Writing Introductory Paragraphs

Published by

Merideth Myers

on

October 23, 2023

For opinion/argument and informative/explanatory essays

Are you using AI in your classroom yet?

You should be.

To create these resources I took prompts from CommonLit and popped them into ChatGPT. I instantly got results, which is great for me, and something to keep in mind when you are assigning writing to your students.

Introducing Introductions

We love an acronym, don’t we?

Make an anchor chart for the acronym HATMAT.

Hook
Author
Title
Main characters (or topic/idea in informative/explanatory)
A brief summary
Thesis statement (Claim in opinion/argument)

I put a bracket around the middle ATMA pieces, because these can usually be combined into a sentence or two.

Now just introducing students to HATMAT will get you introductions that sound like this: Have you ever heard of Christopher Columbus? The author is Meera Dolasia. The title is “Columbus Day or Indigenous Peoples’ Day?” The main idea is who we should celebrate. The summary is that some people are debating. My claim is that it doesn’t matter to me as long as we get out of school that day.

Yikes.

You have to take it one step farther by having students analyze some mentor texts, to see how these elements can be combined. Thanks to CommonLit, ChatGPT, and my penchant for staying up late, I’ve got you covered.

Mentor Texts of Introductory Paragraphs

Now my Mississippi friends only write from one source on their state test, so here are examples for that:

Introductions-for-1-Source Download

My Tennessee teachers write from two sources on their state test, so I came up with some for y’all as well:

Introductions-for-2-Sources Download

Both documents include the handout for students and a cheat sheet for teachers.

I would give students a printed copy of the first page, and model labeling the HATMAT elements for the first example. I tell students, “If I write it on my board, you write it on your paper.” I’d read a sentence and then ask them which part of HATMAT that covered.

Then they can label the second example with their groups.

Then they can do the third one independently. Oh look, gradual release of instruction!

After that I’d lead a classroom discussion about what they noticed. You could even show them my terrible Christopher Columbus example and have them discuss why the mentor pieces are more effective.

Students Apply to Their Own Writing

Now have students go back and revise an introduction they’ve already written, or you’re ready to model writing an introduction for a prompt based on a text your class has read. Model how to understand what the prompt is asking, find each element in the text, and craft it into a paragraph.

Here are options for writing hooks ICYMI.

Emphasize that their thesis statement or claim is the most important part of their paper. It’s like typing in your destination in your Maps app at the beginning of the trip. It announces where you are going. If you don’t do that, you may not end up where you intended. Every sentence in your paper gets you closer to your destination.

The thesis doesn’t have to be the final sentence in your introduction, but it does need to be in there, and it should answer the prompt, not just restate it.

If you try this out let me know how it goes in the comments below!

See the entire series on writing:

These resources are for opinion/argument and informative/explanatory writing, geared towards grades 3-8.

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