Deborah Dean

Re‐envisioning Reading and Writing Through Combined‐Text Picture Books

Combined-text picture books unite multiple genres, providing nuanced information on a single topic from the unique lens of each genre. By providing guided practice in reading and writing a combined-text picture book, teachers can help students develop sensitivity to different types of texts, to what they do and how they do it. Such sensitivity can give students a foundation for selecting appropriate strategies for reading and writing effectively in a wider variety of genres. This article describes the process of explicit instruction, discussion, and guided practice with one such text, One Leaf Rides the Wind, that helped one class of seventh-grade students develop as strategic readers and writers when they created a class version of a combined-text picture book.

Picture Books as Mentor Texts for 10th Grade Struggling Writers

ABSTRACT The purpose of this study was to determine if picture books in high school classrooms could enhance word choice, sentence fluency, and conventions. Previous research has not fully considered employing picture books as mentor texts in high schools. Twelve participants from two low-performing 10th grade English classes were identified as low-, medium-, or high-performing students. Using action research, students were taught from an inquiry-based approach as the teacher read aloud picture books and asked students what they noticed. Students referred to the picture books as they were challenged to improve their narrative writing. Findings demonstrated that picture books helped secondary students of all ability levels improve. Conclusions shed light on the abstract nature of sentence fluency, and showed teacher modeling to be effective.