If you teach writing in Spanish, then you may be able to relate to the difficulties I’ve had with finding materials!
One problem I’ve had is finding mentor texts in Spanish. (Mentor texts are books that can be used to teach students about writing. We point out writing strategies that a published author has used and show students how to try these strategies in their own writing.)
After spending a good amount of time searching, I’ve found some great Spanish mentor texts, and I want to share this list with you!
Photo Credits: vinnstock; Shutterstock
Disclosure: Some of the links in this post are Amazon affiliate links.
Narrative Writing Mentor Texts in Spanish
These texts can be used to teach narrative writing—personal narratives, story writing, etc.
Así me siento yo (Janan Cain) – great for teaching different feelings words students can use in their writing to show how they felt in a personal narrative, or how characters feel in a story
¿Puedo jugar? (Mo Willems) – great for teaching dialogue through speech bubbles, problem and solution
¡No dejes que la paloma conduzca el autobús! (Mo Willems) – great for teaching students how to show character emotions through their drawings; can also be used as an opinion writing mentor text
¡Qué montón de tamales! (Gary Soto) – great for teaching students to show how characters feel and describing the setting
El conejito Knuffle (Mo Willems) – great for teaching setting, character emotions, problem/solution
La asombrosa Graciela (Mary Hoffman) – great for teaching strong characters/character traits, as well as setting, problem, solution, and descriptive writing
Un día de nieve (Ezra Jack Keats) – great for teaching “small moments,” writing with details, beginning/middle/end
La silla de Pedro (Ezra Jack Keats) – not told from the 1st person perspective, but is still a good mentor text for personal narratives
Un sillón para mi mamá (Vera Williams) – great for teaching “small moments,” descriptive writing, character feelings, and story elements (characters, setting, problem, solution)
El patito feo (Luz Orihuela) – great for teaching story elements like characters, setting, problem, character feelings
I tend to use a lot of fairytales and folktales in my narrative teaching. Fortunately, many are available in Spanish, including books written originally in Spanish, which is great! El gallo de bodas (Lucia Gonzalez) is one example.
Informational Writing Mentor Texts in Spanish
A sembrar sopa de verduras (Lois Ehlert) – a simple nonfiction book that can be used to teach labeling (great for kindergarten)
Los alimentos de la granja (Nancy Dickmann) – this is a very simple nonfiction book that’s great for kindergarten
Las partes del cuerpo (Bev Schumacher) – another simple nonfiction book that can be used to teach labeling
Las rocas: Duras, blandas, lisas y ásperas (Natalie Rosinsky) – a great general nonfiction book for K-2, also includes some labels
Me pregunto por qué las arañas tejen telas (Amanda O’Neil) – great for teaching labels and captions; can also be used to teach students to organize their nonfiction books into sections
Un hábitat de desierto (Bobbie Kalman) – good for teaching students how to include labels in their pictures and divide up their books into sections with headings
Cómo hacer slime (Lori Shores) – great for teaching “how to” writing (procedural nonfiction)
Cómo se hace un libro (Aliki) – great for teaching “how to” writing (procedural nonfiction)
Cómo hacer un tornado en una botella (Lori Shores) – great for teaching “how to” writing (procedural nonfiction)
Honestly, just about any well-written nonfiction book in Spanish can be used to teach general informational writing! Look at the books you already have in your classroom and choose a variety to use with your students: books with different text features, organized in different ways, about different topics, etc.
Opinion Writing Mentor Texts in Spanish
¡Pato! ¡Conejo! (Amy Krouse Rosenthal) – this is a simple book that’s great for teaching kindergarten or 1st grade students how to give reasons for their opinions using words and pictures
La paloma necesita un baño (Mo Willems) – a great picture book that shows a character giving multiple reasons for his opinion
Huevos verdes con jamón (Dr. Seuss) – can be used to teach persuasive writing strategies
Clic, clac, muu: Vacas escritoras (Doreen Cronin) – great for teaching kids to include reasons in their opinion writing; can also be used to teach letter writing
Los gatos vs. los perros (Elizabeth Carney) – great for teaching comparison in opinion pieces
Oye, hormiguita (Phillip Hoose) – great for teaching kids to include reasons in their opinion writing; this one is a bit longer, so use it with 2nd grade and up or just use parts of it with younger students
Writing Lessons in Spanish
Have you been translating your writing curriculum into Spanish? I did that for several years, so I know how time-consuming that is!
If you’re looking to save time and have your student materials in SPANISH, check out my Spanish writing workshop resources below. Let me know if you have any questions!
Happy teaching!
Oh my God, Alison! You’re awesome. Thank you so much for your hard work and for always thinking of ways to help fellow teachers. Your work is excellent and you are a great person.
You are so sweet, Paola! I’m so glad this is helpful to you!! 🙂
Alison
Muchas gracias Alison. Me ha hecho una falta grandisima el tener una lista como esta.
De nada, Ada! So glad this is helpful!
Alison
Thank you so much Alison, this list is very useful.
You’re so welcome, Sandra!! 🙂
Alison
Amazing! Your work is really helping me in my new dual language kindergarten class this year. Thank you so much!
I’m so glad, Kerri! 🙂
Alison
¡Muchísimas gracias Alison! A 5th grade teacher at work told me about you about 2 weeks ago and I’m beyond grateful! You are amazing! Thank you for your hard work and for SHARING it and sharing your knowledge as well.
Warm regards,
De nada, Bere!! Thanks for reading and for your sweet comment!
Alison
Thank you SO much Alison! I’ve been using your resources for teaching English for a few years and they’re amazing. I just got told I’m teaching both the English and the Spanish for dual language and I kind of panicked needing to find all of the perfect mentor texts. Thank you so much for putting this together and continuing to make my life easier no matter which teaching role I get put into.
I’m so glad this is helpful!! Good luck in your new role!
Thank you for doing this in Spanish! It’s always hard to find lists such as these for mentor texts.
You’re so welcome, Dora! I hope that you are able to use these texts with your students! 🙂
Thank you for the Spanish resources, they are really helpful. You have made my teaching a lot easier. I am currently transition from lower to higher grades, and I would like to know if you have any recommendations regarding 3-5th grade blogs especially for Spanish or Dual curriculum. Thank you in advance.
Hi Wendy! I’ve been asked this question before, and unfortunately… I haven’t come across anything to recommend at this point! Best of luck to you!