https://padlet.com/angiekenley/ejqhrhe987wu Briefly reflect on your current writing instructional practices regarding how your students approach writing their Introduction of an Expository/Persuasive Essay. You can mention how this might be challenging for your students or describe a successful strategy you have used with them when writing a hook and a central idea for the Introductory paragraph. This is a learning experience for all! en-us 2017-10-09 00:01:31 UTC 2025-12-08 12:37:19 UTC hello@padlet.com https://padlet.com/angiekenley/ejqhrhe987wu/wish/195263511 I have found that my students like to repeat the prompts as questions for their hooks, or to mention the quotes from the "read this" section of the prompts. I find it a little formulaic and I encourage them to, pardon the cliche, "think outside of the box" with their introductions. I encourage them to be original in their writing and to use their voice.]]> 2017-10-09 15:08:47 UTC https://padlet.com/angiekenley/ejqhrhe987wu/wish/195263511 https://padlet.com/angiekenley/ejqhrhe987wu/wish/195368006 Imagine if statement
Quote
Definition
Snapshot
Modeling and showing the students examples helps the students]]> 2017-10-09 19:40:42 UTC https://padlet.com/angiekenley/ejqhrhe987wu/wish/195368006 https://padlet.com/angiekenley/ejqhrhe987wu/wish/195424713 My students seem to all want to use as question for their hook. It is my least favorite option. I encourage them to 
*tell a story (2 sentences -ish)
*define a word they are emphasizing in their own words
*Make a universally appealing statement / a controversial statement.

Once we get past the idea of not using a question they do pretty well on the hook. Its the transition between the hook and the thesis we really struggle with.]]> 2017-10-10 02:04:51 UTC https://padlet.com/angiekenley/ejqhrhe987wu/wish/195424713 https://padlet.com/angiekenley/ejqhrhe987wu/wish/195558998 We have looked at various expository pieces that had different hooks. Then we looked at different kinds of hooks besides the popular question hook. I gave them a choice of topics and they had to choose one. Based on the one they chose, students had to form 3 different hooks for that one topic. I think just practicing making different hooks is the key. I shared really good hooks, so they could see some that were done well.]]> 2017-10-10 12:50:02 UTC https://padlet.com/angiekenley/ejqhrhe987wu/wish/195558998 https://padlet.com/angiekenley/ejqhrhe987wu/wish/195731135 I have found that my special education and dyslexia students struggle with writing introductions a great deal. Most of them have difficulty when written expression, including introductions. As a general rule, they don't see the need for the writing process, including brainstorming. I've tried using various graphic organizers and modeling. Yet my students continue to struggle with writing essays independently. ]]> 2017-10-10 17:31:28 UTC https://padlet.com/angiekenley/ejqhrhe987wu/wish/195731135 https://padlet.com/angiekenley/ejqhrhe987wu/wish/195794847 My students struggle the most, believe it or not, with the introduction of the essay. They don't know where to start with it and for some reason it throws them off all together. I have them practice with their thesis to start off with after gathering their two supporting topics, and come back to the hook later. The hook is usually what they cannot decide on, and once they shut down on the hook, the essay as a whole shuts down. I try to get them to go out of order on that part for this. ]]> 2017-10-10 19:36:37 UTC https://padlet.com/angiekenley/ejqhrhe987wu/wish/195794847 https://padlet.com/angiekenley/ejqhrhe987wu/wish/195840362 I will admit that my students have a bit of a hard time with introductions. They can absolutely talk about the content itself, but when it comes to introducing the topic and, by extension, the thesis statement, I have seen a bit of struggling. As a result, I have taken a step back and made sure to fully explain and show the importance of the introduction in the paper. I actually read in a book on writing to think of an essay like a drill instructor: the introduction tells the reader what will be discussed, the body is what is being discussed, and the conclusion restates what has been discussed. After that, I have my students in the outlining process to work through the main points that they have first and then think of how it all ties together. Once they understand how everything goes together, the thesis statement comes a bit easier for them.]]> 2017-10-10 23:45:25 UTC https://padlet.com/angiekenley/ejqhrhe987wu/wish/195840362