DAY ONE Copyright 2006 Washington OSPI. All rights reserved.

What are the purposes of introductions? Why are introductions important?

Copyright 2006 Washington OSPI. All rights reserved. Purposes for Introductions The introduction grabs the reader’s attention. clearly implies the mode of writing (Narrative? Explanatory? Argumentative?) Includes relevant background information and provides a clear, connected lead-in to a paper’s central idea or thesis. includes a thesis that is stated or implied.

Copyright 2006 Washington OSPI. All rights reserved. Ineffective Introductions Never, ever, ever write… I hope you enjoy… Hi, my name is… You are going to learn about… This essay/letter is about… I am going to tell you about… There are three reasons…

Copyright 2006 Washington OSPI. All rights reserved. What are some effective ways to introduce a piece of writing?

Copyright 2006 Washington OSPI. All rights reserved. Introduction Strategies A writer may begin with –an anecdote or scenario –a quotation or dialogue –a brief history or overview –5 W’s of situation or issue –an interesting fact –a description –taking a stand or making an announcement –a contrasting situation –a combination from this list.

Steve Peha Pass out Steve Peha’s list of “Great Beginnings” Put your name and class period on the handout Write “DO NOT THROW AWAY” at the top THESE ARE A LIST OF “BLUES” OR HOOKS/ATTENTION GRABBERS Copyright 2006 Washington OSPI. All rights reserved.

Think-Pair-Share With an assigned partner define the strategies listed below: –an scenario –a quotation or dialogue –a brief history or overview –5 W’s of situation or issue Find these strategies on your list of “Great Beginnings” and put a *star* next to them Copyright 2006 Washington OSPI. All rights reserved.

Think-Pair-Share With an assigned partner define strategies listed below: –an interesting fact –a description –taking a stand or making an announcement –a contrasting situation Find these strategies on your list of “Great Beginnings” and put a *star* next to them Copyright 2006 Washington OSPI. All rights reserved.

Analyzing Introductions – Whole Group Pass out scoring guide --

Copyright 2006 Washington OSPI. All rights reserved. Middle School Persuasive Pre-Lesson Example Using the Introduction Scoring Guide, score the introduction. Student A There are so many reasons not to smoke and the crazy thing is that people do it anyway. Cigarettes contain tar, nicotine, and carbon monoxide. Each of these substances is very harmful. Annotations: Some attempt to engage the reader (…the crazy thing…) Implies a formulaic organizational structure Weak attempt of a brief overview No support for the thesis Thesis present Score of 2

Copyright 2006 Washington OSPI. All rights reserved. Middle School Persuasive Post-Lesson Example Using the Introduction Scoring Guide, score the introduction. Student A The smooth white surface of a cigarette. As you light it you slowly relax. You feel the day is over. How can you resist? I can. Just think about all those people you are hurting, the innocent people trying to live a normal life. Then you walk by with a cigarette in your mouth. People stare at you in disgust. You try to ignore it, but all the faces are looking, watching, waiting. You sit by the subway entrance in a huge crowd. The smoke slowly drifts into the smoggy air. You hear coughing, sniffling, whispering. They cover up their noses to get away from the scent. Annotations: Grabs reader’s attention. Implies an organizational structure. Includes multiple strategies (scenario, taking a stand, contrasting situation). Adequate choice of support Thesis/position stated. Score of 4

WHOLE CLASS PRACTICE Copyright 2006 Washington OSPI. All rights reserved.

Assignment Think about the Taser articles Think about the green “Police should use Taser” Now, pretend we are going to write an argumentative essay based on this green As a whole class, compose an introduction

Copyright 2006 Washington OSPI. All rights reserved. Assignment Think about the Taser articles Think about the green “Police should use Taser” With a partner, compose a different introductions using a different “blue/hook/Great Beginning”

Copyright 2006 Washington OSPI. All rights reserved. Assignment Think about the Taser articles Think about the green “Police should not use Tasers” Now, pretend you are going to write an argumentative essay based on this green Compose three different introductions using THREE DIFFERENT “Great Beginnings” (or three different combos)

Copyright 2006 Washington OSPI. All rights reserved. What are the purposes of conclusions? Why are conclusions important?

Copyright 2006 Washington OSPI. All rights reserved. Purposes for Conclusions The ending/conclusion clearly connects introduction and body of the paper with insightful comments or analysis. wraps up the writing and gives the reader something to think about.

Copyright 2006 Washington OSPI. All rights reserved. Ineffective Conclusions I hope you enjoyed reading my… In this essay/letter you have learned… In conclusion,… As you can see/tell… I just told you about (exact thesis)…

Copyright 2006 Washington OSPI. All rights reserved. What are some effective ways that we might conclude a piece of writing?

