OPENING & CLOSINGS

OPENING & CLOSINGS DeRenne Middle School 2007-08

A Last night I had dinner at my friend’s house after we went hiking. I was tired so I took a nap. When I woke up we ate dinner. I didn’t like it because it was brussel sprouts and lima beans. I only liked the bread. I don’t want to eat there again.

B Talk about a night to remember! I thought it was awfully nice of Susan to ask me to stay for dinner after our long day of hiking. Big mistake on my part. I was awoken from my cat nap on the couch by nose-assaulting smells drifting from the kitchen. I meekly offered to help, but she assured me that everything was under control. Control?

Task • In your journal, identify which opening ( A or B) would inspire you to continue reading. Explain why. • Be prepared to share.

Taking a Closer Look: Categories of Effective Leads

When you think about creating a good beginning for a piece, there are three important criteria you want to meet. A good beginning: • Catches the reader’s attention. • Makes the reader want to read more. • Is appropriate to purpose and audience.

Mood Begin with a description of the mood that the writer wants to communicate to the reader. Emotions are the focus: the look on people’s faces, the feel in the room (tensed or relaxed), the spoken words, and people’s thoughts can be emphasized. I sat in my desk, sweat dripping down my face. I shut my eyes tight, then opened them. I looked at my watch, 11:27. Three minutes! Three minutes until I heard a sound, a sound that would set me free for three months of total nothingness.

Scary, exciting, or intense moment. I woke up swiftly. My senses were blurred, except for my hearing. All I could hear was the sound of footsteps stepping on the creaky board in the hallway.

Foreshadowing-a hint of something interesting to come Example: It all started on an average day. I didn’t think anything unusual was going to happen, but boy was I wrong!

Sound • Captures the reader’s attention. • Simple to do. • Example: Boom! The trunk slammed. Bang! The car doors slammed as we got out of the van.

Startling Statement • This may be one sentence that shocks the reader and then a paragraph that develops the statement with reasons and details, or it could be a series of shocking comments. The writer must consider the audience because what would shock one reader may be commonplace for another. • Example: They murdered him. • Example: A great crime was committed against a people in 1942. This was the signing of Executive Order 9066 by President Franklin D. Roosevelt which called for the eviction and internment of all Japanese Americans.

Example: No one expected such a tiny girl to have a first birthday. In Clarksville, Tennessee, in 1940, life for a baby weighed just over four pounds at birth was sure to be limited. But most babies didn’t have nineteen older brothers and sisters to watch over them. Most babies didn’t have a mother who knew home remedies and a father who worked several jobs. Most babies weren’t Wilma Rudolph. From Wilma Unlimited by Kathleen Krull

Flashback (Beginning at the End) • The writer begins with an important event in the narrative or possibly the end and then returns to the beginning of the story to explain how the event played out. • Example: “We sat in the intensive care waiting room while I kept thinking of my father, fighting for his life inside. The day had started peacefully.” • From Craft Lessons by Ralph Fletcher

Story Starter/Anecdote • A brief story or annotation that reveals the essence of the subject. It often sets the moods and prepares the audience for what is to follow.

Example: Toward the end of the dry season, when the rivers are low, they are found together in great numbers. A boy driving his herd of cattle across the river doesn’t realize the danger. The hungry fish smell the blood seeping from a recent wound on the cow’s legs and dart toward her. She stumbles as they bite her legs, then more and more fish attack. Their feeding frenzy lasts only a few minutes. The cow has been completely eaten. • From Deadly Animals by Martha Holmes

Change of Point of View • Establishes the position from which the reader will be shown the subject. • Example: Everybody knows the story of the Three Little Pigs. Or at least they think they do. But I’ll let you in on a little secret. Nobody knows the real story, because nobody has ever heard my side of the story. From The True Story of the 3 Little Pigs! by A. Wolf as told to Jon Scieszka

Dialogue/Spoken Words • Allows the story’s meaning to come from the interaction of principal people in the story. • Example: “We’re moving.” That’s what she told me. I couldn’t believe it! I had just made the basketball team and was making more friends. “What!” I exclaimed. • Example: “Climb the Starved Rock Bluffs? You’ve got to be kidding!” Joel’s spine tingled at the mere thought of trying to scale the sheer river bluffs in the state park. He looked Tony square in the eye. “Somebody got killed last year trying to do that! Don’t you remember?” • From On My Honor by Marion Dane Bauer

Posing a Question • Begin with a question that the remainder of the writing will explore. • Example: Have you ever imagined what it would be like to play in the NBA? To glide down the court, matching strides with the greatest basketball players in the world? To hear the roar of the crowd as you throw down a dunk, or swat an opponent’s shot into the bleachers? • Example: Have you ever been an Editor-in-Chief? Well I’ll tell you, it’s a big job!

Quote • Quote an authority on the topic. This adds power to the writing when it is supported or introduced by someone the reader is familiar with. • Example: It has been said, ”It is better to have loved and to have lost than to not have loved at all.” • Example: William Shakespeare wrote, “A rose by any other name is still a rose.”

Plunge In • Just forget all the floweriness of the lead and jump into the sharing of information. This is appropriate and appreciated in news reporting when it is interesting to have a story presented factually. • Example: Wilma Rudolph fought against all odds to become the first American woman to win three gold medals in an Olympic competition.

Having the Last Word Experimenting with Endings (Conclusions)

Humorous Ending • Catches readers off guard by tickling their funny bone instead of their intellect. • Save the funny part in the piece until the end.

Babies by Ralph Fletcher Faucets drip Pools cool Springs bubble Babies drool Seas sparkle Waves crash Streams gurgle Babies splash Rivers rise Flood and worse Lakes glisten Babies nurse Ice melts Cold creeks Hail pelts Babies leak

The Circular Ending • Gives the writing balance by using the same thing at the beginning and at the end. It pulls the piece of writing together. • A circular ending can be used in all types of writing: poems, reports, essays, stories. • A circular ending won’t work in every piece of writing. It must be set up ahead of time or it will not work.

My Grandpa by Jeanine Cozzens (Grade 3) My Grandpa is not around. I loved him. He used to give me candy. He takes me places. He used to take me swimming. He delivered me and my sister and brother. I liked when he held me. My Grandpa is not around.

Surprise Ending • A surprise ending has to be carefully planned in order for it to work. Authors set up a surprise ending with information provided earlier in the text. • Surprise endings are not as easy as they look.

Emotional Endings • Emotional endings can be powerful writing tools. • Such endings do not have to be complicated—simple language can be used but still have a strong impact on the reader • Example: “It’s a rare thing to find someone who is both a good friend and a good writer. Charlotte was both.” • From Charlotte’s Web by E.B. White

References First District RESA November 2006 Sharonda Johnson

OPENING & CLOSINGS