A mini-lesson on adding description through seashells (this is adapted from the work of George Hillocks Jr.)
Purpose:
To help students look closer at objects in order to add more descriptive detail to their writing
Materials:
Note: running this activity requires a collection of seashells, or time spent combing a beach for many shells, ideally distinctive and unusual ones.
How it works:
After explaining the purpose of the lesson, the teacher starts the class by showing one large, distinctive seashell. As a class, brainstorm words that can be used to describe the shell.
A few options:
The teacher models writing a short descriptive paragraph;
The teacher asks students to use the words to describe the shell in one sentence; or
The teacher writes a short paragraph about one of three or four shells that are quite similar but doesn't say which shell they are writing about. Students pass the shells around and see if they can guess which shell matches the text.
Next, the teacher lets the students select one shell each. Their task is to brainstorm some words to describe their shell, then write a paragraph describing it in vivid detail. Students then share their description in groups of 3 or 4.
Then comes the challenge: in their groups, students pick one of their shells (or they may be given a new shell) and work as a team to write a new/improved paragraph. As a class, students will vote on which is the best description.
But there's a twist! After the groups have spent a few minutes discussing and drafting, the teacher gives each group a second, similar shell. Will their writing be sufficiently distinctive that a reader can identify which shell they are referring to?
After the teacher calls time (about 5-10 minutes, depending on the quality of discussion and thought), students place both shells (the real and the decoy) next to their writing. Ask students to take a silent walk around the classroom, looking at the shells and reading the descriptions. When students are finished, take a class vote on the winning group(s).
Finally, the teacher asks the winning groups to read their work aloud, questioning voters: "what did you like about that writing?" or "what do you think worked well?"
This can be used to create/reinforce a list of powerful writing techniques that students can use in their writing, be it poetry or prose. Ideally, students return to creative writing after this mini-lesson and look for ways they can add these elements to their own texts.
(Months later, my Year 9s still seem to remember the seashells, even though we only used them once. The shells even appeared to inspire a few nautical-themed poems.)