Introduction Kicking It All Off!

Notes

Attention grabbing sentence What TO do . . . Attention grabbing sentence an interesting example a thought-provoking quote an odd scenario a surprising fact a surprising anecdote (an anecdote is a short story told to prove a point) Supporting sentence leading to your thesis Thesis statement

Introductory sentences that ask the reader a question What NOT to do . . . Introductory sentences that ask the reader a question Example: Have you ever… Do you think… etc. Dictionary opening Example: Webster’s Dictionary defines ______ as ____. Introducing yourself opening Example: Hi. My name is ______________, and my paper is about _________________.

Practice

Good or Bad? An amazing 36% of teen writing takes place outside of school. Texting doesn’t make teens dumb. Wikipedia says that texting is sending short messages between different phones. Have you ever used abbreviations like LOL, BRB, TTYL, or C U L8TR? The great movie creator Tim Burton once said, “Art is exercise for the restless imagination.”

Lable the attention grabber with (1) In the United States, nearly 2 million people are artists by profession. According to the National Endowment for the Arts, that is “only slightly smaller than the total number of active-duty and reserve personnel in the U.S. military (2.2 million).” Arts education is vital to the American education system because it not only sharpens problem-solving skills and improves student test scores on standardized tests but it also trains students to fill millions of jobs in the American workforce.

Lable the attention grabber with (1) In the United States, nearly 2 million people are artists by profession. According to the National Endowment for the Arts, that is “only slightly smaller than the total number of active-duty and reserve personnel in the U.S. military (2.2 million).” (1) Arts education is vital to the American education system because it not only sharpens problem-solving skills and improves student test scores on standardized tests but it also trains students to fill millions of jobs in the American workforce.

Write

Brainstorm Create 3 possible opening sentences for your paper that will engage the reader. Remember: WRITE YOUR FIRST SENTENCE SO YOUR READER WANTS TO READ YOUR SECOND. The seconds tick by in a deafeningly silent room. Students agonize over a 25% chance of selecting the right answer in hopes of being perceived as intelligent by the state, the teacher, peers, oneself. One wrong bubble and their trajectory of academia will change. (surprising anecdote) “Children must be taught how to think, not what to think,” as so insightfully expressed by Margaret Mead, a well known social anthropologist. Standardized testing does just that what Mead argues against. (Thought provoking quote) One test, three hours, two #2 pencils, one scantron sheet, and a life altering result. This is the reality of standardized testing. Starting in third grade, each year students are evaluated to put them in a “track” that is “best suited” for their “abilities.” (Odd scenario)

Expand upon attention getter Relate attention getter to topic Outline Attention Getter Expand upon attention getter Relate attention getter to topic Introduce topic / claim Thesis

Outline The seconds tick by in a deafeningly silent room. Students agonize over a 25% chance of selecting the right answer in hopes of being perceived as intelligent by the state, the teacher, peers, oneself. One wrong bubble and their trajectory of academia will change. Reality of children Standardized testing occurs at least once a year Standardized testing weight and frequency The level and weight of standardized testing is inappropriate for the developmental stages of school-aged children, the tests are flawed in their assessments, and they causes instruction to be less effective at preparing students for the future.

Sample The seconds tick, tick, tick by in a deafeningly silent room. Students agonize over a 25% chance of selecting the right answer in hopes of being perceived as intelligent by the state, the teacher, peers, oneself. One wrong bubble and their trajectory of academia will change. This is the reality that students face each year, starting as early as 3rd grade. The crippling pressures of standardized testing is doing a disservice to educating the next generation. The level and weight of standardized testing is inappropriate for the developmental stages of school-aged children, the tests are flawed in their assessments, and they causes instruction to be less effective at preparing students for the future.