Mentor Text "Bucket List" (AKA...book list)

by S. Romero

Hey teacher friends, summer time is here! I know most of you are either hanging by the pool, vacationing or perhaps just doing absolutely nothing at all...blissfulness; a stark contrast from our busy and structured schedules we are so use to having throughout the school year.

What will you do with all this free time? I know! How about starting your own Mentor Text "bucket list." You know...generating a list of books that would be perfect for a particular lesson but you just can't remember the title of the book or what particular trait or academic concept it lends itself to because you forgot to write it down..yea that list! I call it my "bucket list" (aka...book list) because every school year I swore that one day I'd start out the school year with a well thought out list of mentor text to use in my classroom. Well I never seemed to get around to it throughout the school year. Who knew?

So, what better time to start creating your "bucket/book list" than summer time! Stop by your local library and browse around for some engaging mentor text you can add to your list. If you think that's too much work, I agree! Better yet, call your local library or search their website about a particular subject matter or concepts and asks your librarian to pull those titles for you and arrange a time to pick them up! Most librarians I found are eager to help and will be more than happy to assist you!

So, while your lounging around enjoying the summer, as you should be, pull out a couple of those books and take a sticky pad and jot down how you can use it in your classroom...before you know it, you will have generated a well thought out book list ready to use! Think about how much planning time you will save.

Here is a list of mentor texts listed by categories to get you started:

Primer día de escuela: 
Que nervios! El primer día de la escuela por Julie Dannenberg
Un beso en mi mano por Audrey Penn
Franklin va a la escuela por Paulette Bourgeois 
El regreso a clases de Roberta por Sylvia Francias 
Compartimos todo por Robert Munch 

Secuencia: 
La oruga muy hambrienta por Eric Carle 
Si le das una galletita a un raton por Laura Joffe Numeroff 
La casa adormecida por Audrey Woods 
La mariquita malhumorada por Eric Care
El árbol generoso por Shel Silverstein 
Nublado con probabilidades de albóndigas por Judy Barret

Inferir: 
Corduroy por Don Freeman 
Kimberley preocupado por Kevin Henkes 
Jumangi (especiales de la orilla del viento) por Chris Van Allsburg
La viejita que no me tenia miedo a nada por Linda Williams 
Noche de humo por Eve Bunting
Si les das un panecillo a un alce por Laura Joffe Numeroff

What would your next category be?
What mentor text can you share to add to these lists?
Share your mentor text in the comments and let's help each other build a great Mentor Text "Bucket List"