Copyright 2006 Washington OSPI. All rights reserved. Conclusion Strategies A writer may end with –an echo from the introduction –a quotation or dialogue –an anecdote or scenario –an interesting fact –a prediction –a question –a call to action –a generalization from given information –a self-reflection –a response to a “so what?” question –a combination from this list

Think-Pair-Share With an assigned partner, define the following strategies: –an echo from the introduction –a quotation or dialogue –an anecdote or scenario –an interesting fact –a prediction Find these on the Glossary of Happy Endings and put a *star* by them Copyright 2006 Washington OSPI. All rights reserved.

Think-Pair-Share With an assigned partner, define the following strategies: –a question –a call to action –a generalization from given information –a self-reflection –a response to a “so what?” question Find these on the Glossary of Happy Endings and put a *star* by them Copyright 2006 Washington OSPI. All rights reserved.

Look at the Conclusion Scoring Guide

Copyright 2006 Washington OSPI. All rights reserved. Analyze sample conclusions. Use your Conclusion Strategies list to help identify strategies the authors have used.

Copyright 2006 Washington OSPI. All rights reserved. Expository - Rainforest Destruction Introduction In one minute, 100 football fields of the rainforest are gone. Deforestation is the process of cutting down trees, killing animals or plants, and ruining the natural habitat of the rainforest. The biggest cause of deforestation is logging. There are many other causes as well as adjusting to overpopulation by constructing houses or buildings. The need for goods, such as rubber for tires, is also a reason for deforestation. Humans are affected because the whole world suffers when the rainforest is destroyed. The climate changes and the air gets warmer when trees are cut or burned down. Although the problem of rainforest destruction continues, people are currently trying to stop it. Organizations such as the World Wildlife Fund have set up reserves for animals and plants where they can live safely. Colobine monkeys are in danger from the destruction because they spend half their time in trees and the trees are rapidly being cut down.

Copyright 2006 Washington OSPI. All rights reserved. Rain Forest Destruction Conclusion Many trees every day are cut down in the rainforest due to logging. Every day more people are born and new houses built. In only a few years many species may become extinct forever. The deforestation causes the earth to get warmer which can effect all species on the earth. People are helping to stop it, but rainforest destruction still continues. The traditional people of the rainforest lose their culture and homes. Eight percent of the rainforest is gone and more is on its way to vanishing forever.

Copyright 2006 Washington OSPI. All rights reserved. Persuasive - Animal Testing Introduction “Unseen they suffer, unheard they cry, in the loneliness they linger, in the darkness they die,” is a quote from the People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals. Each month, millions of animals suffer and die because of the testing of toxic products and weapons on animals. The cruelty of animal testing causes many animals to die horrible, painful deaths, even though they didn’t do anything to deserve this fate. Why do we test products on animals, when we wouldn’t want these products tested on ourselves? There are many reasons why animal testing is wrong and should be stopped.

Copyright 2006 Washington OSPI. All rights reserved. Animal Testing Conclusion Animal testing must be stopped. Both humans and animals will benefit greatly if laws are made to abolish this inhumane action. Many steps need to be taken to stop animal testing. By becoming involved and changing your buying habits, we all can be one step closer to the goal of ending animal testing.

Copyright 2006 Washington OSPI. All rights reserved. Persuasive - Less TV Introduction Did you boo when Stone Cipher (the head of Boeing) cheated on his wife? Did you cheer when Martha Stewart got sent to jail? Whether you did or didn’t, the facts still were shoved in your face quite rudely. Stone Cipher was fired. Martha was repeatedly ridiculed and lost much of her respect in the business community. Is this because every little thing they do will somehow affect the world? No. Is it because for some strange reason, Stone Cipher cheating on his wife will change how he runs a company? The way the population of the United States looks at famous and important people is ridiculous. We need to pay less attention to their private lives and much more to our own.

Copyright 2006 Washington OSPI. All rights reserved. Less TV Conclusion If your life isn’t interesting enough, make it more interesting. Don’t just sit on the sidelines and watch TV, do something with your friends; have some fun. If you want to waste your time, I can’t stop you, but I can ask you to at least consider some better ways to use your time.

Assignment As a whole class, look at the original “Pro-Taser” introduction Now, compose a “Pro-Taser” conclusion to match Copyright 2006 Washington OSPI. All rights reserved.

Partner Assignment With your assigned partner, compose your own “Pro-Taser” conclusion Copyright 2006 Washington OSPI. All rights reserved.

Individual Assignment Look at your three “Con-Taser” introductions Compose three different conclusions –One for each introduction Copyright 2006 Washington OSPI. All rights reserved.