Text Structures from the Masters

Text Structures from the Masters will have you learning new definitions to familiar words. That's OK. The end result is writing skills that have been expanded and strengthened, giving students a whole new voice. This user-friendly book has great instruction and minimal teacher preparation, although you will need just a bit to familiarize yourself with the process. But, after that, the lessons are well-planned and everything you need – including the master texts (mentor texts) and lots of student samples – are provided for you.

One of the most enjoyable aspects of this course is the way they have taken historical documents – some familiar and some not so much – and boiled them down to a specific universal message. For instance, the Mayflower Compact, 1620 (team promise), “journal of a Lady of Quality," Janet Schaw, 1775 (how bullying works), “Duty, Honor, Country," General Douglas MacArthur, 1962 (parting advice to your replacement). These universal messages are termed an “itch." The author has something to say – an itch to say it. Students have the same itch – even if they don't know it yet. The book identifies 50 historical documents along with its “itch." These mentor texts are all drawn from American history (early through present) with the 50 lessons organized according to the chronological timing of the text. And, by the way, it's an impressive collection of documents.

Lessons for each document all include a “text structure." This fleshes out the basic message into points. For instance, “How Bullying Works" identifies these four points: where they see you (or find you), what they demand from you, what they will do if you refuse, and how people usually react. These text structures are included on the Planning Page for each lesson. Other Lesson parts include several examples of student writing, the mentor text and space for the student to brainstorm and write their own “kernel essay."

Another new term? Kernal essays are created using the text structure applied to the students own ideas. Using the structure as a guide, one sentence is written on provided lines. You might be tempted to write this off as “just an outline." While you would be technically correct, you would be totally missing the significance of the student having worked their own ideas into a structure that has already proven the test of time. A kernel essay is just elaborating steps away from a completed essay.

What makes this whole process really understandable and repeatable are the plenteous student examples that are included with each lesson. Some lessons will highlight the planning page process; others will provide examples of kernel essays or full, completed essays. The other real positive with the course, is the flexibility. The student has freedom to choose the path they want to take since the lessons do not have to be done in order.

Students are never left with an entirely blank piece of paper. When they are asked to make a “quick list" of topics related to the mentor text, there are always suggestions to jumpstart the thinking process. For example, from the Bullying lesson these are the suggestions for the student's list of topics: “People push other people to do things. When have you seen this? *bullies at school *rules you disagree with."

Sounds pretty good, doesn't it? This course provides a new, innovative way to encourage and train students in quality essay writing. But wait, there's more! These lessons can be used backwards, so to speak. The student can start with the text structure and then read through the historical text. As they read they can “chunk" the document – that means to identify the paragraphs that relate to each part of the text structure. Writing a kernel statement from those paragraphs provides a whole new set of insights into the document. To take the process one step further students can start with the text structure, write a kernel essay based on their own ideas, and THEN read the historical document. Result? A whole new set of insights.

The Course Book provides some introductory information for the teacher outlining the basic lesson planning and objectives. After that, it's all four-page lessons, each based on one of the historical text documents. There are several appendices which are helpful for the teacher in assigning lessons – or in allowing students to choose their own lesson. One gives a total listing of all the text structures so it's easy to compare. Nine appendices each provide a list of text structures grouped according to a particular topic such as “text structures for important moments." Two others identify other ways to use the Lessons in English/Language Arts or Social Studies classrooms. A last remaining appendix outlines a character project which takes the text structure approach to a new level outlining a research project based on the approach.

This easy-to-use program would be an excellent option for the writing component of a middle school or high school English course. It could also be used as targeted skill-building. 221 pgs, pb. ~ Janice