ABSTRACT
By planning strategically, based on what the students need to know and what they’re ready to learn, mentor texts can be a powerful tool in the hands of both teachers and the students. “Creating images” is a strategy that can be easily overlooked when students are in a hurry. Yet, it’s an important part of the writing process. Students need to look at other writers’ work to understand the impact strong details make in an informational piece. This strategy gives students time to get interesting phrases and details down in their notebooks that they can later use in a draft. Although informational writing is based on facts and information that is truthful, it relaxes the idea that there is only one way to write in this genre. When writing informational pieces, this is important, but writers also have the advantage of using visual graphics to get their point across.
