How can you use literature in your writing workshop and teach students to look for writing strategies as they read? In this workshop, you will learn how to use "touchstone" and "mentor" texts to teach students new writing techniques. By watching classroom examples, you will also see how teachers immerse students in literary genres and use engaging texts to set the stage for writing.

When you read like a writer, books should weigh twice as much because of what you can see inside the book.

— Isoke Nia, literacy consultant

Learning Goals

In this workshop you will explore how to:

• create a classroom library filled with great literary models
• use literature to help students explore different writing options
• teach students to read literature closely by looking at it through the lens of a writer
• illustrate and teach specific elements of writing craft using passages from literature