Demo Lesson
SI DEMONSTRATION LESSON
TITLE
DESCRIPTIVE WRITING
AUTHOR
ROWENA BANKS
GRADE BAND
MIDDLE SCHOOL (GRADE 7)
ESTIMATED LESSON TIME
TWO 40 MINUTE CLASS PERIODS
OVERVIEW
Descriptive writing is an excellent way for students to discover/enhance their creativity. It is also a valuable lesson in how concise, vivid, language brings focus to student writing. Allowing the reader to “see” the story rather than being “told” the story brings clarity and positively effects reading comprehension. Descriptive writing incorporates sensory details that allows the writer to “paint a canvas with words”. They are the Picasso’s creating colorful images and developing intriguing works that bring the reader into their story.
FROM THEORY TO PRACTICE
Descriptive writing is not a litany of adjectives on paper. It is a precise writing skill that develops student power of description by stimulating the reader's senses. “Writing that appeals to our senses increases our understanding”, according to Moffett and Wagner. Sensory stimulation is an important part of composition that we can illustrate with many kinds of processes and perceptions that apply to all writing. (Moffett and Wagner 1992)
This lesson is engaging because it expands students' descriptive language vocabulary, allows them to find their own voice, and assists them with sentence skills, Students will become better writers the more they write. I find they are more inclined to write, as well as read, when the writing is made interesting. Effective descriptive writing leaves the reader with the sense that they have just visited a world in which imagination has taken flight.
Student Objectives
· Effectively construct a descriptive writing activity
· Understand the differences in vague and vivid language
· Share and discuss student work
· Effectively utilize all 5 senses in description
· Understand how sensory detail enhance student writing
· Provide immediate and constructive feedback
Instructional Plan
· Session will begin with the questions of the day, What is descriptive writing? What purpose does it serve to the writing process?
· Students will write 3 descriptive words on cards and formulate a sentence using all 3 words
· Teacher will model
· Teacher will read excerpt from A Game of Thrones
· Class will engage in Descriptive Salad Mix activity
· Class will go over teacher handout
· Class will create a short descriptive story
· Teacher will read an excerpt from The Twits
· Students will do hands-on activity
References
Heard, Georgia. The Revision Toolbox: Teaching Techniques That Work. Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann. 2002
Fletcher, R and Portalupi, J. Writing Workshop. The Essential Guide. Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann. 2001
Moffett, J and Wagner, B.J. (1992). Student centered Language Arts. Portsmouth, NH:
Boynton/Cook
Pearson, Common Core Literature. Grade 7. Prentice-Hall. 2015
Internet resources
The Teaching Channel
Kathleen Jones White Writing Center, Indiana University of Pennsylvania
Common Core Standards
RL.1 Cite several pieces of textual evidence to support analysis of what the text says explicitly as well as inferences drawn from the text
RL.4 Determine the meaning of words and phrases as they are using a text, including figurative and connotative meanings
W.1.c Use words, phrases and clauses to create cohesion and clarify the relationships among claims, reasons and evidence
W.2.d Use precise language and domain-specific vocabulary to inform about or explain the topic
W.3 Write narratives to develop real or imagined experiences or events using effective technique, relevant descriptive details, and well-structured event sequences
W.3.d Use precise words and phrases, relevant descriptive details, and sensory language to capture the action and convey experiences and events
W.4 Produce clear and coherent writing in which the development, organization, and style are appropriate to task, purpose, and audience
SL.1 Engage effectively in a range of collaborative discussions with diverse partners...,building on others' ideas and expressing their own clearly
SL.6 Adapt speech to a variety of contexts and tasks demonstrating command of formal English language
Teacher reflection
Descriptive writing is one of my favorite forms of writing as it involves various sensory, creative and descriptive skills. Students are able to see how infusing precise detail in their writing gives it clarity; making it wonderful for the reader to indulge in. This lesson sparks several mini lessons that will further cement students grasp of this writing skill. The lesson is engaging and gives students ownership of their work.
Suggested Descriptive Novels
Charlie And The Chocolate Factory, Roald Dahl
The Twits
The Great Gatsby, F. Scott Fitzgerald
Game of Thrones, George R.R. Martin
The Catcher In The Rye, J.D. Salinger