing. You should look at good examples that show you what you should do and not just what you shouldn't do!

Mentor sentences are one way to do this.

A mentor is someone or something you admire or look up to. It's kind of like a role model!

• Who is a mentor to you?
• Do you have a special teacher, family member, or coach?
• Is there someone who makes your life better by showing you how to act?

So, a mentor sentence is a written sentence that is so good you can look up to it as an example of how you should write other sentences.

Here is an example from a book you might know, called The One and Only Ivan, by Katherine Applegate:

For awhile, when I was young and foolish, I thought I was the last gorilla on earth.

We will talk later in this lesson about what makes this a sentence to look up to.

But first, let's explore the different parts to working with mentor sentences:

Notice

This means that you look at the sentence and think about what you see.

• What do you notice about this sentence?
• What makes it a good sentence?

Compare and Contrast

To do this, look at a sentence that's similar to the one you're looking at. Ask yourself:

• How are these sentences alike?
• How are they different?

Imitate

Try to write your own sentence that is similar to the mentor sentence.

• What idea can you borrow from the mentor sentence to use in your own writing?

Apply

Find a sentence that is similar in another book you're reading. Start a collection of these sentences!

Edit

This means that you write the mentor sentence three times.

Leave one sentence as it is. For the other two sentences, change one part of it to make it wrong.

• What changed?
• Why does that matter?

Celebrate!

Celebrate all your hard work by sharing your sentence, drawing a picture to go with it, or any other fun way that shows off your sentence!

Next, move on to the Get It! section to practice seeing how mentor sentences can make your writing the best it can be!