Notice It, Name It, Try It
A Lesson in Descriptive Writing

Thank you to Mark Overmeyer, CCSD Literacy Coordinator
for supplying the idea for this essential question lesson.

The Essential Question: How can we use the good traits of writing that we notice in published work to help us improve and revise our own descriptive writing?

Information Resources

Yahooligans News Slideshow

Books by the Author, Cynthia Rylant;
In November
Scarecrow
The Relatives Came
When I Was Young In the Mountains

Or Jane Yolen;
Owl Moon
Student Activity

Find a picture in Yahooligans News Slideshow that sparks a memory or that would inspire great descriptive writing. Copy the picture and paste it into this template. (click to download) If you prefer you can use this picture template(click to download) that is already done for you. Remember that this is free writing. You may write in sentences or put down your thoughts and ideas. Try to use your best descriptive language.

Next, your teacher will read one of the above books to you. As she/he reads it out loud you will follow along on a sheet that has the words printed on it. Underline sentences or words that strike you or makes an emotional impact as your teacher reads the story. Look at this book as a writer. Notice what the writer has done. Identify what you like about the text.

Fill out the table (click to download) that asks you to point out what stood out for you in the story. In groups of two or three discuss the writing or words that stood out for you.

In a whole class discussion, share one or two examples of what stood out to you and the craft that was used. For example repetition or alliteration. Your teacher may choose to collect this information in an Inspiration template.(click to download)
Assessment Activity

Now, let's go back to the free writing that you did at the beginning of this lesson. Make revisions to your writing based on some of the ideas and traits that were discussed in class today. Were you able to improve your descriptive writing using some of the techniques that were discussed?
Enrichment Activities

Continue to revise your descriptive writing into a story that goes along with the picture that you selected to write about.
Standards

Colorado Model Content Standards Reading and Writing
Standard 2: Students write and speak for a variety of purposes and audiences.
• generating topics and developing ideas for a variety of writing and speaking purposes
• choosing vocabulary that communicates their messages clearly and precisely;
• revising and editing speech and writing
The student will. . .
Know
Understand
Be able to do		 The student will know what writing traits make a story more enjoyable to read and use these traits in their own writing.
The student will understand that reading other author's work can help them improve and revise their writing.
The student will be able to copy and paste a picture from the Internet and site the resource for their website.
The student will be able to write and revise and publish a paragrah about a picture they find on the Internet.