Engaging Reading Blocks: Hour of Gold Reading Block

Super Engaging Reading Blocks: 50 Ways to Make Reading Fun and Engaging for All Students

1. Student interest and curiosity leads the ELA curricula
2. Keep ELA teacher led READING lessons short (micro lectures)
3. Use Kagan cooperative learning structures 
4. KEEP IT FUN! When in doubt through it out 

My Top Picks for Engaging Reading Blocks:

1. Read and follow along with the teacher or audio books
2. Make your own fluency passages from high interest literature like the Guardians of the Galaxy movie script
3. Sing lots of songs, chants, and cheers
4. Play The Legendary Lands Vocabulary Game
5. Read aloud advanced literature that offers 1000's of teachable moments (literary terms, elements, devices, and techniques, text features)

The Hour of Gold Reading Block is Curiosity and Child Driven, Not
Data Driven. Think of The Hour of Gold Reading Block as your front row ticket to Cirque du Soleil. The Gold Hour is the reading block of your dreams, no workbooks, no weekly unit test, no Smart board widgets, no basal readers, and no end of year (EOG/EOC) State reading assessments! Your students' curiosity and passions drive the reading block.
The Hour of Gold Reading Block is all about creating a deep love of reading, learning, emotive questioning, critical thinking, and optimizing reading enjoyment/engagement. Reading blocks today can be over structured, over scheduled, and at times they can be outright boring and actually kill the joy of reading. Published reading programs seem to be based on test prep, leaving the reading process more tedious, dull, and monotonous. Reading blocks that rely on basal readers and worksheets leave most students flat and unengaged. Students that absolutely love reading, read more and inevitably do better on state reading test. Maybe we need to rethink the basal based reading block and publisher made busy work-books. Imagine if we completely focused on the joy and love of reading and language ARTS.

Hour of Gold Reading Block Goals:

1. Increasing all students' love and enjoyment of learning and reading. 
2. Decreasing substantially the number of students that struggle, hate, and/or avoid reading.
3. Moving from students with reading difficulties and/or an aversion to reading to engaged motivated readers and learners.
4. Building dynamic listening, speaking, reading, and the foundations of cogent written communication. 

50 Ideas for the Hour of Gold Reading Block:

Daily Oral Language and Oracy Practice:

• 1. Go on virtual field trips! 2. Bring virtual and augmented reality to classroom reading activities using Google Cardboard and Google Expedition 360; 3. Sing lots of songs, chants, and cheers; 4. Listen and read along with audio books; 4. Recite and recitation of emotive/thought provoking poems, maxims, and mottoes; 5. Incorporating sentence frames and sentence stems/starters when practicing academic listening and speaking; 6. Incorporating drama/comedy, sharing jokes and riddles; 7. Read alouds, more read alouds, and yes more read alouds; 8, Engage student discussions and dialogue with Socratic seminars and philosophical chairs. 9. Real walking field trips to local parks, stores, churches, restaurants, urban farms, gyms, and/or professional offices; 10. MORE SINGING, MORE AUTHENTIC LISTENING AND SPEAKING, MORE QUESTIONS, AND MORE TPR total physical response.

Daily Phonemic Awareness and Phonics (Preschool-3rd):

• 11. Use ALL the CREATIVE arts and all the modalities to explore the relationship between songs, rhyming, rhythms, music, lyrics, sounds, and written symbols; 12. Play auditory processing "Phonemic Awareness" and "Phonics" visual spacial games; 13. Incorporate the visuals arts and multi-sensory scaffolds to teach the sound-spelling relationships of phonics; 14. Use songs, rhyming, rhythms, and music to boost phonemic awareness; 15. Read poetry and explore the patterns, cadence/meter, richness of rhyming and rhythms of language. 16. Get up and sing, PLAY, move, dance, and create art!

Daily Fluency Practice:

• 17. Reading fluency is your students playground, an opportunity to be actors and comedians; 18. Make your own fluency passages from high interest literature like Guardians of the Galaxy movie script; 19. Make reading fluency practice into a game, compaction, an exciting goal setting challenge; 20. Read jokes, read riddles, read plays, read menus, read game rules, read song lyrics, read movie scripts, read a page from a chapter book, and don't get stuck reading prepackaged boring fluency drills; 21. Read list of sight words; 22, Read chorally and echo read; 23. Read and follow along with audio books; 24. Read with a buddy, 24. And ALWAYS Repeat what you read!

