9/17:
- Tonight’s homework is to complete the activity “ Follow My Lead.”
- You were assigned two of the following common types of leads, also known as hooks.
- You should write a total of 10 leads, two for each of the five photos that were up on my board.
- I took pictures of these and put them on my blog in case you forget. Be aware that there are two blog posts - one for grades 6 and 7; one for grade 8.
Introductions should begin with one of the following type of leads:
A. Dialogue
b. Character description
c. Setting
d. bold statement or opinion
e. Action
f. quotation
g. question
h. detail
i. statistic
Here are some examples of leads that Ms. Ridinger made up from Harry Potter.
Dialogue: “ I don’t go looking for trouble; trouble finds me.”
Character: Lightning bolt scar, bespectacled green eyes, slight build, black hair spiked with cowlicks, Harry Potter does not cut an impressive silhouette in his Gryffindor robe.
Setting: Diagon Alley opens up into a wonderful world of wizardry.
Bold Statement/Opinion: Professor Snape is the most heroic figure in Gothic literature.
Quotation: “Do you believe in magic?”
Action: “Whoosh,” the quidditch stadium reverberated with the brooms of fourteen flyers.
Statistic: Harry Potter books have been on The New York Times bestseller list for 15 years, not weeks.
Detail: Phoenix feathers poked out at a 50 degree angle from the snapped wand.
Just as Tuesdays are usually given to grammar instruction, games and homework, Writing Wednesdays will typically be on the agenda. The writing curriculum at TCS follows 6+1 Traits of Writing; our first focus is on Intros and Ideas.
Ideas make up the content of the writing piece; they are neither too broad or too narrow. The Ideas are the main message, the content of the piece, the main theme, together with all the supporting details that enrich and develop that theme. The Ideas are strong when the message is clear, not garbled. The writer chooses details that are interesting, important, and informative–often the kinds of details the reader would not normally anticipate or predict. Successful writers do not "tell" readers things they already know; e.g., "It was a sunny day, and the sky was blue, the clouds were fluffy white …" Successful writers "show" readers that which is normally overlooked; writers seek out the extraordinary, the unusual, the unique, the bits and pieces of life that might otherwise be overlooked. Intros, leads and hooks grab the reader’s attention.