Curated OER
Using Descriptive Language
Students examine the use of adjectives in a product review, then write their own descriptive review. In this writing and word usage lesson, students first analyze the choice of adjectives in a New York Times article about the iPhone,...
Curated OER
Photographic Memories
Explore how photographs can represent a whole story to a viewer. Middle schoolers work on narrative writing techniques in this lesson plan, focusing on photographs from the New York Times to write first-person descriptive narratives....
Curated OER
Dig Those Descriptions
Students practice writing descriptions by researching various artifacts from ancient Egypt and writing captions for them. They read and discuss the Times article, King Tut, Museum Trailblazer, Begins Encore.
University of Arizona
Fusing Firecrackers with Narrative
Improve your youngsters' descriptive writing. They study an object and write about what they see as a warm-up, then they read an excerpt from Paul Guest's memoir, One More Theory about Happiness. The next part of the activity prompts...
Curated OER
Indescribably Excellent Descriptions
Students train their eyes to look more closely at detail and imperfections as they write "indescribably" excellent descriptions of places, people, and things!
Curated OER
Writing Descriptions of "My Favorite Place"
Students write a descriptive writing piece. In this writing activity, students use a visualization exercise to add more descriptions to their writing.
Curated OER
J. Peterman Descriptive Writing Assignment
Twelfth graders hone descriptive writing skills by making a J. Peterman Catalogue. They bring to class a favorite piece of clothing or jewelry item and create their own description of it. They accompany each description with a hand-drawn...
Curated OER
Poetry Gifts
What kind of shoe is this person? What time of day is this person? Aspiring poets’ responses to a list of questions provide descriptive words and phrases that can be crafted into a blank verse poem. A link to sample poems is provided.
Curated OER
So, Who Is It?
Students brainstorm adjectives that describe people, discuss different ways of comparing and/or finding contrast in describing a person, and write drafts of their descriptions.
Curated OER
What's Down There?
Investigate the coral reefs around Mokolai Island, Hawaii by researching and writing about improving the reef ecosystem. High schoolers map threats to the ecosystem and use the list of key words to assist in their descriptions
Edgate
Journal Maps
Inspire your class to look at their environments as if they were seeing them for the first time in order to gain a better understanding of the concept of perspective. After exploring their communities and keeping a journal of major...
Curated OER
Carl Sandburg's "Chicago": Bringing a Great City Alive
Carl Sandburg composed poetry that conveyed a time and place in American Literature and history. Learners identify the literary techniques he uses to describe the historical and cultural context of living in Chicago. They define the...
Curated OER
A Better Class of Journal-ists
Young academics create a current events journal by skimming newspapers for articles that fit defined guidelines for informational texts. After cutting out two articles each week to add to their journals, they write a brief description of...
Curated OER
Writing a Character Sketch
Combining descriptive and expository writing skills, middle schoolers create a character sketch about someone they know well. They use a graphic organizer to help them discuss a model character sketch and organize/write one of their own....
Curated OER
I See and I Think (It's A Wonderful World)
Students analyze song lyrics (by listening to the song) to pick-out descriptive vocabulary. They use this descriptive vocabulary to create a drawing of the images they "see" in the song. They compare their drawings to find similarities...
Curated OER
Screening the Silver Screen
Young scholars write New York Times Movie Guide Reviews using descriptive and persuasive language.
Curated OER
Magic Pencil Story Starters
While mentioning adult learners in the description, this lesson could be used at any grade level. This activity gives a list of procedures and writing prompts to help unlock the writer in everyone. Learners of all ages could benefit from...
Curated OER
Lesson Plan 12: Writing With All Your Senses
What does an ice cream sundae sound like? Challenge young writers to move beyond visual descriptions and craft details that appeal to all five senses. The examples provided by the script in this resource show pupils how to create rich...
Curated OER
Car For Sale!
Car For sale! In this GED prep instructional activity, writers develop a classified advertisement to sell a car. After a discussion of precise words and phrases, telling details, and sensory language, sellers draft their ad for review,...
Curated OER
Help Wanted: President of the United States
Students consider qualities and United States president should have. In this government lesson, students research the responsibilities of the president and use that information to create an advertisement that describes the job and...
Curated OER
"Their Eyes Were Watching God": Folk Speech and Figurative Language
Using or considering using Zora Neale Hurston's Their Eyes Were Watching God? Then this packet is a must for your curriculum library. The examination of how Hurston combines folklore and folk language to create the voice of her...
Curated OER
Words That Hold Court
Students research legal terminology used in the Supreme Court. In this legal terminology lesson, students study a quote from President Obama about the Supreme Court. Students make a list of facts about the Supreme Court and the justices...
Curated OER
Coping With Alzheimer's
Students examine the coping skills that are necessary when dealing a loved who has Alzheimer's disease. They write using emotionally charged descriptive words after watching an associated video.
J. Paul Getty Trust
Writing the Artist's Statement
Learners read and write an artist's statement. In this artist's statement lesson, learners read Dorothea Lange's artist statement before writing one of their own about their photography. They examine their own photography and use...