Daily Academic Vocabulary Practice: 

• 25. Read aloud advanced literature that offers 1000's of teachable moments (literary terms, elements, devices, and techniques, text features); 26. Use advanced collegiate language "English 101-202", with all students, even with the primary grades; 27. Daily high interest read alouds that engage and expose student to advanced tier 2 and tier 3 academic vocabulary; 28. Incorporate project and phenomenon based learning that fuses all content areas and exposes students to real world vocabulary; 29. Language and concepts, students build their own word-walls based on their interest using using the three step process; 30. Confer with students on a regular bases to to check their choices of words and their level of understanding; 31. Celebrate the joy of learning new words and new concepts especially the words and concepts students are interested in learning; 32. incorporate internet based AI virtual assistant to speed the process of word spelling and term acquisition; 33. Incorporate Flocabulary; 34. Play Legendary Lands Vocabulary game; 35. Incorporate Hot dots Self-Paced Learning; 36. and Add Lakeshore Board ELA Learning games.

Daily Reading Comprehension Practice:

• 37. Teach students how to develop independent cogent readers skills, close reading and analytical reading strategies; 38. Incorporate Socratic seminars and philosophical chairs; 39. Incorporate Inside-outside circle; 40. Incorporate THINK, PAIR, SHARE; 41. Start a RTI READING BOOT CAMP; 42 Incorporate "Opinion" Take a Stand 43. Use TEXT CODING  and MARKING THE TEXT; 44. Incorporate Close Reading Jigsaw; 45. Practice listening comprehension daily. 46. Read the rainbow and think,"how can we read outside of the box", comic books, choose your own adventures, graphic novels, Horrible Histories, 47, Watch Japanese anime movie and read the subtitles; 48. Read varied and vast literature and cast a wide net; 49. Read Shakespeare, The Meditations by Marcus Aurelius, The Art of War by Sun Tzu, Grimms' original Fairy Tales; 50. Read, research, study and learn before you take your virtual field trips, again bring virtual and augmented reality to classroom activities using Google Cardboard/Google Expedition 360; 51. Create or watch a BBC 60 Second Shakespeare;

Reflective Sentence Starters | Reflective Sentence Frames

70+ Reflective Sentence Starters & Writing Frames for Students (Advanced, Academic & Beyond)

Reflective WritingSentence StartersWriting FramesAcademic WritingELL SupportJournalingSELMetacognition

Students who are new to or inexperienced with reflective writing need support! When reflecting, analyzing thoughts, and responding to questions in writing, it is far easier to start the reflective writing process with sentence frames. These scaffolds lower the barrier to entry, helping every writer — from ELL beginners to advanced academic students — find their voice and go deeper in their thinking. Below you'll find 100+ reflective sentence starters and frames, organized by level and purpose, so you can find exactly what you need.

💡 How to use this page: Pick one section that matches your writing level or purpose. Choose a starter, complete it in your own words, then try another. You do not need to use every frame — just the ones that unlock your thinking!

❓ Frequently Asked Questions

What are reflective sentence starters?

Reflective sentence starters are writing prompts or opening phrases that help students begin the process of self-reflection. They provide academic language scaffolding so writers can focus on their ideas rather than how to begin. Examples: "I discovered…", "After further reflection I…", "My mind was changed when…"

What is the difference between a sentence starter and a sentence frame?

A sentence starter provides just the opening words (e.g., "I wonder…"). A sentence frame provides a more complete structure with blanks to fill in (e.g., "Having learned about ___, I now feel/think/wonder ___"). Frames offer more scaffolding and are especially useful for less experienced writers and ELL students.

How do sentence frames help struggling writers?

Sentence frames act as cognitive scaffolds. By providing the structure, they free up the writer's attention to focus on ideas and meaning. Research shows they are particularly valuable for English Language Learners, students with dyslexia or dysgraphia, and anyone experiencing writer's block.

Can I use these for journaling, not just school essays?

Absolutely! Structured self-reflection using sentence starters is a proven journaling strategy. Many of the frames in the Journaling & Personal Growth section below are drawn from leadership and mindfulness contexts as well as classroom use.

🌟 Advanced Reflective Sentence Starters

These starters push writers beyond surface-level responses into genuine critical reflection and metacognitive thinking.

