Introductions and Conclusions

1. Introduction Introductionsand Conclusions Introduction Social Studies Writing Series #6 Conclusion

2. Remember:An Essay is like a Tour To go on a tour, you need a _________ (= introduction) After you get off the tour, you still have __________ (= conclusion)

3. Introductions

4. Introduction = Ticket What do you need on a ticket? • What (Subject) • When (Time) • Where (Place)

5. Find the subject, time and place on each ticket

6. What makes a good intro? • Catches the reader’s attention • Sets the stage for what’s in the essay • Narrows to a thesis • Makes the reader want to keep reading

7. Strategy #1 • Choose any school-appropriate movie or TV show and view just the opening sequence (before the title appears) • Have students identify the subject, time, and place for the movie • Have students predict what the movie will be about (What are the clues they use?) • Suggestions: Raiders of the Lost Ark, Simpsons, Princess and the Frog, etc.

8. Strategy #2 • Choose an Essential Question from a curriculum bundle • Have students write an introduction to that Essential Question which includes the subject, time, and place (but not the thesis statement)

9. Strategy #3 • Have an introduction contest • For any essay that you assign, have each class choose the best 2-3 introductions for that class • Post the introductions (without names) in the cafeteria or hallway and give each student in that team or grade level one sticker dot to place on the introduction he/she likes the best • Alternate suggestion: Ask your principal or AP to act as the judge for the best introduction

10. Strategy #4 • For any essay assigned, choose a student’s introduction which could be improved (do this anonymously!) • In small groups or as a whole class, rewrite the introduction so that it includes subject, time and place, uses strong verbs and descriptive adjectives, and invites the reader to continue reading

11. Strategy #5 • Choose several introductions from an assigned essay and remove names • Divide introductions among groups and ask the groups to describe how they would film this introduction, if they were movie directors • Which actors would they use? • What would each of the costumes look like? • What would be in the background? • What would the characters say and do?

12. Strategy #6 • Using the thesis statements from previous trainings, practice writing introductions • See handout

13. Conclusions

14. Memories = Conclusion We can think about memories in terms of a scrapbook. What were the pictures and stories that capture the most important parts of your trip? • Pictures – Important moments • Stories – What did you learn on your tour? What were the highlights? What will you remember?

15. What makes a good conclusion? • Restates the thesis with new words • Pulls the body paragraphs back together • Explains why the essay is important to know • Has a clincher statement that answers the question “So what?”

16. Strategy #1 • Give each student 4 conclusions and ask them to score the conclusions using the rubric (next slide) • The AP Vertical Teams Guide for Social Studies has sample conclusions on p. 149 • Use conclusions from student essays from a previous or current year and remove names

17. Strategy #1 • Conclusion Scoring Guidelines • 0 – Not present • 1 – Present but flawed and incomplete • 2 – Present • 3 – Present and sophisticated • Score _____ Reinforces thesis • Score _____ Synthesizes/summarizes essay in a new way • Score _____ Answers the question “So what?” • Writer’s name ________________________________ • Evaluator’s name _____________________________

18. Strategy #2 • Locate the handout “Conclusion Practice” • Choose 4 thesis statements and do the following: • Restate the thesis • Answer the question “So What?”

19. Strategy #3 • For any essay assigned, choose a student’s conclusion which could be improved (do this anonymously!) • In small groups or as a whole class, rewrite the conclusion so that it includes a restatement of the thesis, a synthesis of the topic statemnts, and an answer to the question “So what?”