Micro Mentor Texts: Using Short Passages From Great Books to Teach Writer’s Craft

I've been a fan of Penny Kittle for a long time, and depend on her professional books. But I'm finding myself using this one more than any of the others because it's so practical. Penny provides so many great passages from great books, but she doesn't stop there. She gives very clear guidelines on how to use those passages to teacher specific craft moves, many of which are on my state's standards. I'm seeing serious improvement in my kids' writing! Thank you, Penny!

I love this book, and I love Penny Kittle. Absolutely worth your money. ❤️

Love this book. Necessity for any secondary ELA classroom.

As always, Penny Kittle has written another great book.

This book synthesizes all that Penny Kittle believes into one gem. As a language arts teacher, my new learning informs my teaching, and Micro Mentor Texts provides new information on so many levels. I made a list of all the books she uses throughout the pages and have already ordered them! I worked through many of the steps she encourages us to teach: noticing, imitating and, finally, taking a turn at writing in my own notebook. It's not until we try out new methodology for ourselves that we begin to understand how language works and FEELS. As Kittle says, "we must show them [our students] how rich and real it is for us." Though her warmth and compassion, Penny demonstrates the importance of literature in our writing lives. By the time you finish the book, you will feel much more versed in analyzing authors' craft moves and thereby more confident to help students find their voices, passion, and confidence.

I was hoping this would be excerpts, but it is more like sentences and I really didn't find it useful.

Love the hands-on, easy to navigate approach to this book. A great range of micro mentor texts and detailed prompts to engage students!