Creating "catchy" beginnings
In writing workshop this week, we worked on creating "catchy" beginnings. We started off by doing an in-class writing piece about walking along the beach and finding a mermaid. The next day, I read the first sentence of each piece to the class. We found that many of the pieces started off with "Once I was..." or "One day..." We decided that starting off our stories this way was a little boring and that the reader may not want to read on. We talked about the different ways we could begin our writing pieces so that the reader would be hooked and would want to read on.To learn about different ways to begin our writing pieces, we looked at some of the novels to be found in our own classroom. After reading some books, we made a list of ways that we could write a "catchy" beginning. We then wrote some catchy beginnings for new writing pieces. Here is what our list looks like, along with an example of each beginning:
A detailed description
Students can start off their writing piece by providing a detailed description of the setting or an important object:
"It was a cold morning as I walked down the beach. The waves hit the sand making a rhythm. The waves crashed into the rocks making a soothing rumble." S.C.Sound effect
Starting a writing piece with a sound effect can be a creative way to hook the reader:
"Chirp, Chirp, Chirp!" I looked out of my window, watching the birds." J.N.Dialogue
Conversation between two characters puts the reader immediately into the story:
" 'Father, why did Mother make me eat all of my food last night and not let me have dessert?'
'Because you had dessert all week and you are going to the dentist soon.' " S.R.Character's thoughts
Taking a peek into the character's thoughts helps the reader understand the character better:
"I couldn't believe it was so windy. I thought the whole tree was going to fall." J.M.Action
By describing an action, the reading is immediately dropped into the middle of something exciting:
"As mist settled onto the thick mountain, I saw the sun coming up. It casted a glow around the trees, showing how Amber Forest got its name." S.C.We will continue creating "catchy" beginnings in our writing pieces.
Here is this week's class newsletter from our student reporters:
Posted on September 27, 2007 9:43 AM | Permalink