For every assignment I have to rely on hooks: for brainstorming trails to big fish tall tales. I have to hook into a student’s cleverness and sense of challenge — and keep them interested. The snowball effect is they will write the assignment, intrigued to write another, and eventually become confident to write any. Hooks can be in the way I deliver the lesson, in the lesson itself, or through lively class participation. Hooks are particularly important during essay writing. Hook them onto the hooks!
The students will be very proud of writing their Bing Bang Bongo paragraphs for homework. They swish them out of their notebooks, eager for me to see how much they wrote. Writing three paragraphs for an elementary student, especially a reluctant writer, is a big deal. They become a bit dismayed when I don’t collect them. I have to tell them we aren’t quite finished. There are two more paragraphs to add. I also tell them that if they finish them in class, they will have no homework. This perks them up.
I call hooks, grabbers, for essays. I pass out a handout with a choice of 4 grabbers and an explanation of introduction and conclusions. Then I write a formula for both the introduction and conclusion on the board. We write an introduction and conclusion for each grabber on the board. I use student Bing Bang Bongos for the examples. I also tell the students that the most difficult part is the thesis. Once they understand it is just naming the subjects of their Bing Bang Bongos, they have no trouble.
I also tell the students about framing an essay. While trilling some la-la-las, I draw a primitive picture frame on the board, with flowers in the corners. I draw 3 Bs in the center, and on the outside top and bottom of the frame, I make the same symbols, maybe a spiral or a blob. These last represent the grabbers in the essay. If they use an amazing fact in the introduction, then I ask them to use another (different) amazing fact in the conclusion. Examples are below. Model each type of grabber for the students in both introduction and conclusion.
Start with the Amazing Fact grabber. It’s a hookable hook.
Introduction: Grabber + Bridge + Thesis (exactly what Bing, Bang, Bongo are about)
Conclusion: Grabber + Restate your thesis (in different words than in introduction) + Comment
Try to have 5 sentences in each paragraph. The student can have a minimum of 3 sentences in these paragraphs for now though. There are 4 grabbers to choose from, and only one type is chosen per essay:
Amazing Fact
Question
Anecdote (a little story about your subject)
Quotation (from your book or movie or show)
Here is an example using Amazing Facts as grabbers for an essay on 3 kinds of birds:
Introduction:
The largest bird egg belongs to an ostrich, and it is as big as a cantaloupe. Birds are amazing creatures. Not only can they fly, they have beautiful feathers. My three favorite birds are hummingbirds, peregrine falcons, and birds of paradise.
Conclusion:
Unbelievably, chickens are closely related to Tyrannosaurus rex! Three great examples of interesting birds are hummingbirds, peregrine falcons, and birds of paradise. I love looking for birds in the sky and hearing them wake up and chirp in the mornings.
Here is an example using Quotations as grabber in an essay about characters in Harry Potter:
Introduction:
"You're a wizard, Harry." Hagrid breaks this news to Harry as he takes him on his flying motorcycle to wizarding school. Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone by JK Rowling is the first great book about a magical world. All the Harry Potter books are amazing. Three terrific characters in the books are Harry Potter, Professor Dumbledore, and Hagrid.
Conclusion:
"Words are, in my not-so-humble opinion, our most inexhaustible source of magic." Dumbledore says this to Harry. The words in the Harry Potter books are magic indeed. Dumbledore is a wonderful character, along with Hagrid and, of course, Harry Potter. I have read these books twice and even listened to them on audio tape. They are definitely magical!
Here is an example using Questions as grabbers for an essay on 3 types of sports: soccer, football, and bowling:
Introduction:
Do you watch sports? I watch soccer often, because it is exciting and fast-paced. There are all kinds of sports. Three great sports are soccer, football, and bowling.
Conclusion:
Do you play any sports? My brother and I play soccer. We like to practice by kicking the ball at the park or even in the parking lot, waiting for Writing Class. Three fun sports to try are soccer, football, and bowling.
Here is an example using Anecdotes (short short story, usually connecting the author to the subject) as grabbers for an essay on Writing a Blog:
Introduction:
I started writing a blog almost ten years ago. I just wanted to write about whatever struck me and take photos to fit. Blogs were trendy then, and I dove in a bit willy-nilly. A blog is easy to set up. It is fun to create, benefitting the blogger and hopefully benefitting others.
Conclusion:
I have a purpose for writing my blog now. I am posting all my writing assignments that have worked well over my years teaching. I want to give back to my beloved homeschooling community and to any budding writer or teacher in need of fun, successful assignments. As I approach retirement, I enjoy the writing process in the moment, then seeing it in “print” in a simple, organized, accessible manner on the internet. I hope the blog posts help new writers enjoy the art of writing.
If the students finish in class, I ask them to add a title above the introduction paragraph. I staple the introduction and conclusion paragraphs to their Bing Bang Bongo, and announce, “Wa-la!! You have written a five paragraph essay!” The author is happy and feels accomplished!
Some students will finish at home, but they will be mostly done by the time they leave class.
Not all assignments work. I do not worry about that. Even if a student doesn’t learn this particular one for his Bing Bang Bongo essay, skip it. There is plenty of time for a student to learn to write a complete essay. Concentrate on only the body paragraphs.
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