1. LEADS Find a way to “hook” your reader! A good lead must hook the reader’s attention and arouse their curiosity by being entertaining and/or interesting so the reader will continue reading. It should drop the reader into the middle of the action.

2. Techniques to Begin • A little “sip” of the conclusion to get the reader’s attention and pique his or her interest • A funny story or personal anecdote to set a humorous of individual tone • A list of main points to introduce the topic in a serious, logical, or straightforward manner • A dramatic, sweeping, or eye-opening statement • An expert quotation to establish credibility from the start. • The student’s own angle—one that readers have never seen before

3. How Do You Hook The Reader • Dialogue • Setting • Action • Emotion • Detail • Quotation • Describe a character

4. Dialogue • Using your rules for dialogue, begin with one of you main characters speaking either out loud or saying something in their head. • Example: “Pass me the ball!” I hollered to my friend as he paced the floor looking for an opening. • Be sure to extend the thought!!

5. Description of What You See and What You Feel! • Describe the setting of where the story takes place Example: The stadium was packed with excited fans all looking for our team to win. Blurs of blue and gold colored my vision as my eyes scanned the bleachers. I could feel my energy rising as I felt the crowd’s enthusiasm cheer me on. This was it. This was our time to shine.

6. Action Example: The whistle sounded and rang through the stadium like an oversized church bell. Immediately the crowd jumped to their feet and began shrieking like children on a roller coaster gone wild. Their energy surged through my veins. I could feel my adrenaline rise as I jumped up and down on my toes trying to stay warm.

7. Emotion • Example: She could no longer endure the pain. Her tears subsided, but the sobs continued to wrack her body

8. Detail • Old man Higgins stopped his beat up Chevy on the side of the dirt road to watch the bright, disc-shaped light zig-zag across the night sky. –Jon Gwodz

9. Quotation • “Live and let live,” my old man used to say. He should have followed his own advice.

10. Describe a Character • Of the many explorers who have sought traces of Atlantis, none was more intrepid than Colonel Percy Harris Fawcett. A self-proclaimed lone wolf, he solved to accomplish what no man before him had. –Chris Huff • “Gramps says that I am a country girl at heart, and that is true. I have lived most of my thirteen years in Bybanks, Kentucky, which is not much more than a caboodle of houses rooting in a green spot alongside the Ohio River.” Walk Two Moons by Sharon Creech

11. Avoid leads that begin with • What do you do with a million dollars? • When I was six… • I’ll never forget the time… • One day… • I am going to tell you about…

12. Organization • Information can be organized in many ways: • Organize by Space • Organize by Time • Organize by Content • Organize by Perspective

13. Organize by Time • If you are writing stories/narratives, or explaining events • Keep your stories small – begin with what matters, and when the story ends, stop.

14. Practice – I Will Divide