• I wonder,…
• I discovered,…
• I ponder,…
• I think,…
• I learned,…
• I've reflected on,…
• After further reflection I,…
• What I thought (believed) was wrong,…
• My imagination was on fire after,…
• I know my understanding is,…
• My mind was changed after reading,…
• I have considered many ideas/thoughts/facts,…
• How did/do I feel after learning/reading,…
• What would I say about,…
• If given a chance to speak publicly,… I would,…
• I have two/three takeaways after learning/reading,…
• For me the most important/interesting idea/issue/fact was,…
• A few suggestions that I will give myself,…
• I have improved my understanding of,…
• Having learned about,… I feel/know/question/think/wonder/understand/doubt/realized,…
• Because I do not fully comprehend, I will need to,…
• My comprehension/understanding/knowledge was expanded after/when I,…
• This knowledge could be essential for me in my,…
• Previously I thought (did not think),…
• My new understanding of,… began after I,…
• I have developed a deep appreciation for,…
• Initially, I questioned my understanding about,…
• Having learned/studied/read, I now feel/think/know/realize/wonder/question,…
• Initially, I never questioned,…
• This new insight/knowledge/understanding is essential for me because,…
• After researching the important facts, I was surprised by,…
• This makes me feel,…
• For me, I am not yet certain about…
• The significant/relevant/poignant/important for me was,…
• What I discovered today is,…
• I've cogitated and digested many ideas on,…
• I've deliberated on many issues,…
• I've found a new way to look at this,…
• I see some things in a new light,…
• What I never considered before was,…
• What I was hoping to learn/discover/uncover is…
• I recently figured out why/how/who,…
• I was challenged when,…
• How I changed my mind was,…
• I slowly changed my mind about,…
• I have some pretty complex notions about,…
• I know a little about,…
• It might be unconventional to think,…
• More often than not I,…
• A different idea I have on,…
• A few interesting things I've learned,…
• Today, I was inspired to,…
• I've discovered that,…
• There are many/different ways to look at,…
• After careful deliberation,…
• What I like about,…
• I've reflected on,…
• There is one thing that intrigues me about,…
• I'm thoroughly impressed with,…
• What I thought is,…
• If we really want to make a difference then,…
• There are many proven strategies that I,…
• I thought it would be interesting to share,…
• I now know that,…
• An interesting thing that I discovered,…
• The more I read/researched/studied, the more I realize that,…
• I am really intrigued to know/learn that,…
• When 'fishing for ideas' I tend to,…
• Wow! Sometimes the truth surprises me because I,…

📚 Academic Writing Sentence Starters

These are the most common types of sentence starters used in essays, research papers, and formal academic writing.

Purpose	Sentence Starters
Introducing an argument	Furthermore, evidence shows… | In addition, one must consider… | Moreover, recent research indicates that… | It is worth noting that…
Showing contrast	However, some argue… | On the other hand, contradicting information suggests… | Nevertheless, many experts disagree that… | Despite this, the data reveals…
Giving examples	For instance, one example is… | To illustrate, we can look to the case of… | Specifically, data shows this trend in… | This is clearly seen when…
Stating cause/effect	Therefore, the data leads to… | As a result, experts have observed… | Because of these conditions, we can expect… | Consequently, this results in…
Expressing similarity	Similarly, this case also demonstrates… | In the same way, analogous processes occurred… | Correspondingly, consistent patterns emerged… | Likewise, this principle applies to…
Referring to a source	According to [name],… | As demonstrated in [name]'s research,… | Supported by [name]'s evidence,… | As [name] argues,…
Showing agreement	Clearly, these results validate… | Of course, this confirms… | There is no doubt that the statistics prove… | This strongly supports the idea that…
Showing doubt	It is questionable whether… | The evidence barely supports… | This conclusion may exceed what the data shows… | One must be cautious about claiming…
Drawing conclusions	In conclusion, the evidence points to… | Ultimately, the data leads us to… | Therefore, we can determine… | To summarize, the research suggests…
Introducing an idea	Regarding this new concept,… | Turning to another issue,… | In terms of this alternative,… | Shifting focus to…

📓 Journaling & Personal Growth Sentence Starters

These frames are ideal for personal journals, self-reflection diaries, morning pages, and leadership development writing. They draw from structured journaling research showing that focused sentence starters produce deeper, more purposeful reflection.

• I'm making progress on…
• A highlight of my day/week/year is…
• My biggest challenge right now is…
• One thing I want to accomplish today is…
• I'm grateful for…
• I'm frustrated with/about…
• My next step is…
• I'm working to develop…
• I admire ___. Today I will emulate this by…
• One thing I will do today to develop myself is…
• My interactions with ___ have been useful because…
• I'm glad I…
• Something I want to understand better is…
• Looking back, I wish I had…
• A person who has positively influenced me is… because…
• The thing I am most proud of recently is…
• If I could change one thing about today, it would be…
• Something I need to let go of is…
• A goal I am getting closer to is…
• I feel most like myself when…

🌱 Growth Mindset & Before/After Reflection Frames

These "before and after" sentence frames are especially powerful for science notebooks, literature responses, and any learning activity where thinking evolves. They help students recognize their own growth and revise misconceptions.

