"The Dinner Party" is the anchor text in a lesson designed to encourage writers to use sensory details in their stories. After brainstorming descriptive words and phrases for the five senses, class members read Mona Gardner's stark tale and then rewrite the story, adding rich sensory details.

Concepts

descriptive writing, sensory details, elements of a short story, short stories, peer editing

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Instructional Ideas

• Save the cost of color printing page 2 of the "Guess Who's Coming to Dinner Packet" and color print and enlarge the five photos, and place them about the room so writers can continue to observe them throughout the lesson
• After reading the short story, add another photo of a cobra in a striking position
• At the conclusion of the lesson, consider explaining that while Gardner's story is a great example of a tale that lacks sensory detail and is thus a great choice for the lesson, they should consider the author's purpose in making her story so stark

Classroom Considerations

• An extension to the lesson "Sweet and Savory Writing" from the K20 LEARN lesson repository
• Requires projection equipment for the slide show
• Copies, one per participant, of the eight-page "Guess Who's Coming to Dinner Packet" are also required

Pros

• The rewriting worksheet uses sentences from Gardner's story, giving writers a head start on their version of the story

Cons

• None

Common Core

W.8.3.b