Good beginnings draw the reader into a story. Gather a selection of books with different beginnings, sometimes called leads, to share with your students. It is only necessary to read the beginning of each. Discuss the different types of beginnings, then ask which one makes them want to hear the rest of the story and why that is so. Have students select a previously written narrative, or begin a new one, and write three beginnings for their stories each of which uses a different approach. Let them share and tell which beginning they think best suits the story they wish to tell or, in the case of the previously written stories, works better than what they started with. Not every beginning works for every story. Encourage students to have 2 or 3 sentences for each beginning, enough to tell if the beginning is effective.

If students are stuck in the "One beautiful, sunny day...." mode, this will help them see new possibilities for that first line.

 

 

Author	Title * Indicates Out of Print	Summary	Curriculum Connection	Character Trait
Ackerman, Karen	Song and Dance Man (Beginning: introduces the character)	Grandpa enjoys reliving his vaudeville days for the grandchildren.	Social Studies	Respect
Allard, Harry	The Stupids Die (Beginning: dialogue)	The Stupids think they are dead when the lights go out.		Responsibility
Bunting, Eve	Going Home (Beginning: a character is speaking)	Carlos and his family travel home to Mexico for Christmas.	Social Studies Cultural Group: Hispanic	Citizenship
Clement, Rod	Grandpa’s Teeth (Beginning: the main character is speaking)	Soon after Grandpa’s teeth disappear from a glass beside his bed, the whole town is under investigation.	Social Studies	Honesty
Cooney, Barbara	Eleanor (Beginning: introduces the character;compare with Shrek)	A timid, orphaned girl grows up to become First Lady.	Social Studies	Perseverance
Disalvo-Ryan, Dyanne	A Dog Like Jack (Beginning: factual)	Finding and losing a boy’s best friend: his dog.	Health	Responsibility
Duke, Kate	Aunt Isabel Tells a Good One (Beginning: dialogue)	Aunt Isabel and her niece, Penelope, create a story including all the necessary elements.
Herriot, James	Moses the Kitten (Beginning: bold statement by the narrator)	Dr. Herriot finds Moses near a farm pond in winter nearly frozen to death and takes him home where something unusual happens.	Social Studies Multicultural	Compassion
Hoffman, Mary	Amazing Grace (Beginning: introduces the character)	Grace is determined to be Peter Pan in the school play.	Social Studies Multicultural	Perseverance
Hofsepian	Why Not? (Beginning: strong statement)	Original folktale of a solemn man who adopts two cats only to discover he needs two laps. He solves the dilemma and learns how love can grow.	Health Multicultural	Responsibility
Hooks, William	The Mighty Santa Fe* (Beginning: figurative language)	At Christmas, William has to leave behind his cherished train set when his family goes to visit his frightening great grandmother.	Health	Courage
Houston, Gloria	My Great-Aunt Arizona (Beginning: introduces the character)	Arizona grows up and teaches in the same one room schoolhouse she attended as a child.	Social Studies	Caring
Howard, Arthur	When I Was Five (Beginning: announcement)	A six-year-old boy describes things he liked when five and compares them to things he likes now.	Social Studies
Howard, Elizabeth	Aunt Flossie's Hats (and Crabcakes later) (Beginning: setting)	Sunday afternoons Sarah and Susan visit Aunt Flossie and hear stories of old times while sharing cookies, crabcakes, and hats.	Social Studies Cultural Group: African-American	Respect
Koralack, Jenny	The Boy and the Cloth of Dreams (Beginning: mysterious)	A boy who has worn holes in his cloth of dreams must find courage to help mend the cloth.	Health	Courage
Krull, Kathleen	Wilma Unlimited (Beginning: factual)	African-American woman who overcame polio as a child to become the first woman to win 3 gold medals in track in a single Olympic.	Health Cultural group: African-American	Perseverance
Mayer, Mercer	There’s a Nightmare in My Closet (Beginning: begins with the end/flashback)	A little boy fears the dark and the monster in his closet.
McCully, Emily	Mirette on the High Wire (Beginning: setting)	Mirette wants Bellini, the world famous high-wire walker, to teach her how to walk the high wire.	Cultural group: French	Perseverance
Mendez, Phil	The Black Snowman (Beginning: mysterious)	A magical kente brings a black snowman to life and helps a young boy discover his heritage and self-worth.	Social Studies Cultural Group: African-American	Courage
Noble, Trinka	The Day Jimmy’s Boa Ate the Wash (Beginning: begins with the end/flashback)	A boy relates the events of his school field trip.
Ottley, Matt	What Faust Saw (Beginning: mysterious)	Faust, a bumbling dog, tries to get the family’s attention only to be put outside in the midst of madness.
Pfister, Marcus	Boris Beaver (Beginning: setting)	Can a beaver and a frog become good friends?	Science	Respect
Pinckney, Andrea	Duke Ellington (Beginning: question)	Biography of Duke Ellington, the jazz playin’ man’s story is told in jazzy language.	Social Studies Cultural Group: African-American
Polacco, Patricia and Ernest Lawrence	Casey at the Bat (Beginning: question)	Polacco has added a beginning and ending to the popular narrative poem that places it in the context of a Little League.		Responsibility
Rylant, Cynthia	Night in the County (Beginning: dramatic)	Describes the sights and sounds of the country.	Social Studies	Respect
Sharmart, Marjorie	Gila Monsters Meet You at the Airport (Beginning: introduces the character)	A New York City boy’s preconceived ideas of life in the west make him apprehensive about moving.	Social Studies	Courage
Simmons, Jane	Come Along, Daisy (Beginning: dialogue)	Daisy has a mind of her own and doesn’t obey her mother.	Health	Responsibility
Steig, William	Shrek! Beginning: introduces the character	The chronicles of a nasty ogre’s wonder years.
Steig, William	Sylvester and the Magic Pebble (Beginning: introduces the character)	In a moment of fright, Sylvester the donkey asks his magic pebble to turn him into a rock and then he can’t hold the pebble to wish himself back to normal again.		Courage
Trivazas, Eugene	The Three Little Wolves and the Big Bad Pig (Beginning: traditional narrative)	A great version of the old fairy tale	Science	Courage
Tudor, Tash	Corgiville Fair (Beginning: setting)	Satirical story about a county fair.	Social Studies	Honesty
Viorst, Judith	The Tenth Good Thing about Barney (Beginning: starts in the middle)p>	A little boy must deal with the death of his pet.	Health	Caring
Yolen, Jane	Encounter (Beginning: mysterious)	A young Indian boy’s tale of Columbus coming to the new world.	Social Studies Multicultural	Responsibility
Yorinks, Arthur	Hey, Al (Beginning: introduces the character)	Al and his dog yearn for a better life.	Social Studies	Respect
Yorinks, Arthur	Louis the Fish (Beginning: starts at the end)	An unhappy butcher from Flatbush finally is happy.	Social Studies	Responsibility

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