Last month I attended the February Institute at Teachers College of Columbia University in New York City.  The week’s topic was the use of touchstone texts to teach reading and writing well.   Here’s a brief summary of what I learned - just hitting the high points.

What is a touchstone text?  A touchstone text is a text that a teacher reads with his/her class repeatedly throughout the year.  The teacher and students know the text very well.  The community of readers uses the touchstone text to practice various reading and writing strategies and/or to work on fluency.   For example, “What’s the most important thing about your story you’re working on?  Let’s look at Shortcut by Donald Crews again to see how he showed us what was important in his story.”

When selecting touchstone texts for mini-lessons, the teacher should keep in mind that the best touchstone text is one that has the potential to be used numerous times throughout the school year for MANY different mini-lessons. The teacher’s greatest consideration: “How much can I teach my students about reading or writing using this piece of (touchstone) writing?”  Make sure that the strategies you teach (mini-lessons) are transferable to other reading and writing.  You’re teaching the strategy – not a particular book.

What’s the difference between a touchstone text and a mentor text?  Although the terms are sometimes used interchangeably,  a mentor text typically refers to a text that an individual uses while a touchstone text is used by the entire community of learners.

Shared writing from the class can become a touchstone text for the class.

Through the use of touchstone texts, we can get our students to start reading like writers - noting the how the author used words to convey meaning.

A teacher who regularly uses touchstone texts typically keeps a basket of touchstone texts nearby to use when he/she confers with students.  However, we learned of one teacher who used a single text, When I Was Young in the Mountains by Cynthia Rylant, as the only touchstone text for an entire school year.  She used it for teaching both reading and writing strategies. 

Use the connections that children make when they’re reading as a springboard for their own writing.  E.G. “Reading Shortcut made me think about trains, but I don’t have a story about trains.  However, it also made me think about a time when I did something I shouldn’t have done. I can write about that.”

Use strategies you know and can name from touchstone texts to help with other books and with own reading and writing.  It is important for children to know the language of reading and writing.  They should be able to identify by name the strategies they’re using (inferring, questioning, making connections, synthesizing, etc.)

Readers have work to do before reading a book: title, front and back covers, author’s notes, dedication. Use these to make predictions and to drive conversation (accountable talk) before reading.

Here is an activity to use with a touchsone text.  I’ve personally used this activity with five different reading groups over the past two weeks (first through fifth grades), and I also had my faculty do it last week when I did a presentation about using touchstone texts.  The activity has several purposes:   (a) to relate the text (narrative, informational, expository) to poetry;  (b) to determine important information, main idea; (c) to foster accountable talk among students; and (d) to practice expression and fluency.

Touchstone Text Activity

(1) Before reading the touchstone text again, give each child a sticky note with the instructions to write down the one line or phrase from the touchstone text that made the biggest impression on him/her (an “ah!” “oh!” or “aha!” moment) – a sentence or phrase that stood out.  They write the exact words from the text.

(2) Read the story to the class again.

(3) Have children “turn and talk” to a neighbor about their line, how it affected them, and how the author accomplished that effect.

(4) Then have the children stand in a circle around the room and read their lines. The first child reads the title of the book and the book’s author. Then he/she says: “a poem by _______(class name)” and then reads his/her line/phrase. Continue around the circle with each child reading his/her chosen line/phrase.

(5) You can then write the poem on chart paper to display in the room. It becomes a poem of the book.

I’m very excited about the potential of using touchstone texts in my teaching of reading and writing.

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