Transition Bellringer
Objective: Students will understand how to use Transitions to build supporting
sentences in paragraphs. (HEW= Highly Effective Writing)
1. Transitions begin sentences and make mini-paragraphs.
2. When using sentence starters (transitions), you only indent the first one,
because it is the beginning of a paragraph. The rest are a part of the same
paragraph and support it.
I believe…
For example,
Therefore,
However,
I believe... has an ellipsis. As a transition, this is used to express a complete idea
and you would not place a comma after it. (The ellipsis is not shown in your
writing.)
I believe dogs are wonderful pets and several are a part of my family. For
example, I have three dogs and they are Molly, Leo, and Daisy. They have
different personalities, but get along well. Therefore, I take very good care of
them. I play catch with them daily. However, when the mailman arrives at the
house, they bark as loud as a freight train. I enjoy owning these awesome pets.
1. Find the transitions in the paragraph and highlight them in yellow.
2. Underline the topic sentence in blue.
3. Underline the concluding sentence in orange.
4. How many supporting sentences are there? _________
5. How many total sentences are there? ______
6. How many sentences should a paragraph contain for 6th graders? _____
Objective: Students will write a 6-8 sentence mini paragraph about a pet or an
activity they enjoy doing with their family or relatives.
* Brainstorm about one activity you would like to share with your peer. (2 Min.)
1.
Write a topic sentence. (1sentence)
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2.
Write supporting sentences using 4 transitions. You may use them in any
order. (4-5 sentences)
I believe…
For example,
Therefore,
However,
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3.
Write a concluding sentence to support your topic sentence. (1 sentence)
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5.
Write your sentences as one mini paragraph. (Don’t forget to indent.)
But, before you write them, come up with one sentence that will grab the
attention of your audience to bring interest to your topic. Then continue with
your paragraph.
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Revisions are Additions!
(ASK YOURSELF)
1. Do you need to revise the topic sentence to catch the reader’s attention?
2. Did you use 4 different kinds of sentence starters in your family paragraph?
3. Did you use at least two different kinds of sentences?
Declarative, Exclamatory, Interrogative, Imperative
4. Do you have well developed supporting sentences?
5. Did you include one or more vocabulary words?
6. Does your concluding sentence wrap up your paragraph?
7. Find the transitions in your paragraph and highlight them in yellow.
8. Underline the topic sentence in blue.
9. Underline the concluding sentence in orange.
10. How many supporting sentences are there? _________
11. How many total sentences are there? ______
12. How many sentences should a paragraph contain for 6th graders? _____