Jennica McClure

Tactful Transitions
Objective:
Students will be able to utilize transitions to flow between each of their persuasive points.
Through an interactive game, students will categorize different transitions; discuss when to use
them and how transitions enhance an essay.
Target age: 4th grade based off of UEN Writing Standard 1
Background:
Students should be familiar with transitions and their responsibility to maintain the order
in a persuasive essay. Previous lessons have helped students to develop their main persuasive
points, they have reviewed using visual verbs to engage the reader, and focused on the
importance to state reasons that are supported by facts. As background knowledge for transitions
I will read them The Mitten by Jan Brett. As we read through each page I will have students list
off the transition words the book uses. We will then discuss how transitions help the story flow to
each point.
Example (without transitions): The mouse climbed in the mitten. The bear sneezed. The animals
flew out of the mitten.
Example (with transitions): The mitten stretched but babas knitting held fast. Then along came a
meadow mouse no bigger than an acorn, and she wriggled into the only space left.
After this activity we will discuss the different kinds of transitions and what categories
they fall into. The various categories help students understand when to use transitions to enhance
their persuasive essays.
Activity/Writing Assignment:
I will put various transitional words and phrases into a bowl and have each student pick
one. On the board I will write out the various categories of transitions. These include:
agreement/similarity, examples/support/emphasis, effect/consequence/result,
opposition/contradiction, and conclusion/restatement/summary. The students will then look at
their word or phrase and find other students that fall under the same category. After the students
have discussed what should be included in their group, one person will volunteer to collect all
the sheets of paper and write the groups list of transitions under their category list.
After each group has written on the board we will hold a group discussion to make sure
each word or phrase belongs. We will then continue the group conversation to discuss when each
of these categories of transitions is used and why they are important. At the end of the discussion
we will wrap up by having each students pick at least 3 transition words or phrases from each
category they might like to use in their persuasive essay. Through this writing assignment
students will be able to recognize transitions, how they enhance persuasive essays, and when to
use them.
Example:
Agreement/similarity= In addition, also, furthermore

Opposition/contradiction= On the other hand, then again, although

Explanation:
Students will utilize this project of understanding transitions throughout the year in their
various writing assignments. As the students discovered through the background information and
activity/writing assignment, transitions are necessary to connect ideas and make ideas flow
effortlessly to the reader. This understanding is crucial to progress individual writing. Students
will slowly gain confidence in their writing if they are able to connect ideas and portray their
message in a reader-friendly way. Through consistent practice of utilizing transitions and
recognizing which categories words and phrases fall into, students will begin to comprehend the
format of essays and how tactful transitions can improve their persuasive essays, as well as their
larger end-of-unit work. Transitions will play a role in any form of writing that introduces,
agrees, emphasizes, is a result of, contradicts, or concludes ideas.