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Mentor Text Magic: Gathering Great Mentor Texts for Meaningful Writing Instruction
with Sarah Woodard, MA | NCTB
Mentor texts work magic in the writing classroom, helping students see, understand, and imitate powerful writing. This course guides teachers in building a purposeful mentor‑text stack aligned to their grade level, discipline, and chosen genre. Participants leave with curated texts, sharper instructional strategies, and a clear approach for helping students write with purpose and confidence.
Many writing programs focus narrowly on responding to reading or teaching broad modes like narrative, informational, or argumentative. But real-world writing is far richer, and students thrive when they can write in authentic genres with real purposes and audiences. By studying well-chosen mentor texts, students learn to “read like writers,” uncovering the craft moves, structures, and conventions that make writing effective and transferable across contexts.
This course supports teachers in building a purposeful mentor‑text stack tailored to their grade level, discipline, and chosen genre. Participants will explore how mentor texts model everything from craft and organization to grammar and syntax, while clarifying the critical distinction between mode and genre. By the end of the course, teachers leave with a curated set of mentor texts and a practical, repeatable framework for designing meaningful writing experiences that help students write with clarity, confidence, and authenticity.
Audience: Teachers of grades PreK – 12+, literacy specialists, ESL/MLL teachers, and instructional coaches, administrators who would like to deepen their understanding of effective writing instruction.
| The Details | |
| Dates | Starts June 8 |
| Time | Asynchronous |
| Cost | $145 |
| Location | Online |
| Graduate Credits Available | 1 |
Purpose & Outcomes
- Explore the benefits of teaching writing through an inquiry stance
- Understand the difference between mode and genre
- Identify a genre of writing they would like to teach that connects to existing curriculum in their respective teaching context and aligns to standards
- Gather a stack of mentor texts to support students in “reading as writers” and noticing features of the genre to try out and emulate in their own writing
- Analyze mentor texts through the lenses of writing craft, text structures/features, and grammar and syntax (conventions)
- Create an initial plan for teaching writing with mentor texts
- Reflect on learning and plans for implementation
Sarah Woodard, MA | NCTB
Facilitator
Sarah Woodard has taught middle and high school English Language Arts in the Denver Metro Area since 1996. She holds a BA in Secondary English Education with a minor in intercultural communication from Wartburg College in Waverly, Iowa; an MA in Language, Literacy, and Culture: English Education, from University of Colorado Denver; and earned her National Board for Professional Teaching Standards in 2010 which she renewed in 2019. She serves as co-director of development for the Denver Writing Project, is involved with several National Writing Project initiatives, and is a senior instructor with the Responsive Literacy Education Program at the University of Colorado Denver. Sarah loves teaching and learning in digital spaces and has experience designing and facilitating instruction in online and hybrid environments. She practices yoga on a regular basis and enjoys hiking, long walks with her dog, reading, writing, and traveling.