• At first I thought… but now I think…
• I used to believe… Now I understand…
• Before learning about this, I assumed… After, I realized…
• My thinking shifted when…
• What surprised me most was… because I had assumed…
• I initially struggled with… and overcame it by…
• A misconception I had was… The truth is…
• This challenged me to think differently about…
• I grew as a learner/thinker/writer when…
• I know I have improved because…
• I'm still working on… and my next step is…
• The question I still have after all this is…
• If I could go back and try again, I would…

💛 Social-Emotional Learning (SEL) Sentence Starters

These starters support emotional awareness, community building, morning meetings, and advisory or homeroom discussions. They help students connect learning to feelings and relationships.

• Right now I am feeling… because…
• Something that made me feel proud today was…
• I showed kindness when I…
• Something that was hard for me emotionally was…
• I supported someone else when…
• A time I showed resilience was…
• I feel included/excluded when…
• Something that brings me joy is…
• I was a good listener when…
• A goal related to how I treat others is…
• I notice that when I feel stressed, I tend to…
• One way I can take better care of myself is…
• Something I appreciate about our community/classroom is…

🔬 Science & Inquiry Reflection Frames (3-2-1 & KWL)

These frames from inquiry-based learning help students document their thinking during and after investigations. The "3-2-1" and "KWL" formats are especially popular in science notebooks.

• 3 things I learned: (1)… (2)… (3)…
• 2 things that interested me: (1)… (2)…
• 1 question I still have:…
• I know… | I want to know… | I learned…
• 3 things I observed: (1)… (2)… (3)…
• 2 things I wonder: (1)… (2)…
• 1 general rule or conclusion I can draw:…
• My hypothesis was… The data showed… So I now think…
• The evidence that surprised me was…
• A connection I made between this and real life is…
• In words: [explain concept] | In a picture: [describe/draw]

🤙 Bill & Ted Reflective Sentence Starters

A little humor goes a long way in the classroom. These playful frames are great for engagement and creative writing — plus, students remember them!

• Learning is a most excellent way to,…
• Whoa,… that is/was bodacious,…
• Dude,… this is a most excellent/bodacious issue/idea/fact!
• Nothing is as bodacious as what I just learned,…
• Be excellent to each other, which means I will,…
• Most non-non-non-non-non-non-excellent was,… because,…

🏁 Concluding & Summary Sentence Starters

These frames help writers wrap up their reflections with a sense of closure, purpose, and forward momentum.

• In summary,…
• In conclusion, the evidence/experience points to…
• Ultimately, I have come to understand that…
• To summarize my thinking,…
• In brief, what I take away from this is…
• To sum up,…
• Moving forward, I intend to…
• The most important lesson I am carrying with me is…
• As a result of this experience/learning, I will…
• Looking ahead, my goal is to…
• This has shaped my thinking by…
• I will put this understanding into practice by…

📖 Vocabulary for Reflective Writing

Strong reflective writing uses precise vocabulary. Here are powerful words to weave into your sentence frames:

Category	Words & Phrases
Thinking verbs	wonder, ponder, question, consider, cogitate, deliberate, realize, recognize, analyze, evaluate, synthesize
Feeling verbs	feel, sense, experience, appreciate, value, doubt, trust, resent, embrace, struggle with
Change words	transformed, evolved, shifted, revised, reconsidered, challenged, expanded, deepened, altered
Insight words	discovery, insight, revelation, breakthrough, realization, understanding, perspective, awareness, epiphany
Connection words	relates to, connects with, parallels, echoes, contrasts with, mirrors, applies to, extends

🎓 Teacher Tip: Research shows that introducing reflection strategies one at a time — rather than all at once — leads to greater student ownership. Start with one frame, repeat it across subjects and contexts, then gradually add more. Allow students to choose their own frame from a small set for even greater engagement and variety.

🔗 Related Resources Coming Soon 

• Sentence Starters for Critical Thinking
• Writing Frames for ELL Students
• Metacognitive Strategies for Readers
• Growth Mindset Writing Prompts

© Reading Sage — Helping every learner find their voice through literacy.

Students who are new or are inexperienced with reflective writing need support! When reflecting, analyzing thoughts, and responding to questions or writing, it easier to start the reflective writing process with sentence frames. Below are 70+ samples of reflective sentence starters/frames. 

