Grade 5 Mentor Texts
The following books are recommended for teaching grade 5 reading strategies. The lists contain fiction, nonfiction and poetry. Obviously some books can be used for more than one strategy and are therefore listed multiple times. Enjoy using them!
*nonfiction
Story Mapping skills- Plot and Story elements
Title Author Website for book Crickwing Janell Cannon Beatrice’s Goat Page McBrier
Setting
Title Author Website for book Harvesting Hope: Kathleen Krull www.youtube.com/watch?v=pk1W1OC9W9I The story of Cesar Chavez The Other Side Jacqueline www.youtube.com/watch?v=QqKteFSLPtE Woodson Rotten Teeth Laura Simms Working Cotton Sherley Williams All the Place to Patricia Love MacLachlan The Raft Jim LaMarche Character Analysis
Crickwing Janell Cannon Mr. Peabody’s Apples Madonna Bully Patricia Polacco Enemy Pie Derek Munson and Tara Calahan King Amazing Grace Mary Hoffman and Caroline Binch The Can Man Lauara E Williams My Rotten Redheaded Patricia Polacco Older Brother Odd Boy Out: Young Don Brown Albert Einstein One Green Apple Eve Bunting The Night I followed Nina Laden the Dog The Potato Chip Maria Dismondy Champ
Questioning
Title Author Website Because of Winn Dixie Kate DiCamillo I Can Hear the Sun Patricia Polacco Pink and Say Patricia Polacco *The Librarian Who Kathryn Lasky Measured the Earth All I See Cynthia Rylant The Wednesday Surprise Grandfather Twilight Barbara Berger Summarizing
Title Author Website Always Remember me: Marisabina Russo How One Family Survived World War II The Man Who Walked Mordicai Gerstein Between the towers *Rare Treasure Dan Brown Jumanji Chris VanAllsburg
Main Idea
Title Author Website The Important Book Margaret Wise Brown A Bad Case of the Stripes David Shannon Skin Again Bell Hooks City Green DyAnne DiSalvo-Ryan My Name is Yoon Helen Recorvits Stand Tall, Molly Lou Patty Lovell Melon Our Tree Named Steve Alan Zweibel *Sharks! Strange and Lawrence Pringle Wonderful *Grandfather’s Journey Allen Say
Determining Importance: Text that is packed with details so that readers have to sift out the most important information.
Title Author Website Through My Eyes Ruby Bridges Mr. Lincoln’s Way Patricia Polacco The Graves Family Patricia Polacco Chicken Sunday Patricia Polacco *Teammates Peter Goldenbock Making Inferences
Title Author Website A Day’s Work Eve Bunting A Picnic in October Eve Bunting Dreaming of America Eve Bunting Fly Away Home Eve Bunting Crickwing Janell Cannon The Dot Peter Reynolds Mr. Lincoln’s Way Patricia Polacco Mr. Peabody’s Apples Madonna Tight Times Barbara Shook Hazen Creatures of the Earth, Georgia Heard Sea & Sky June 29, 1999 David Weisner *Bat Loves the Night Nicola Davies *Teammates Peter Goldenbock *Baseball Saved us Ken Mochizuki *Iditarod Gary Paulsen
Synthesizing- Students must get the gist, put information in their own words and sit out the most important ideas from a sea of facts and information.
Title Author Website An Angel For Solomon Cynthia Rylant Singer Crickwing Janell Cannon Goin’ Someplace Special Patricia McKissak Graddaddy’s Gift Margaree King Mitchell Two Bad Ants Chris VanAllsburg Tar Beach Faith Ringgold Theme
Title Author Website A Moment in Time Jennifer Butenas Fly Away Home Eve Bunting The Hard- Times Jar Ethel Footman Smothers These Hands Margaret Mason Spaghetti in a Hot Dog Maria Desmondy Bun Tree Lady: The True H. Joseph Hopkins Story of How One Tree- Loving Woman Changed the City Forever The Paper Bag Princess Robert Munsch Giant Children Brad Bagert The Old Woman Who Cynthia Rylant Named Things Faithful Elephants Yukio Tsuchiya
Songs for Theme
“Hero” by Mariah Carey
“Good Riddance (Time of Your Life)” by Green Day
“I Hope You Dance” by Lee Ann Womack
“Cats in the Cradle” by Harry Chaplin
“ Hold On” by Wilson Phillips
Foreshadowing
Title Author Website The Patchwork Quilt Valerie Flournoy Shortcut David Macaulay
Flashback
Title Author Website Miss Rumphius Barbara Cooney The Wreck of the Zephyr Chris VanAllsburg Grandfather’s Journey Allen Say An Angel For Solomon Cynthia Rylant Singer
Tone
Title Author Website The Day the Crayons Quit Daywalt Night of the Gargoyles Eve Bunting Arnie the Doughnut Laurie Keller The Dark Lemony Snicket Piggie Pie Margie Palantini
Mood
Title Author Website
Night of the Gargoyles Eve Bunting
One Kathryn Otoshi
Tarot Says Beware Betsy Byars
Poppy Avi Point of View
Title Author Website
I am the Cat I am the Dog Donald Hall
The Day the Crayons Quit Drew Daywalt
Once I Ate a Pie Patricia MacLachlan
Seahorse Wishes poem
Hey, Little Ant Philip and Hannah Hoose
The True Story of the Jon Sciesza Three Little Pigs
Two Bad Ants Chris VanAllsburg
Poetry that Can be used to teach various strategies:
Gathering the Sun by Alma Ada Touch the Poem by Arnold Adoff Laughing Tomatoes by Francisco Alarcon Nathaniel Talking by Eloise Greenfield Honey, I Love by Eloise Greenfield Falling Down the Page by Georgia Heard Creatures of the Earth, Sea and Sky by Georgia Heard The Dream Keeper by Langston Hughes Once I Ate a Pie by Patricia MacLachlan Sky Scrape/City Scrape by Jane Yolen
** Any books by Jack Prelutsky and Shel Silverstein
Nonfiction Text Structures: Sequence:
Title Author Website
Trapped by the Ice! Michael McCurdy Shackleton’s Amazing Antarctic Adventure
The Amazing Life of J.C. Giblin Benjamin Franklin
The Eagles are Back Jean Craighead George
The Buck Stops Here A Provensen
Brothers at Bat Audrey Vernick
Problem Solution
Title Author Website
The Wildlife Detectives: D. Jackson How Forensic Scientists Fight Crimes
If You Traveled on the E. Levine Underground Railroad
Here Comes the Garbage Jonah Winter Barge
Cause and Effect Title Author Website
What if You Had Animal Sandra Markel Teeth?
Why Mosquitos Buzz in Verna Aardema People’s Ears
Are You A Grasshopper? Judy Allen
The Reason for a Flower Ruth Heller
A River Ran Wild Lynne Cherry
Compare and Contrast
Title Author Website
Now and Ben Gene Baretta
John, Paul, George, Ben Lane Smith
Crocodiles and Alligators Seymour Simon
Those Rebels, John and Barbara Kerley Tom
The Great Fire Jim Murphy