It’s that time of year when you walk into the room and the scent of freshly sharpened pencils and the promise of unchartered territories permeates the air. The time when fresh notebooks crackle with elaborate doodles and curiosity fills the room.

How many times have you looked at your students for responses and only received blank stares or unengaged behavior? The harsh reality, your lesson was probably boring. You needed a hook!

Argumentative writing is a hot topic in the elementary world right now. The 2023 Reading STAAR took us by surprise when third-grade students were asked to read a paired selection of two informational articles and then make a claim with supporting evidence in the form of an extended constructed response.