Reflective Sentence Starters Advanced | Advanced Reflective Sentence Frames

1. I wonder,…
2. I discovered,...
3. I ponder,…
4. I think,…
5. I learned,…
6. I've reflected on,...
7. After further reflection I,...
8. What I thought (believed) was wrong,...
9. My imagination was on fire after,...
10. I know my understanding is,...
11. My mind was changed after reading,...
12. I have considered many ideas/thoughts/facts,…
13. How did/do I feel after learning/ reading,…
14. What would I say about,…
15. If given a chance to speak publicly,.... I would,…
16. I have two/three takeaways after learning/ reading,…
17. For me the most important/interesting idea/issue/fact was,…
18. A few suggestions that I will give myself,…
19. I have improved my understanding of,…
20. Having learned about,… I feel/ know/ question/ think/ wonder/ understand/ doubt/ felt/ realized,…
21. Because I do not fully comprehend I will need to,…
22. My comprehension/ understanding/ knowledge was expanded after/ when I,…
23. This knowledge could be essential for me in my,…
24. Previously I thought (did not think),…
25. My new understanding of,…began after I… 
26. I have developed a deep appreciation for,…
27. Initially, I questioned my understanding about,…
28. Having learned/ studied/ read I know feel/ think/ know/ realize/ wonder/ question/ know,…
29. Initially, I never questioned,…
30. This new insight/knowledge/understanding is essential for me because,…
31. After researching the important facts, I was surprised by,…
32. This makes me feel,…
33. For me, I am not yet certain about...
34. The significant/relevant/poignant/important for me was,…
35. What I discovered today is,… 
36. I've cogitated and digested many ideas on,…
37. I've deliberated on many issues,…
38. I've found a new way to look at this,…
39. I see somethings in a new light,…
40. What I never considered before was,…
41. What I was hoping to learn/discover/uncover is... 
42. I recently figured out why/how/who,…
43. I was challenged when,…
44. How I changed my mind and my stars (future) was,…?
45. I slowly changed my mind about,…
46. I have some pretty strange notions about,…
47. I know a little about,…
48. It might be crazy to think,…
49. I learned that...
50. More often than not I … 
51. A different idea I have on,…
52. A few interesting things I've learned,… 
53. Today, I was inspired to,… 
54. I’ve discovered that,… 
55. There are many/different ways to look at,… 
56. After careful deliberation,…
57. What I like about,…  
58. I know there’s 
59. I’ve reflected on,.... 
60. There is one thing that intrigues me about… 
61. I’m thoroughly impressed with … 
62. What I thought is,… 
63. If we really want to make a difference then … 
64. I have an exciting announcement … 
65. There are many proven strategies that I … 
66. I thought it would be interesting to share … 
67. I now know that... 
68. An interesting thing that I discovered… 
69. The more I read/researched/studied the more I realize that … 
70. I am really intrigued to know/learn that … 
71. When ‘fishing for ideas’ I tend to … 
72. Wow! Sometimes the truth hurts because I… 

Reflection Sentence Vocabulary!

Bill and Ted Reflective Sentence Starters 
Learning is a most excellent way too,…
Whoa,... that is/was bodacious,…
Dude,... this is a most excellent/ bodacious issues/ ideas/ facts
Nothing is as bodacious as what I just learned,…

The most common types of sentence starters used in academic writing:

- Introducing an argument: Furthermore, evidence shows; In addition, one must consider; Moreover, recent research indicates that...

- Showing contrast: However, some argue; On the other hand, contradicting information suggests; Nevertheless, many experts disagree that... 

- Giving examples: For instance, one example is; To illustrate, we can look to the case of; Specifically, data shows this trend in...

- Stating cause/effect: Therefore, the data leads to; As a result, experts have observed; Because of these conditions, we can expect...

- Expressing similarity: Similarly, this case also demonstrates; In the same way, analogous processes occurred; Correspondingly, consistent patterns emerged...

- Referring to a source: According to [name],; As demonstrated in [name]'s experiment,; Supported by [name]'s evidence...

- Showing agreement: Clearly, these results validate; Of course, this confirms; There is no doubt that the statistics prove...

- Showing doubt: Unlikely, this claim rests on; Dubious, the evidence barely supports; Questionable, this conclusion exceeds...

- Drawing conclusions: In conclusion, the evidence points to; Ultimately, the data leads us to; Therefore, we can determine... 

- Introducing an idea: Regarding this new concept; Turning to another issue; In terms of this alternative...

- Clarifying ideas: To clarify, this means; In other words, the essence is; Simply stated, the principle centers on...

