Transition Trickery
What’s a “fancy” trick for transitioning between
paragraphs as students revise essays?
Sources:
•
“Transitions and Transitional Devices.” Online
Writing Lab. Purdue University. 12 June 2009.
<http:/owl.englis.purdue.edu/owl/printable/574>
•
Mahoney, Jim. Power and Portfolios: Best Practices
for High School Classrooms. Portsmouth, NH:
Heinemann, 2002.
“Fancy” Triathalon Transition
• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=brHcsqKM_mo
Common Transition Words
And then
Finally
Undoubtedl Conversely
y
Certainly
Meanwhile
What’s
Absolutely After all
more
In addition Naturally
Finally
In
Positively
conclusion
Accordingl
y
7-10 line Transition Poetry
Immediately
However
Undeniably
Obviously
In fact
Absolutely
Evidently
Indeed
Perennially
Conversely
Of course
Eternally
Emphatically
Although
Definitely
Certainly
As a result
Subsequently
Sample Transition Poem
Surprisingly,
hunger reminds me of my dentist
Unquestionably loud
above the whirr of the drill
against my reclined ear
Dr. Vaughan’s stomach
Emphatically rumbled
TRAIL GAME!
• Repeat the word given by the person ahead
of you.
• Add the first thing on your mind.
• QUICKLY!
Transition Trick
“Picking up key phrases
from the previous paragraph
and highlighting them in the next
can create an obvious progression
for readers.”
--Purdue’s Online Writing Lab
Student Sample
We used to play down at the creek, taking a bunch of gasoline
with us so we could blow stuff up. Our favorite thing was
blowing up army men. Matt liked to catch the creek on fire. We
also played with fireworks, preferring bottle rockets and
firecrackers. I liked to shoot bottle rockets in the water because
they were like torpedoes. What we did down at the creek wasn’t
safe, but it was a lot of fun.
___________________________________
______________________________. By the time I was 10, my
parents were divorced, and my dad moved far away….
Student Sample
When I was little, I wondered why I would get a whipping
whenever somebody did something wrong but nobody
confessed to it. My parents would let us choose: We could
run, do push ups, or get a whipping. I always chose a
whipping because it was the quicker way out of problems.
__________________________________________
__________________________________. I was scared of
gremlins because of a movie that gave me nightmares. I
pictured gremlins swinging and hanging from my bunk
bed. They would chase me in my dreams, and they were
always mean…
Transitions
• While your partner reads one excerpt by
Nancy Fallon, read the other excerpt.
• Paraphrase or summarize your excerpt.
• Highlight key words in your first and last
sentences.
• Decide whose paragraph goes first.
• Use keywords to write a transition sentence
to connect your paragraphs.
More Transitions
•
•
•
•
•
Try the excerpts on the other side.
First summarize/paraphrase.
Then highlight.
Decide which goes first.
Write a transition sentence.
Trail Game Redux: Carbs
• According to Nancy Fallon’s book, Nourishing
Traditions, …
• Someone finishes with a sentence about carbs.
• The next person adds another sentence.
• The next person adds a second body sentence.
• The next person adds a third body sentence.
• The next person adds a final, concluding sentence
about carbs.
Trail Game Redux: Protein
• Transition! Repeat at least one word as you
begin a new paragraph about protein.
• Next person adds another sentence.
• Next person adds a second body sentence.
• Next person adds a third body sentence.
• Next person adds a final, concluding body
sentence about protein.
Keep the Game Going?
Next person: You’re on the spot. Repeat
a key word and begin a new paragraph
about another food category. Consider:
• Oils/fats/desserts
• Salts/spices/additives
• Vegetables
(Jump in if you can keep the game going)