Picture Books as Mentor Texts for 10th Grade Struggling Writers

Premont, D. W., Young, T. A., Wilcox, B., Dean, D., & Morrison, T. G. (2017). Picture Books as Mentor Texts for 10th Grade Struggling Writers. Literacy Research and Instruction, 56(4), 290-310. doi: 10.1080/19388071.2017.1338803

Background

Mentor texts have been used to help students become better writers by allowing students to observe quality writing and emulate what accomplished writers do. Using picture books as mentor texts for teaching writing allows low-achieving students to interact with texts that are short and non-threatening.

Aims

The purpose of this study was to determine if picture books could enhance word choice, sentence fluency and conventions in narrative writing when used with 10th Grade struggling writers.

Sample

Twelve participants were selected from two low achieving 10th grade English classes at a suburban high school. The researchers made their selection based on the overall command of English and coherency of the students in completing a writing prompt. The 12 included the four highest, lowest, and average-performing students based on responses to the given prompt. All students participated in the subsequent class activities but only the data from the two sets of 12 were analysed.

Method

Over an 11-week period, the teacher read 12 picture books and discussed three aspects: word choice, sentence fluency and correct grammar. Students worked on a piece of writing or revised a draft, focussing on the three aspects. The teacher also used examples from his own writing to model how students could revise their writing to include the trait they noticed in the picture books.

Four data sources were used in this study: multiple drafts of student writing, student reflections, students’ scores and entries in the teacher’s reflective journals.

Findings

The study found that picture books as mentor texts can enhance secondary student writing regardless of ability level and engagement. Although students took longer to understand sentence fluency compared to correct grammar, student growth was most evident in this aspect.

Implications

The use of picture books as mentor texts, together with teacher modelling, has a place in both primary and secondary schools regardless of student ability.

Original article retrieved from EBSCOHost.