pencil and sharpener on notebook page
Writing

Writing Challenge: Using Transition Words

pencil and sharpener on notebook page, writing challenge for students

One of my main goals this school year has been to challenge my students to use transition words when writing. Often, it’s difficult for students to use transition words in their writing with a purpose. I realized when I started to teach text structure in informative writing that my students didn’t understand what transition words were, and they certainly did not know how to use them. I had to find a way to make transition words accessible to them while helping them understand when to use them.

Each time we studied a text structure, I gave them a list of words that they would be somewhat familiar with, but I also made sure to give them some words that they may not have seen before. We would examine the list, and I would have students pick out words that they know they could easily use in a sentence. For example, when we were studying Cause and Effect, I gave them the following words: because, since, for, so, as a result, thus, therefore, and hence. I showed them examples of the words in use, and then I polled the class to see which words that they thought they would be able to use in their writing. In this example, most chose the word, “because.” I thought that they would choose that one because many are familiar with the word.

When selecting a transition word list, I managed to find one online that had everything broken down into their uses. The Smart-Word site has a pdf download that even includes conjunctions. I plan to create for my students a useful resource that they can use for future reference when writing. Since they have to write an essay for state testing, I always tell my students to find favorite phrases and words to always use. This is helpful when they are writing and cannot access their documents. By creating a memorized personal list, they will be able to write without having to look at a document.

What can be achieved through this writing challenge? Many of the transition words that they use allow students to write sentences that are more complex and extend beyond the short simple sentences. It gives them a chance to add variety to their sentence types thus creating a more pleasing auditory experience to their prose other than the short staccato of the simple sentences.

Overall, providing them with a challenge is an opportunity to expand their writing repertoire. I have had my students keep a writing journal so that we can collect interesting writing. Even lists can provide them with interesting nuggets to tuck away in their writing journal so that they can refer back to them often.

You may also like...