Begin your discussion by teaching students the definition of a transition sentence. Transition sentences are sentences that build a bridge, or create a logical connection, between ideas in a way that both reads smoothly and makes sense. You can illustrate the idea with your students by having them imagine two towns on opposite sides of a wide river, with a road leading to the river on each side, but stopping abruptly when the roads reach the water. The town on one side represents the original idea of their writing, and the second town represents new information they would like to introduce. Ask them how will they bring these two towns (ideas) together? Likely, one student will suggest building a bridge.
Students are often already using transitions in their writing without even realizing it, by incorporating words or phrases such as “however,” “furthermore,” “next” and “on the other hand.” These are simple transitions, and should be pointed out and commended as a great start. Additionally, you will want to discuss with students how transition sentences can progress to a more advanced level. This can be done by forgoing the common transitional words, and simply introducing a new idea by comparing it to the previous information, or show relevance in a new idea by reiterating ideas that have already been discussed.
One way to have your students practice their knowledge of transition sentences is through worksheets, and the practice of writing the sentences themselves. Give students a list of words, and ask them to identify those which are often used in transition sentences. You can also give them examples of like ideas, and ask them to write a transition to connect the two together. Another way to give students an ear for transitions is to pair them up and have them orally compare and contrast something (an example is how their favorite book or video game translated into movie form). As they do this, encourage them to take note of times that transitions are used in every-day conversations.
Given that the presence of transitional words does not automatically make a transitional sentence, the best way for students to practice is by putting transition sentences to work. Have them look over an essay they had previously written, and indicate where they had used transition sentences, as well as indicate places they had not used a transition sentence, but where one might be helpful. Peer editing is another great option along the same lines, because it allows students to move away from their own work, and they will often find it easier to pick out transitions when working with fresh ideas.