Week 1- The Writing Thief by Ruth Culham, Prologue-Chapter 2

This section of The Writing Thief is about the power of writing and words. The prologue

focuses on anecdotes and building interest around writing. It talks about taking everyday phrases

and making them sparkle. Chapter 1 focuses on the problem with writing lessons in education

and zombie practices. It touches base on what to do and what not to do and the importance of a

great teacher. It also talks about how education is shifting and students are starting to love to

learn once more. Chapter 2 introduces and defines mentor texts (text that you can read with a

writers’ eye). It shows the link between reading and writing and emphasizes the importance of

good mentor texts, because students learn from authors, not assignments! It also teaches how to

spot a mentor text and how to use mentor texts yourself.

I really enjoy The Writing Thief. I feel I could use this book to help teach elementary

writing in many ways. First, I actually really liked the analogy of teaching about an empty

cardboard box. Good teachers should be able to do that. I think it would be interesting to create

a writing workshop in my future classroom that is actually about a cardboard box-what kinds of

things could we imagine about that box? How could we make people feel bad for the box? What

about happy? What types of things or stories could live in that box? This idea really resonated

with me and I enjoyed reading it. Second, I love the tradition of the author’s summer ritual.

Reading the same story every year with a different lens is a wonderful exercise that I would like

to try. I think this could further my understanding of mentor texts and allow me to think like a

student and analyze my own mentor text. I also loved the entire story in the prologue. The idea of

taking boring or mundane phrases (“Do not disturb”) and turning them into things that stick with

you is super fun and a great exercise to introduce students into writing! I also like the perspective
that anything can become a mentor text. Prior to reading this I had honestly never really thought

about mentor texts, and now I am thinking about everything like it is a mentor text.

I think this book is super beneficial and a great read. It offers up new ideas, a change in

perspective, and most of all opportunities to become a better writing educator. Writing is a

daunting thing to teach because it is so important, but if we emphasize how fun and empowering

it can be, we can hopefully raise generations of writers.