University of North Alabama Lesson Plan Template

Lesson Grade: 8 (ELA)

Title: Painting a Mental Picture: How to be Descriptive in Writing Date: 10/11/2022
CCRS Standard(s):
20: Produce writing that shows a command of standard English grammar, usage, and mechanics (Alabama,
ELA, Grade 8, 2021)

Individual Education Plan/504 Goal(s) and Benchmarks specific to this lesson (as directly indicated on
the plan):
This mini lesson is intended as a brief, targeted instruction segment to help students recognize the power of
adjectives in making writing stronger. Thus, this lesson serves as a base outline for targeted instruction on
adjectives and can be modified, depending on students’ needs. Potential modifications/accommodations for
students who have IEPs or 504 plans are as follows:
 Teacher-provided guided notes
 A copy of the PowerPoint (digital, printed) for students to access from their seat
 Structured assessment sheet to guide students in developing original sentences with adjectives
o A copy of the rubric (see the Assessment/Evaluation section of this document) for students to
reference as they complete the assessment associated with the lesson.

Strategies
Daily Lesson
Objective(s) The student will be able to produce original sentences using adjectives correctly to
Objectives are describe/specify nouns.
measurable and
aligned with the
standard.

Introduction to 1. Agenda/Introduction: Introduce students to the lesson agenda (PowerPoint

Lesson/
Activating Thinking
***Use knowledge of
students’ academic,
social, and cultural
characteristics to meet
diverse needs.
slide 2) and the standard/objective aligned with the lesson (PowerPoint slide
3).
a. Agenda:
i. Standard/Objective
ii. Warm-Up Game (“I Spy” activity)
iii. What are adjectives?
iv. Using adjectives to make writing stronger
b. Standard: “Produce writing that shows a command of standard
English grammar, usage, and mechanics (Alabama, ELA, Grade 8,
2021)
c. Objective (student friendly): I can use adjectives correctly to
describe/specify nouns in original sentences.

2. Classroom “I Spy” Game (Slide 4): Choose three items around the
classroom. Play a game of “I Spy” in which the students must guess the
three items the teacher has chosen, based on the adjectives he/she uses to
describe the item.
a. After the game, ask students the following questions:
i. How did describing the items help you to determine what
items I was thinking of?
ii. How might being descriptive be helpful in writing?

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Body of 1. Instruction: Students will use their notebooks (digital, paper, teacher-
Lesson/Teaching provided note catcher, etc.) to record notes as the teacher uses the “Painting
Strategies a Mental Picture” PowerPoint to present the following instruction segment:
Body of Lesson/ a. What are Adjectives? (Slide 5)
Teaching Strategies b. Adjectives: Examples (Slide 6)
c. How Do Adjectives Make Writing Stronger? (Slide 7)

2. Adjectives – Practice (Slide 8): In their notes, students should copy the
sentences from the slide and add their own adjectives to make the sentences
more descriptive. Students should underline or circle the adjectives they
added to the sentence.
a. Slide 9: Students will view possible answers to the activity before
sharing out some of their own, as a class.
Materials/Technology  Teacher Materials
o “Painting a Mental Picture” PowerPoint presentation:
https://1drv.ms/p/s!AhtA4uMGlMePkjh__mTuLb1eIg_9?e=PtbP2a
 Student Materials
o Notebooks (for taking notes)
o Clean sheet of notebook paper (for assessment)
o Writing Utensils (for notes, assessment)
Closure/
Summarizing 1. Adjectives: Review (PowerPoint – Slide 10)
Strategies: a. Adjectives are the words we use to describe.
b. Adjectives are modifiers for nouns.
c. Adjectives make writing stronger by specifying WHICH of a noun the
speaker of a sentence is talking about.
d. Adjectives in sentences (examples)

Assessment/
Evaluation 1. On a new sheet of paper, students will follow the guidelines on slide 11 of the
PowerPoint to create two of their own original sentences, using adjectives to
describe/specify nouns. Students should circle/underline the adjectives they
used in their sentences.
a. After students have completed the task, the class should share out a
few of their sentences.
b. Students will submit their work for a daily grade, which will be
assigned a score out of 10 possible points. Student work will be
assessed using the following rubric:

RUBRIC (10 pts possible)

Achieved (10 points) Developing (5 points) Not Achieved (0 points)
5 Points: 2.5 Points: 0 Points:
The student created two The student created only The student did not
original sentences. one original sentence. submit any original
OR sentences (No work
The student created two received by the teacher).
original sentences which OR
do not utilize adjectives. The student’s two
sentences are NOT their
own original sentences.
5 Points: 2.5 Points: 0 Points:
The student utilized at The student utilized at The student did not utilize
least ONE adjective to least ONE adjective to any adjectives (in any of

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 describe/specify a noun describe/specify a noun the sentences they
in EACH sentence. in only one of two submitted) to
required sentences. describe/specify a noun.

Reflection The standard associated with this lesson asks students to produce writing which
demonstrates their command over the English language, including grammar, usage,
and mechanics. One vital component of strong writing is the ability to use adjectives
correctly. Adjectives can help strengthen writing by describing or specifying the
nouns in sentences. Thus, the objective associated with the lesson – which meets
the standard by requiring students to demonstrate correct usage of adjectives –
states that students must produce original sentences using adjectives to describe or
specify nouns. During instruction, students will come to understand the value of
using adjectives in writing through an “I Spy” activity, a brief direct instruction
segment, and hands-on practice adding adjectives into teacher-provided sentences.
After instruction, students will demonstrate their learning by creating two original
sentences which use adjectives correctly to describe/specify nouns. Because
students will produce their own writing which demonstrates correct usage of a
component of the English language (adjectives), the assessment aligns to the
objective and standard associated with the lesson. Therefore, this lesson effectively
guides students in meeting learning goals and demonstrating their knowledge.

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