Critically Analyze a Mentor Text

Critically Analyze a Mentor Text

1. The article is written by Cindy Long and is published by neaToday. The article discusses how to approach topics of mass violence (such as the Vegas shooting) with children of different ages and how to make the discussion age appropriate.
2. The article uses creative techniques such as bullets and sections to separate different subtopics with the text, pictures at the beginning of the article, and hyperlinks to different articles for extra support and guidance for those who are seeking the extra assistance.
3. The message from this article can be taken different ways depending on why you are reading it. If you are a parent looking for how to approach the topic to an elementary child, your message and lesson will be different from a teacher looking to communicate with a middle school student. Each person will use the information in the article differently to approach discussions about violence with children of different ages.
4. The points of view in this article are from an educator or psychological standpoint on how to deal with the emotional and social aspects of dealing with social violence in society and creating that environment for them that is reassuring and comforting in an unstable world. It also suggests to apply these tactics to yourselves because you need care so you can be there for your students. This particular topic is not as much about lifestyles and values but about social and emotional needs of students
5. The article doesn’t dig deep into the strategies that can be employed when discussing mass violence with students. As an educator it would be useful to have examples of activities, writing prompts, or other means of discussion of such a sensitive topic.