What's included
- Opening questions — get everyone talking
- Deepening questions — push past the first answer
- The wait-time technique
Grades
- Grades 9-12 / Multi-Grade
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The Essay Hook Template
5 zoom-in starters your students can steal today
Five sentence frames that get a student past the blank first line: the clock starter, the quote starter, the number starter, the contrast starter and the freeze-frame starter.
- Grades 9-12 / Multi-Grade
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Discussion Sentence Stems
Make their talk do more
Post these on the board and watch discussion actually build: build on it, challenge it, clarify it.
- Grades 9-12 / Multi-Grade
- Speaking & Listening
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The 3-Question Story Planning Sheet
Stop the "and then… and then…" spiral
Before students write a single event, they answer three questions. No "and then" — only cause and effect.
- Grades 9-12 / Multi-Grade
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The "So What?" Sandwich
Turning floating quotes into real analysis
If your students can find evidence but freeze right after dropping it in, this one's for you. The fix isn't more quotes — it's teaching them what to say next.
- Grades 9-12 / Multi-Grade
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- Textual Evidence
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