Topic/Big Idea: Descriptive Writing

Grade: 5 Subject: Language Arts Time: 90 Minutes

Prior Learning:

Prior to this lesson, students learned about different kinds of figurative language including similes, metaphors,
personification and hyperbole. Students have also explored different kinds of writing (eg. persuasive, informative).
The goal of this lesson is to show how the five senses, figurative language and adjectives, come together in
descriptive writing to create a vivid picture.

Curriculum Expectations and Learning Goals

Curriculum Expectations Learning Goals

Writing I can:
1.1 Identify the topic, purpose, and audience for a variety of writing forms • explain the purpose of descriptive
2.3 Use some vivid and/or figurative language and innovative writing
expressions to add interest • describe something using the five
3.5 Use parts of speech correctly to communicate their intended meaning senses
clearly, with a focus on the use of: common, proper and abstract nouns; • use adjectives and figurative
collective nouns; adjectives, including comparative adjectives; the language to enhance my description,
helping verb have; adverbs modifying verbs; comparative adverbs create a vivid picture and engage
readers
Success Criteria: Descriptive writing… • organise my ideas to create a
• Paints a rich picture in the reader’s mind descriptive paragraph
• Uses adjectives, figurative language and the senses to create a
vivid image
• Interests and immerses readers

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 Part 1: Minds On     Estimated time: 10 minutes
Introduce students to the power of language in writing. In books, authors Materials and set up:
describe what the setting and characters look like. When we read, we Provide each student with a blank sheet of
convert these descriptions into mental images. paper for their drawing.

Tell students that you are going to read a passage from Roald Dahl’s
Matilda aloud. As you read, students are going to draw a picture based Teaching strategies:
on what they hear. Remind students that the drawings do not have to be Gallery walk
perfect.
Class discussion
“[Miss Trunchbull] was above all a most formidable female. She had
once been a famous athlete, and even more now the muscles were still Multiple Intelligences:
clearly in evidence. You could see them in the bull-neck, in the big
shoulders, in the thick arms, in the sinewy wrists and in the powerful • Project excerpt from Matilda to assist
legs. Looking at her, you got the feeling that this was someone who visual learners
could bend iron bars and tear telephone directories in half. Her face, I’m • Read the excerpt multiple times for
afraid, was neither a thing of beauty nor a joy for ever. She had an auditory learners
obstinate chin, a cruel mouth and small arrogant eyes. And as for her
• Allow kinaesthetic learners to stand and
clothes … they were, to say the least, extremely old. She always had on
walk like Miss Trunchbull
a brown cotton smock which was pinched in around the waist with a
wide leather belt. The belt was fastened in front with an enormous silver
buckle. The massive thighs which emerged from out of the smock were
encased in a pair of extraordinary breeches, bottle-green in coloured and
made of coarse twill. These breeches reached to just below the knees
and from there on down she sported green stockings with turn-up tops,
which displayed her calf muscles to perfection. On her feet she wore flat-
heeled brown brogues with leather flaps. She looked, in short, more like
a rather eccentric and bloodthirsty follower of the stag-hounds than the
headmistress of a nice school for children” (Chapter 8).

Gallery Walk
Once students are finished, invite them to leave their drawing on their
desk and silently walk around the classroom to see their peers’
creations. Students that do not feel comfortable sharing their work can
turn over their drawing. Once students are back at their desks, ask them
what they noticed about the different drawings. Were they similar? What
differences did they have?
Even though their drawings looked different, they all captured the key
features and “essence” of Miss Trunchbull. Explain that in descriptive
writing, we want readers to be able to draw a mental picture based on
the writer’s description.

Part 2: Action Estimated time: 35 minutes (Day 1); 40 minutes (Day 2)

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Day 1 of Lesson Materials and Set up:
Activity 1: Using the five senses to describe something - Whole • Whiteboard
Group (10 minutes) • Projected image of ice-cream sundae
• Anchor chart paper for placemat
Ask students what helped them draw their picture. Explain that there are strategy. Divide it into sections based on
different ways to make writing descriptive. Roald Dahl used figurative each sense ahead of time.
language (metaphors, similes and personification) and adjectives
(describing words) to paint a picture of Miss Trunchbull. Ask students to Teaching/Learning Strategies:
describe what an adjective is and examples of similes, metaphors and • Explicit instruction
personification. • Guided instruction
Explain that considering the different senses helps us describe • Group work with modified placemat
something. strategy
• Independent work
Review the five senses by showing a picture of an ice cream sundae. Ask
• Peer edit
students how it would taste. What does it look like? What would it smell
like? How would the bowl/spoon/ice cream feel? What sounds could they
Assessment Strategies:
hear (eg. slurping)? Record their descriptions on the board.
• Questions and prompts to check for
Ask them to elaborate on their descriptions by adding adjectives/ understanding
figurative language. For example, if they say the ice-cream looks pink, • How did you know what to
ask them what shade of pink? Is it pink like cotton candy? Explain that draw?
adding adjectives and figurative language creates a richer description. • What is an adjective?
Ask students to put a thumbs up if they understand and are ready for the • What is a simile, metaphor,
next activity, a sideways thumb if they feel like they need more practice/ hyperbole, personification? Can
guidance, and a thumbs down if they are completely lost. you give me an example?