Positive Report Card Comments: Student Work Habits

Positive Report Card Comments: Student Work Ethics and Work Habits

Your child:

1. quickly understands new academic strategies, concepts and ideas.
2. works tirelessly to understand new academic strategies, concepts and ideas.
3. keeps organized by using agendas, graphic organizers, check list, and SMART academic goals.
4. your child models excellence in all school activities. 
5. has high standards and produces high quality work.
6. practices self advocacy, they seek advice and guidance to deepen their understanding.
7. completes and checks classwork thoroughly, using multiple strategies and heuristics before submitting it.
8. is a model scholar, they are curious, and show an eagerness to learn and be challenged
9. stays on task and focused with little or no supervision.
10. displays great focus and self-discipline.
11. learns from errors and mistakes through seeking feedback and reflection.
12. creates impressive genius hour/makerspace projects.
13. is a conscientious, detail oriented student...
14. works independently and keeps focused especially on...
15. is a self-motivated student.
16. consistently completes classwork/homework with precision, care, and a positive attitude.
17. always puts forth their best effort into all assignments.
18. exceeds expectations with the quality of their work.
19. is a conscientious, responsible, hard-working student.
20. is industrious and a self starter. 
21. works independently and carefully.
22. is highly motivated and their work-ethic exceeds the teachers expectations.
23. consistently shows great perseverance on difficult and rigorous tasks.
24. puts forth their best effort into homework assignments.
25. exceeds expectations with the quality of their work.

Positive Report Card Words

accomplished, adept, apt, alert, amazing, artistic, articulate, assiduous, attentive, capable, candid, careful, cheerful, confident, conscientious, cooperative, competent, compassionate, considerate, courteous, creative, curious, diligent, dynamic, eager, energetic, grateful, generous, hard-working, helpful, honest, imaginative, independent, industrious, meticulous, motivated, observant, organized, outgoing, pleasant, polite, resourceful, sincere, thoughtful, thorough, studious, vigilant

Conclusion Sentence Starters & Sentence Frames

Examples of Conclusion Sentence Stems, Sentence Frames, Starters for academic Essays and Speeches | Opinion, argument, persuasive essay. claim, and expository conclusion sentence starters

A concluding sentence needs to restate information covered in the paragraph in a way that shows a deep understanding of the content of the paragraph. Students need exemplars of conclusion sentence frames and complete conclusions to help them develop these skills in their own writing. Introductions and conclusions are part of all State academic writing assessments and rubrics, they are the foundation and the capstone of academic essay writing.  

Examples of concluding sentence starters and sentence frames:

1. My last, final, concluding point is, . . . 
2. I wonder how, . . . 
3. I am shaken to my core by, . . . 
4. I will make a counter proposal, . . . 
5. The nexus between, . . .  and , . . .
6. Please consider this, . . . before, . . . 
7. My final thoughts are, . . . 
8. I truly believe that . . . 
9. I think that . . . 
10. It seems clear to me that . . . 
11. It is clear that . . . 
12. It strikes me that . . . 
13. There is no doubt that . . . 
14. There must be no doubt that . . .
15. I am convinced that . . . 
16. It may appear that . . . 
17. It is obvious that . . .
18. In conclusion, . . .
19. To paraphrase, . . .
20. I will conclude by, . . .
21. I would like to argue, . . . 
22. On the basis of the evidence presented, . . . 
23. On balance, . . . 
24. The evidence challenges, . . .
25. The facts support the claim, argument, that . . . 
26. It is my sincere belief that . . .
27. It is worth reiterating/restating/retelling/re-examining, . . .
28. I will conclude by reiterating/restating/retelling/re-examining, . .
29. My main premise/theses/findings are, . . .
30. My final analysis/argument/opinion, . . .
31. My last point is, . . .
32. My main argument/claim/opinion was/is, . . .
33. My final thought/s, . . .
34. My final idea/s, . . .
35. My final question/s, . . .
36. One final thought, . . .
37. One final idea, . . .
38. One final question, . . .
39. In the end, . . .
40. In my final analysis/argument/opinion, . . .
41. A brief overview of, . . .
42. To briefly review, . . .
43. My reflections on, . . .
44. My final thoughts and concluding ideas are, . . . 
45. To conclude, . . . 
46. I would like to say, . . . 
47. To sum up, . . . 
48. Finally, I, . . . 
49. Lastly, . . . 
50. In conclusion, . . . 
51. To finish off, . . . 
52. All in all, . . . 
53. In the end, . . . 
54. So as you can see, . . . 
55. Overall, . . . 
56. As evidence shows, . . . 
57. To summarize my argument/opinion/claim, . . . 
58. As I already explained, . . . 
59. In closing, . . . 
60. To wrap up, . . . 
61. My conclusions are, . . . 
62. Therefore, . . . 
63. As expressed, . . .
64. Overall I believe, . . . 
65. As a result, . . . 
66. Finally, . . . 
67. Lastly, my feelings are, . . . 
68. In summary, . . . 
69. To review, . . . 
70. My conclusion was flawed, . . . 
71. In brief, . . . 
72. To summarize, . . . 
73. To sum up, . . . 
74. To conclude, . . . 
75. Thus, . . . 
76. Hence, . . . 
77. It has been shown that . . . 
78. In short, . . . 

