January 12, 2016 Agenda

1) Brain Buzzer: What does it mean

to hook your reader?

2)

Learning target: I can hook the reader in an

introduction of my essay.
3) What is a hook?
4) The good, bad, and ugly of introductions
5) 5 ways to hook a reader
6) You try it

Getting your reader to want to read

your story is just like hooking a fish.
You want them (reader and fish) to

become interested, bite on, and only

then can you pull them toward you.
You have a very short period of time
to hook your reader. Words count.
Seconds count. In other words, hook
them quickly!

Example:

Lets say you had to write a story

about a time when you were really
scared. This topic has great potential.
You need to jump all over the topic, by
creating a hook that not only gets the
reader excited, but lets them know a
little about what your essay will be
about.

The Good:
I cant get her screams out of my
head. They pierced my ears from
behind the bedroom door. I pounded
my fists to get to her. My heart
exploded behind my ribcage.
Help! she screeched.
I cant get to you! I yelled into
the door.
Her sobs surrounded me,
suffocated me. I continued to kick and
claw at the door. I just couldnt get in.
It was the scariest day of my life.

The Bad:
I remember this one time, it was a
little while ago. I was in this house.
And it was so scary. There was
some person screaming behind a door.
I tried to get in but I couldnt. It was
scary. Really scary.

The Ugly:
OMG. Being scared bites. Bad. So,
so bad. It stinks. Its worse than
What Does the Fox Say! I was
scared once. Id tell you about it, but
it is too scary to mention. I might pee.
Whoa. LOL.

So how do you hook a reader? Here

are a few things you can do:

1) Start with asking your reader a

question. Be careful with this
oneit can go bad real fast!!!
Example: Asking your readers to
think about the topic is a great way
to get them ready to hear more. It
can be a simple question like:
"How could she reject me like
that?" Or it can be a more complex

question like, "Why is it that cats

always land on their feet?"
***Avoid questions with a yes or
no answer such as Have you ever
wondered what it would be like to
explore the ocean?
2) Use descriptive words.
Example: Creating a picture in the
readers mind can make him or her
feel connected to your writing. Use
words that describe the scene
youre trying to create. For
example, if youre writing about
things you like to do in the winter,
you can start with:
"Jumping in big, slushy, icy
puddles is certainly on my list of
favorite things to do in the winter,

but nothing tops a snowball fight

on a cold, blustery day."

3) Leave it a mystery.
Example: Give your readers just
enough to make them curious.
Include a few details and leave the
rest to their imaginations.
"It was so noisy in our classroom
that the walls began to shake. We
couldnt have known what would
happen next."

***Now the skill here involves

getting to your point quickly. You
cant have 1 full page of mystery if
the paper is only 2 pages. If it
takes too long for the reader to
figure out where youre headed,
they will lose interest.***

4) Start with action

Example: Most of us love an
action-packed scene in a movie. In
your writing, why wait around for
things to get exciting. Start at the
good part.
The sirens cut through the air
like knives. They couldnt get to
my father fast enough. I held his

hand as he drifted in and out of

consciousness

5) Start with dialogue

Example: Jump right into the story
with someone speaking. Normally
youd like the thing being said to
be interesting. If you dont stop
jumping on the bed, youre going
to fall off and break your arm.
My mothers words echoed in my
head as we raced to the hospital,

my arm throbbing and bent in an

awkward way.

Topics:
1)
2)
3)
4)
5)
6)
7)
8)
9)

Worst day at school

Best day of my life
Scariest moment of my life
The moment Ill never forget
My enemy
My hero
Summer fun
My best friend
Christmas

10) Worst pain ever

11) Another topic but I must
approve it

Write an ugly intro paragraph for

fun about any of the 11 topic
choices listed. We will share some
of these with the class.
Choose two topics from the list #111.
Choose two of the five strategies
you just learned to create a
powerful hook.

 You will then write the intro

paragraph using one strategy.
Then, you will write another intro
paragraph about the other topic
you chose, using the other
strategy.

Effective beginning, middle and end

Beginning: Do you have a strong hook? Does

reader know where your paper is headed?

Sin = In my paper I will tell you about or So sit

back and enjoy my paper.

Middle: This is generally where all of your strong

details and examples exist. Have you given the
reader concrete things to think about or have you
been too general?
Sin = NO DETAILS

End: How does the paper tie up? Is it creative?

Does it leave the reader with something to think
about?
Sin = Thanks for Reading my paper. or I hope
you liked my paper.