• What are the five senses?

Activity 2: Creating a collective description - Group Work (25 • What is the purpose of
minutes) descriptive writing?
Students will now work in groups to practice the elements of descriptive • How can we improve/strengthen
writing. Split students into groups of five and assign each group member our descriptions?
a number from 1 to 5. Give each group a setting from a Pixar movie and
an anchor chart divided into sections. Each section will represent a • How did you decide which
different sense and relate to a number (eg. 1 - taste; 2 - smell; 3 - touch; sentence should go in the
4 - hearing; 5 - sight). Using the placemat strategy, each student will be middle section?
responsible for a section of the chart and write three descriptive • Why was it the most descriptive
sentences related to their assigned sense. (eg. students assigned the sentence?
number four will describe what they hear). • Observations during group work and
class sharing
Once each member has completed their three sentences, they will share • Level of participation
them with their group. Working together, each group will identify the most • Thumbs up check in
descriptive sentence for each sense and arrange them in the middle
section to form a descriptive paragraph. They should include one Multiple Intelligences
sentence for each sense. • Actions to describe the five senses
Once all groups are finished, invite them to share their group’s • Visual aids and graphic organisers for
descriptive paragraph with the class. visual learners
• Group work for interpersonal learners

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Day 2 of Lesson Assessment Strategies
Activity 3: Students write their own descriptive paragraph - • Circulating
Individual (30 minutes) • Checking in / providing one-on-one
support
Review yesterday’s lesson. Ask students what the purpose of descriptive • Peer edit/exchange
writing is and how to make writing descriptive. Students will now write • Collection of exit ticket and descriptive
their own descriptive paragraph. Provide students with a choice of paragraph
prompts: • Questions to check for understanding:
• Students can take on the role of a travel agent and describe a dream • Why should we include figurative
vacation destination. language and adjectives in our
• Students can become a server and describe a dish on the writing?
restaurant’s menu. • How can you make your
paragraph more descriptive?
• Students can become a family historian and describe an important
• Were you able to draw a picture
family member, friend or pet.
based on the description? Were
Remind students to consider the different senses as they write. What do there enough details?
they see/smell/taste/hear/feel? They should include as many senses as
possible (some might not make sense depending on the topic though!) Multiple Intelligences
Also encourage students to elevate their descriptions by including: • Allowing students to look at an image or
• Similes draw a picture to help with their writing
• Partner work for interpersonal students
• Metaphors
• Personification
• Hyperbole
• Adjectives (eg. colour, size, texture)
The reader should be able to draw a clear image based on their
descriptions.

Activity 4: Exchanging paragraphs with a peer - Partner (10

minutes)
Invite students to work with a peer. They are going to “test” how
descriptive their paragraphs are. To do so, one student will take on the
role of the author by reading their paragraph aloud. Their partner will take
the artist role and draw a picture based on the author’s description. They
will then discuss whether the drawing matches what the author had in
mind. If not, the artist can offer some suggestions to improve the
description. Students will then exchange roles.

Part 3: Consolidation Estimated Time: 5 min.

Exit Card: Reflection strategies
Invite students to reflect on their descriptive paragraphs. Ask them to Checks for understanding
identify one glow (something they did well) and one grow (something Connect back to learning goals
they would like to improve). Identify next steps for learning

Collect the exit cards and students’ descriptive paragraphs.

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Consider how you will meet the diverse learning styles and needs of your students. How will
you know what they now know, understand and can do? What tools will you use for
assessment? See some suggestions below.
Multiple Intelligences: Accommodations: Assessment as Learning:
- verbal linguistic • Allowing students to draw a - Peer exchange/feedback
picture or look at an image - Exit card (glow and grow)
- logical/mathematical to guide their writing
- musical/rhythmic
 • Reading passages/ Assessment of Learning:
bodily/kinesthetic instructions aloud and - Observations during group work
projecting them and class sharing
- visual/spatial • Allowing students to make - Collection of descriptive
- interpersonal point form notes instead of paragraphs and exit card
- intrapersonal writing a complete
descriptive paragraph
- naturalist • Since some senses (eg. Documentation tools: checklists,
- existential taste) are harder to describe rubrics, anecdotal notes, video,
than others, I could let photography
Equity/Diversity students work with a partner
Inclusion to fill out their section of the
Culturally Responsive Pedagogy placemat
I chose Matilda for the minds-on activity • Reducing the number of
because it was readily accessible (I had a sentences students have to
copy at home) and Dahl provides a write during the placemat
detailed and humorous description. activity or allowing them to
However, this activity could easily be write in point form
modified to incorporate texts that better
connect to students’ experiences.
Student voice could also be integrated by
asking students to identify descriptive
passages in their favourite books and
then using these suggestions for the
minds-on activity.