Expository Writing Sentence Starters, Sentence Frames, and Sentence Openers 

Providing emergent writers with a choice of thesis statements

"sentence frames" for their expository writing will help students build confidence when writings essays and reports. The expository theses or expository sentence opener is different from an argument or opinion essay because it does not introduce an opinion, make claims, state an argument, and or try to persuade. Expository writing is about presenting facts, reasons, evidence, logical ideas, information in a logical sequence.  

The topic sentence or focus sentence is a prescriptive grammatical term that describes the sentence in an expository or narrative paragraph which introduces or summarizes the main idea of that paragraph. It is usually the first sentence in emergent writers' paragraphs and a difficult concept to master for many young writers. The writer's craft is supported with sentence starters and theses statements that build a student's confidence, ease writing stress, motivate students and demystify writing.

• It's interesting to learn that..., 
• It's an interesting argument...,
• It's fascinating to justify that..., 
• It's fascinating to explore...,
• It's fascinating to illustrate...,
• It's amazing to think about …,
• It's amazing to ponder …,
• It's amazing to learn …,
• Let me explain in more detail...,
• Let me expand on one idea...,
• Let me educate you about...,
• Let me enlighten you...,
• Let me expound further..,
• You’ll be excited to learn that...,
• You’ll be excited to know..., 
• You’ll be amazed to learn..., 
• Do you realize that..,
• You know that.., 
• have you ever thought about..., 
• Have you ever wondered..., 
• Have you ever discovered...,
• Let me justify my evidence, reasons or opinion..., 
• Of course, most/few agree that..., 
• Of course, no one agrees that...,
  Of course, no one agrees that..., 
• It's interesting to note that..., 
• In a unique, parallel or odd way..., 
• In a fascinating discovery..., 
• It’s incredible to think..., 
• It’s incredible to think..., 
• You’d better believe that …, 
• You’d understand more.., 
• You’d interpret less if.., 
• You’d be fascinated to know more about.., 
• You’d be intrigued to know that..,
• You’ll comprehend concisely that …, 
• You’ll discover new insights…,
• You’ll be amazed that …, 
• You’ll apprehend more …, 
• Don’t you know that..., 
• You’d agree that..., 
• You Wouldn't need to justify if …,
• It's interesting to learn that..., 
• It's an interesting argument..., 
• It's fascinating to justify that..., 
• It's fascinating to explore..., 
• It's fascinating to illustrate...,
• It's amazing to think about …, 
• It's amazing to ponder …, 
• It's amazing to learn …, 
• Let me explain..., 
• Let me expand on..., 
• Let me educate you..., 
• Let me enlighten you..., 
• Let me expound.., 
• You’ll be excited to learn that..., 
• You’ll be excited to know..., 
• You’ll be amazed to learn .., 
• Do you realize that.., 
• Do you know that.., 
• Have you ever thought about..., 
• Have you ever wondered..., 
• Have you ever discovered..., 
• Let me justify..., 
• Of course, most agree that..., 
• Of course, a few agree that..., 
• Of course, no one agrees that..., 
• It's interesting to note that..., 
• In a unique way..., 
• In a parallel way..., 
• In a fascinating discovery...,
• It’s incredible to think..., 
• You’d better believe that …, 
• You’d understand more.., 
• You’d interpret less if.., 
• You’d be fascinated to know more about.., 
• You’d be intrigued to know that..,
• You’ll comprehend concisely that …, 
• You’ll discover new insights…, 
• You’ll be amazed that …, 
• You’ll apprehend more …, 
• Don’t you know that..., 
• You’d agree that..., 
• Wouldn't need to justify if … (Many, Most, Some) 
• Experts agree that ...
• Let me enlighten you..., 
• Let me question your thinking..., 
• Let me argue the point that ..., 
• Let me ask you a question, (who, what, where, whom, why or how)...,
• There are many, some, few or no reasons that..., 
• There are justifications for..., 
• There are/aren't reasons that..., 
• There are many, few, some or no way(s) in which..., 
• Would you believe that...,
• Can you imagine what..., 
• So, what do we really know about..., 
• So, what do we really understand about..., 
• So, what do you really know about....
• So, what do you really know about..., 
• Incredibly, no one knows...,
• Incredibly, new knowledge that I..., 
• Incredibly, what is the justification for..., 
• It is true that...It's not common knowledge that... 
• So, you want to understand how...., 
• So, you want to imagine how...., 
• So, you want to believe that...., 
• Most, many, some or no people agree that..., 
• Oftentimes, you will find...., 
• For years...,
• Historically..., 
• It’s hard to believe, but...., 
• You will find that.... 
• You, will doubt that... 
• You’ll soon observe that..., 
• Many, some, few, or no one will argue that..., 
• Without a doubt, …, 
• In the first, second, third or last place..., 
• Let me tell you..., 
• Let me educate you..., 
• Let me inform you about..., 
• Let me entertain you, 
• Let me stretch your understanding..., 
• In many, some, few or no way(s)...,

