This product is a blend of lesson plan & interactive Reading Notebook. Each interactive page is paired with a mentor text to use with that lesson and a blank template in case you want to choose a different book to use. It's aligned with Common Core State Standards and includes a lesson for each of the Literature AND Informational standards. Please preview each grade level notebook below to see what is included with each lesson.

Using Mentor Text
Each lesson is paired with my favorite mentor text and completed examples so that you don't have to plan the lesson at all! Blank templates are also included so that you can use the lesson with any book. I found all of these at my local library! The ones you cannot find can be easily substituted with other library books, or books you already own. See the list of mentor text used below each lesson. Click on the link for a more detailed preview!

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Download a sample lesson for each grade level here.

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4th Grade Literature
Literature Standards Covered
genre
text-based evidence
theme
summarizing
describing characters, character traits
figurative language
poetry, drama, and prose
narrator point of view
compare and contrast stories

Mentor Text Used (You may substitute with another book you have)
The Stranger
Miss Malarkey Leaves No Reader Behind
Chrysanthemum
Train to Somewhere
Favorite Greek Myths
Poetry for Young People
Greek Myth Plays (Scholastic)
Voices in the Park
Where the Mountain Meets the Moon

5th Grade Literature
Literature Standards Covered
genre
text-based evidence
theme
summarizing
compare and contrast characters, character traits
figurative language
plot
narrator point of view
compare and contrast stories in the same genre

Mentor Text Used (You may substitute with another book you have)
Baseball Saved Us
Passage to Freedom
Fox
Grandpa's Teeth
Train to Somewhere
Poetry for Young People
My Rotten Red-headed Older Brother
Voices in the Park

6th Grade Literature
Literature Topics Covered
genre
text-based evidence
theme
summarizing
character and plot development
figurative language, connotation/denotation
point of view
compare and contrast books and media
compare and contrast stories in the same genre

Mentor Text Used (You may substitute with books you already have)
The Butterfly
Mirandy and Brother Wind
The Raft
Miss Malarkey Leaves No Reader Behind
Night of the Gargoyles
The Talking Eggs
Poetry for Young People

4th Grade Informational
Informational Standards Covered
types of nonfiction
text-based evidence
main idea and details
summarizing
writing explanations using historical, scientific, or technical text
context clues
text structure
cause & effect
point of view
text features and oral representations
author's reasons and evidence
conducting research

Mentor Text Used (You may substitute with another book you have)
A Child’s Introduction to Art: by Meredith Hamilton and Heather Alexander
The Greek News By Anton Powell
Survivors: True Stories of Children in the Holocaust by Allan Zullo
A Warmer World By Caroline Arnold

5th Grade Informational
Informational Standards Covered
informational text features
text-based evidence
main idea and details
summarizing
making connections
context clues
text structure
point of view
author's viewpoint
reference sources
conducting research

Mentor Text Used
Lives of the Scientists: Isaac Newton by Kathleen Krull & Kathryn Hewitt
Hope and Tears Ellis Island Voices by Gwenyth Swain
Freedom Heroines: Elizabeth Cady Stanton
A River Ran Wild By Lynne Cherry
The Transcontinental Railroad by Gillian Houghton
To the Golden Mountain by Lila Perl
History.com
*These mentor texts can be easily found at your public library, but may also be easily substituted with text you already have.

6th Grade Informational
Informational Topics Covered
text-based evidence
inferences
central idea and details
summarizing
example, anecdotes, and text features
context clues
text structure
point of view and author's purpose
media
claims and supporting evidence
author's presentation

Mentor Text Used (You may substitute with books you already have)
A Child's Introduction to Art
Lives of the Scientists
The Greek News
A Warmer World
Hope and Tears: Ellis Island Voices
Looking at Lincoln
Smart About the Presidents
History.com