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Transform writing with Sizzling Starts
Great writing begins with a Sizzling Start®
If you’re looking to transform your students’ writing, you’ve come to the right place!
What is a Sizzling Start? | New to Seven Steps? | Writing samples | In the classroom | Where do I begin?
What is a Sizzling Start?
A piece of writing has about 60 seconds to grab the reader’s attention. But most students start with overused (and let’s face it, dull) openings: ‘Once upon a time…’, ‘One day I…’ or ‘In my opinion…’.
Sizzling Starts is guaranteed to change those boring introductions once and for all!
Open a story with your character jumping out of a plane or when the train is veering off the track. Start a persuasive text with a thought-provoking expert quote. Grab attention with a fascinating fact at the beginning of a science report.
'Sizzling Starts has been a game changer for us. It has really opened the students' (and teachers'!) eyes to richer vocab, setting the scene with a show, don't tell and allowing a story to start with impact.'
Gray Primary School, NT
'My Year 7s LOVED Sizzling Starts. They just loved reading them aloud with passion and energy.'
Forbes High School, NSW
'Marking NAPLAN this year, I noticed the Seven Steps flair in students' writing - I could pick the Sizzling Starts!'
Coomera Rivers State School, QLD
New to Seven Steps?
Seven Steps to Writing Success is the proven, evidence-based approach to teaching writing that students love.
Since 2005, Seven Steps has helped over 50,000 teachers unlock the inner writer in every student. How? By explicitly teaching them the skills that professional authors use, including how to:
- plan and structure an engaging text
- come up with creative, unique and cohesive ideas
- hook the reader from the first sentence
- bring writing to life with descriptive language.
The skills students need to become great writers.
So where do you begin?
At the Sizzling Start of course! It’s the easiest place to begin for both students and teachers.
Seven Steps is based on best-practice pedagogy, with each Step chunked to reduce the cognitive load on students. So don’t ask students to write a whole text – just focus on Sizzling Starts for 2 weeks.
We give you everything you need to do it: training videos, classroom PowerPoints, exemplars, lesson plans (based on the Gradual Release model), activities, writing prompts and more!
Your classroom will be bursting with creativity, fun and a buzzing writing culture!
Narrative Writing Competition winner!
Amelia (Year 3) from Kalamunda Christian School entered our Narrative writing competition and her Sizzling Start was a winner.
Her teacher filmed her beautiful reaction to finding out she’s now a published author. We love to see how proud she is!
Ready to give it a try?
Easy! Unlock everything you need for FREE on Teacher Hub.
You’ll see a difference in your students’ writing from the first lesson and most importantly your students will enjoy their writing lessons, engage with the activities and be proud to share their writing with the class.
Sign up for free to Teacher Hub and start bringing fun, collaboration and creative writing to your classroom
You’ll find everything you need to learn, teach, apply and assess Step 2: Sizzling Starts.
- A 10-minute training video.
- Sizzling Starts top techniques.
- A classroom activity with lots of topic ideas.
- Writing samples and examples.
- Assessment resources to pre- and post-test your students.
- A certificate to celebrate your students’ writing success.
'Students remember to use Sizzling Starts outside of writing class - in science, geography, history. They also use the concept in poetry and when writing reviews.'
Nunawading Christian College, VIC
'Sizzling Starts has encouraged even my most reluctant writers!'
St Margaret Mary's Randwick North, NSW
'When working through Sizzling Starts, there were peals of laughter. One student said his sense of humour could finally be appreciated in the classroom!'
Aitken College, VIC
Writing sample
Classroom display
Template
Informative report
‘🔥🔥 Sizzling Start 🔥🔥
Focusing on the Seven Steps to writing everyday has improved my students’ writing so much in just 5 weeks!!’
Check out this pop art classroom display. These students have used action words to engage the reader. Thanks for sharing @missclassroomcat.
‘Kids loved writing a variety of Sizzling Starts for their narratives then choosing their best one to display 🔥’
‘Have you ever seen a Monarch butterfly slowly emerge from a Chrysalis?
It takes a bit to come out – they can take about 3-4 days. They stay still and move their wings a bit and sometimes move a bit.’