TIME AND ORDER SENTENCE TRANSITIONS

After, At once, Before, During, First . . . second . . . third 

First . . . next . . . then, If . . . then . . . , In the meantime 

Meanwhile, Often, Presently, Shortly, Soon after, Still 

Temporarily, Until, When, While 

ADDITION SENTENCE TRANSITIONS

Additionally, Also, As well as, Besides, Furthermore, In addition, Likewise, Moreover, Not only, Similarly 

CONTRAST SENTENCE TRANSITIONS

Although, But, Despite, However, In contrast, Instead, On the contrary, On the other hand, Unlike, Yet 

CONCESSION SENTENCE TRANSITIONS

Admittedly, Certainly, Clearly, Evidently, Granted, Naturally, Obviously, Of course, Undeniably, Understandably 

CAUSE AND EFFECT SENTENCE TRANSITIONS

As a result, Because, Consequently, Since, So, Therefore 

EXAMPLES SENTENCE TRANSITIONS

For example, For instance, In particular, Specifically, Such as, To illustrate 

CONCLUSIONS SENTENCE TRANSITIONS

Finally, Generally, In brief, In conclusion, In summary, On the whole 

Cause & Effect Sentence Transitions

therefore • consequently • thus • as a result (of) • for this reason • accordingly • so • for since • because • if…then • in order to

Addition Sentence Transitions

moreover • furthermore • finally • in addition (to) • besides and • nor • not only…but also • • both…and

Comparison  Sentence Transitions

likewise • similarly • in the same way • in the same manner 

just as…so • the more…the more • whether…or • either…

or • neither…nor

Contrast Sentence Transitions

however • nevertheless • in spite of • despite • in contrast • on the other hand • on the contrary  • but • yet • the more…the less

although • though • even though • unlike • while • whereas • 

despite • in spite of 

Time or Sequence Sentence Transitions

first/second/third • then/next/finally • afterwards • meanwhile • previously • initially • later • subsequently no sooner…than when • whenever • while • until • before • after • as soon as • as long as first/second/third • then/next/finally • afterward • meanwhile • previously • initially • later • subsequently • no sooner…than when • whenever • while • until • before • after • as soon as • as long as

Topic Sentence Starters: 

It is amazing to think about …, Let me explain …. You’ll be excited to learn that …, Do you realize that …, Have you ever thought about …, Have you ever wondered…, Let me tell you about …, It’s incredible that …, There are many reasons that …, There are many ways in which…, So, you want to understand how…, Why do …, How can …, When do …, Where can… It’s hard to believe, but… , You will find that… , You’ll soon discover that… , No one will argue that… , So, why is (are)… , What’s so great about…

Sentence Starters for Emergent and Advanced Writers 

Examining Prior Knowledge:
I understand that…
This reminds me of…
This relates to…

Forming Interpretations:
What this means to me is…
I think this represents…
The idea I’m getting is…
One question that this text answers is…
One question that this text addresses is…

Asking Questions:
I wonder why…
What if…
How come…
How is it possible that…

Monitoring:
I lost track of everything except…
I need to reread the part where…
I know I’m on the right track because…
A term or idea that was unclear to me was…

Predicting:
I’ll bet that…
I think…
If ____, then …

Revising Meaning:
At first I thought _____, but now I…
My latest thought about this is…
I’m getting a different picture here because…

Visualizing:
I can imagine…
In my mind I see…
If this were a movie scene…

Analyzing the Author’s Craft:
A golden line for me is…
This word/phrase stands out for me because…
I like how the author uses ____ to show…

Making Connections:
This reminds me of…
I experienced this once when…
I can relate to this to other readings because…
The argument here is similar to ___ because…
Another example of ___ is…

Reflecting and Relating:
So, the big idea is…
A conclusion that I’m drawing is…
This is relevant to my life because…
This author is trying to make me (see, feel, know,
do) …
It makes a difference that this text was written
because…

Adopting an Alignment:
The character I most identify with is…
The idea I find most provocative is…
I reject this author’s view because…

Evaluating:
I like/don’t like ____ because…
This could be more effective if…
The most important message here is…
One big difference between this and ___ is…

Sources: New York City Writing Project, “Monitoring Our Reading.” NY: Lehman College, 2000.

Quick Tips Sentence Writing Transitions Samples 

Organization Transitions