Mrs. McGowan's Touchstone Books

Mrs. McGowan's Class ~ Touchstone Books ~ I've often been asked, "What is your most favorite children's book?" Of course, I have several favorites! I've made lists and lists of books to use as topical read alouds and I use many of them every year. But the ones I consider my favorites, are the books I use for instruction. Many show several different reading and writing craft elements; some target just one unique craft feature. These are my touchstone books or mentor texts. A touchstone book is a book you love and know very well. It's one that you happily can read over and over. * Note: I'm using the term touchstone books to be synonomous with mentor texts. For a very thorough explanation of mentor texts, refer to Mentor Texts: Teaching Writing Through Children's Literature, K-6 by Lynne R. Dorfman & Rose Cappelli. * Online Resources About Touchstone Books or Writers' Workshop This new web page will highlight some of my choices for touchstone books and a literacy response from my students if possible. Several of these titles have been used as the basis for collaborative internet projects. You'll see that most are books that can be used to scaffold early writers. They provide a pattern of writing that children can use successfully, long before they learn about paragraphs, leads, sentence fluency, etc.
Pattern Books
The Important Book by Margaret Wise Brown Christmas Writing Students wrote about important Christmas ideas. Our Important Book Students wrote about people important in their lives. My Town Is Important Project Students wrote a description of significant features about their special place in poetry form. A Patchwork of Places and Poetry Our class wrote one poem with the whole class showing important things we learned about the ocean. Then our class made individual illustrations of an ocean animal. Oh, The Places We'll Go! Our Important Book Poems	Fortunately by Remi Charlip Fortunately! First grade version. That's What Happens When Its Spring by Elaine Good That's What Happens When Its Spring Project Fall Is Here! I love It! by Elaine Good Fall Is Here! We Love It! Project Colorful Spring by Erin Moran Colorful Spring Project White Wonderful Winter by Elaine Good Superflakes Bulletin Board This is made up of winter writing using the White Wonderful Winter pattern and make-a-flake snowflakes. Some Smug Slug or Four Famished Foxes and Fosdyke, both by Pamela Duncan Edwards Tongue Twister Alphabet
Question and Answer Patterns
Brown Bear, Brown Bear by Bill Martin Jr. Spring Lake Animals Animal Riddles C. J.'s animal lives in the desert. It eats rats and other animals. It moves by slithering. It's color is brown. Can you guess what it is?	White Ghost, White Ghost, What Do You See? We used this story pattern for Halloween writing. Leaf Man by Lois Ehlert Leaf Man, Leaf Man Students spotted the Leaf Man in many places! They wrote a describing sentence about each place too.
Additional Books With Patterns: Ten in the Bed I Went Walking The Napping House I Know an Old Lady I Am the Dog, I Am the Cat When I Was Young in the Mountains Chica, Chica Boom Boom Tops and Bottoms City Mouse, Country Mouse If You Give a Mouse a Cookie	A House Is A House For Me Who Took The Farmers Hat? The Biggest Pumpkin Is Your Mama A Llama? Goodnight Moon Noisy Nora Mama Do You Love Me? Is Your Mama a Llama
Acrostics
Acrostic Retelling of Story Wild Horse Winter by Tetsuya Honda Collaborative Class Acrostic Poem for Wild Horse Winter An alternative to book report. Cross Country Cat by Mary Calhoun Collaborative Class Acrostic poem for Cross Country Cat Acrostic retelling and 4 - line poems	Acrostic Poems Autumn : An Alphabet Acrostic by Steven Schnur. Acrostic Name Poems
Ideas for Writing
Jeffrey and Sloth by Kari-Lynn Winters Writers' Craft - Jeffrey and Sloth Stranger in the Woods by Carl Sams and Jean Stoick Stranger in the Woods Charlotte's Web by E. B. White Our 4 - Line Character Poems Pippi Longstocking by Astrid Lindgren Pippi Longstocking Project Tales of a 4th Grade Nothing by Judy Blume Tales of a 4th Grade Nothing Project	The Mitten by Jan Brett and The Mitten Tree by Candace Christiansen Our Mitten Tree We wrote riddles about other animals that might like to be in a mitten this cold winter. All of these animals can be found in our own neighborhood of Spring Lake, NJ. Our town has a lovely lake and it's also right on the beach. So don't be surprised to find some ocean critters included! We borrowed Christiansen's tree idea and hung our animal mittens on a tree by our classroom.
Narrative Writing: Small Moments When I Was Young in the Mountains Owl Moon The Night Tree Fireflies! Crab Moon Shortcut Do Like Kyla A Chair for My Mother The Snowy Day Wilfrid Gordon McDonald Partridge	Letter Writing Dear Mr. Blueberry Letters to Santa from Fluffy the Cat Arthur’s Pen Pal Dear Mr. Henshaw Little Bear’s Friend Jolly Postman
Online Resources About Touchstone Books or Writers' Workshop Teaching Writing With Touchstone Books Project