"Loser" Mentor Text Study • Dialog Tags & Audience: Said is NOT Dead

The Loser Mentor Text Study - Dialog Tags & Audience: Said is NOT Dead

A unique teaching resource that contradicts the popular phrase 'said is dead' and explores the crucial role of 'said' in dialogue writing. This study uses sentences from Jerry Spinelli's 'Loser' as mentor texts.

Suitable for Middle Grade Education (Grades 4-8)

Primarily focusing on language arts, it is ideal for showing students how to write dialogues with actions that add color to scenarios instead of relying on clumsy dialog tags.

• Novel Excerpts
• Diverse discussion prompts for varying skill levels
• Sentence frames for structured learning tasks

The tool includes student-written exemplars showcasing different ways of applying these mentor techniques.

A standout feature: Dialog Writing Guide & Checklist

An excellent self-assessment tool letting students keep track of their progress. Flexible implementation—fits with whole classroom instruction or small group sessions.

All materials are also available in editable forms via cutting-edge Google Docs, enabling customization according to distinct classroom needs or specific learning objectives.

Ideal whether you're a public school educator guiding a course curriculum or homeschooling parents adding substance under Language Arts in the Writing category.

1 PDF with links to FULLY EDITABLE Google docs