By: Jessica Herrmann
Mentor Text Selection: You are Special by Max Lucado, Illustrated by Sergio Martinez
Writing Skill: Students will examine this mentor text and use it as an example to determine if stories they have written previously have a developed beginning, middle, and end. Students will learn that they can use mentor texts to improve their own writing pieces.
Mentor Text Summary:
You are Special is a book about a man named Eli who created a town of wooden people called Wemmicks. He crafted each Wemmick uniquely so that they would be different from each other. Each day, the Wemmicks would walk around Wemmicksville and put either a star or a dot sticker on one another. Stars were given to the beautiful and talented Wemmicks. Dots were given to the ugly Wemmicks. One Wemmick, Punchinello, continues to get dots placed on him. Punchinello was very sad until he meets a stickerless Wemmick and the woodmaker Eli. Punchinello learns from them that he is special and that he other Wemmicks’ stickers only stick if he lets them. Once he comes to this realization, his dots begin to fall off. This is a heart-warming story that sends the message that each child is special and that they should respect each other’s diversity. It also shows them that they should not worry about what other children think of them.
Purpose for Mentor Text Selection: This book has a well developed beginning, middle, and end. It serves as a perfect example for students to use to examine their own stories and determine if they have a well developed beginning, middle, and end.
Beginning (What is the story about?):
The small wooden people named Wemmicks were carved by Eli. All of the wooden people live in Wemmicksville. Every day the Wemmicks gave one another dots or stars. Dots were given to ugly Wemmicks and stars were given to talented Wemmicks.
Middle (What happened in the story? Was there a problem?)
Punchinello is a Wemmick who becomes very sad because he is always given dots. He feels like he is not talented and unimportant.
End (What wrapped up the story? Was there a solution?)
Punchinello meets a stickerless Wemmick and Eli. He learns the lesson that he is special and that the other Wemmick’s stickers only stick if he lets them. His dots begin to fall off.
Lesson Plan:
***Please note it is important that students are exposed to the book first for enjoyment before being asked to study the text. The teacher must find an opportunity, prior to the lesson, to read the book to the students. This will allow them to enjoy the story and learn the message that they are special. Then it can be used as a reread for students to examine how the author wrote the story. ***Students should have previously written at least one story to examine during this lesson.
1. The lesson will begin with a discussion of the beginning, middle, and end of stories. Students will share what they think should be included in a good beginning, middle, and end. The teacher will use this discussion to assess the students’ understanding and background knowledge of story structure. In addition, the teacher will guide students to adjust their thinking if necessary. It will be reviewed that the beginning of a story should include what the story is about. The middle should include what happens in the story and an explanation of any problems. The end will explain the wrap up of the story and how any problems were resolved.
2. Next, the teacher will explain the idea of using an author’s work as a model to improve writing. Also, the teacher will explain to students that they will be examining You are Special to see examples of a writing piece that contains a well developed beginning, middle, and end. The teacher will explain to the students that they will be examining at least one of their previously written stories and adjust it so that it has a developed beginning, middle, and end. Explaining this will help students know why they are studying this mentor text.
3. The teacher will read the story to the students. (As noted above this should be a reread of the story). After reading the beginning of the story, the teacher will stop. Students will explain what happened in the beginning of the story and the teacher will record this in the “beginning section” on a piece of chart paper that is divided into the three story parts. The teacher will continue reading and stop before the conclusion of the story. Students will explain what happened in the middle of the story as the teacher records their ideas in the “middle section” on the piece of chart paper. The teacher will continue reading and stop at the end of the story. The students will explain how the story concluded as the teacher records their ideas in the "end section" on the chart paper.
4. The class will examine their notes from the story and determine if this book includes all of the important parts of a well-developed beginning, middle, and end. There will be another discussion of what should be included in each part of a story and the students will determine that this book has those qualities.
5. The assignment will be explained to students. Students will look in their writing notebooks for a story they have written previously. Students will circle the beginning of their story, underline the middle of their story, and put a square around the end of their story. This will help students to see if their story has all three parts. Then students will examine each part to see if it has all of the characteristics of a good beginning, middle, and end. Students will adjust their stories. The teacher will walk around to monitor and provide assistance to students.
Possible Lesson Extensions:
-Students can study the beginning, middle, and end of other books.
-Students can gather their thoughts for a story by completing a beginning, middle, and end graphic organizer.
Second Grade Ohio Academic Content Standards, Benchmarks, and Indicators for Writing:
Writing Processes Standard
Benchmark:
D. Use revision strategies and resources to improve ideas and content, organization, word choice and detail.
Indicator:
5. Organize writing with a developed beginning, middle, and end.
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