Using Mentor Texts for Narrative Writing in Middle School ELA

You would think narrative essays would be one of the easier forms of writing. Students have been interacting with narrative stories since they were little kids. Not to mention, we tell stories all the time in our daily lives. But actually writing narrative essays? It’s a big challenge for students. Using novel mentor texts for narrative writing is a super effective tool to guide students towards strong essays and develop independence with writing.

What are Narrative Writing Mentor Texts?

Mentor texts act as a model of the skill you want to teach students. They help deepen students’ understanding of writing concepts because students can actually see the skill in action. You don’t have to read an entire novel with students to use it as a mentor text. You can pull sentences or passages from it, as long as it’s a good example of the skill.

Specifically, narrative writing mentor texts are those that can be used to model and showcase the elements of narrative writing. For example, you could pull an excerpt that models effective dialogue or character development.

Using Novel Mentor Texts to Teach Narrative Writing

I like to use narrative writing mentor texts from the get-go. In the very first lesson of my Narrative Writing Unit, students interact with novel mentor texts and see the elements of narrative writing in action!

There are a ton of ways you can use mentor texts in the classroom, but my favorite is to pair it with a mini-lesson. For example, in lesson one, I talk through three narrative writing elements with students: establishing context, logical event sequence, and situating events in a time and place. After we go over the definitions, I show students a narrative writing mentor text so they can see what those elements look like.

To help you get started, I want to dig deep into three of the narrative writing elements and talk about how to use mentor texts for each element. When you do this in your classroom, I recommend pulling examples from a book you’ve read with students.

Establishing Context

When establishing context, the author is putting a topic into perspective for someone who knows nothing about the story. In other words, context gives the essential background information the reader needs to understand the story.

When looking for a mentor text that establishes context, you want something that if removed from the novel might change how the reader understands the character, plot, or overall story.

Take this example from Freak the Mighty: “I’m sitting in the hospital bed, waiting for Max. Max, he’s my best friend, but you’d never guess it by looking at us. He’s the strength, and I’m the brains, but you’d be shocked at how smart he is too.”

This excerpt sets the context for Max and Freak’s friendship. It also tells the reader a bit about who they are. When looking at a narrative mentor text for establishing context, ask students: What information do you learn from this text? How might the story change if this information was removed?

Using Effective Dialogue

This is one of the hardest parts (in my opinion) of narrative writing. Students want to use dialogue for everything! Effective dialogue means that it serves a purpose, like moving the story forward or developing the plot. You can also use it for emphasis.

You can find narrative writing mentor texts that use effective dialogue by looking for those places in the book where the dialogue makes a big impact. It reveals the character’s motives or sets the stage for the next part of the story.

For example, this excerpt from Ghost: “Come on, Sunny! It’s only the second day of practice and you’re already slackin’!” the coach barked at the tallest boy out there. He was holding a clipboard and smacked it against his leg. “Get ‘em up!”

This example is effective dialogue because it gives the reader a peek into the type of person Sunny is. When looking at mentor texts about dialogue, ask students: Why was this piece of dialogue necessary? What did the dialogue reveal about the character/plot/etc.?

Setting the Scene

If you’re an English teacher, there’s a good chance you say “show don’t tell” more often than you want to. That’s because students struggle with sensory details. When setting the scene, an author brings a setting to life by appealing to the reader’s senses.

You want to look for mentor texts that use a clear sense (taste, touch, smell, see, hear) when describing the current scene or situation.

This is a great example from The Hunger Games: “In the fall, a few brave souls sneak into the woods to harvest apples. But always in sight of the Meadow. Always close enough to run back to the safety of District 12 if trouble arises. “District Twelve. Where you can starve

to death in safety, “ I mutter.”

The author could have just said, “It’s fall.” But instead, she added details about the season, like the apples that are ready to harvest. We also know the setting is surrounded by nature, with a forest and meadow nearby. When looking at examples of setting the scene, ask students: What sense is the author appealing to? How did they show instead of tell?
Using mentor texts for narrative writing will make a big difference in how well students can apply the elements. I always have students jot these examples down in their notebooks, so they can refer back to them as often as they want. If you want even more ideas for how to use mentor texts for narrative writing, check out this blog post with narrative writing and short story examples.