Curated OER
Let's Go Exploring!
Use a Courbet painting of a cave or tunnel opening to reinforce the importance of descriptive writing. Writers of all ages use sensory details to describe what the scene depicts as they pretend to be in the painting. Then they imagine...
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A Sensory Walk
Students define and give examples of five senses, compiling a list of sensory words to be used in a written descriptive paragraph.
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Monster Senses
Second graders listen to a story that contains many sensory words to describe an object. They listen a second time using a signal to indicate when they hear a sensory word. They write a short story about a monster using appropriate...
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A Creative Presentation
Bring writing to life with this instructional activity in which elementary and middle schoolers create a display of the imagery they identify in a series of Gary Paulsen books. They read the suggested materials, identify imagery and...
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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...
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Describe a Journey
Students describe the sensory experience of a character's journey in an essay. In this precise details writing lesson, students explain the effects on the senses of weather, time of day, landscape, and other experiences. Students use...
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Blanket the Plains
Students discuss vivid imagery in a story. In this figurative language lesson, students read samples of sensory language and then discuss the meaning of a piece of figurative language. Students provide examples.
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Mandy
Third graders read Barbara D. Booth's, "Mandy" while noting each time they read a sensory detail. They read about the young girl in the story who is hard of hearing and determine how her other senses are heightened. Also, they determine...
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Multi-sensory Writing
Middle schoolers use their senses to help describe special place they have been. They write short sensory-image essay that incorporate all five of their senses, and identify sensory language while reading different pieces of literature.
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Color Poems
Students describe colors. In this descriptive writing instructional activity, students brainstorm color descriptions using all of the senses except sight. Students write poems including similes, sensory images, and interesting word...
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Poetry: What's on Your Plate?
Students create original poetry on the subject of food. In this poetry writing lesson, students use sensory details about a food item to create a class poem. Students then write short poems with one sensory detail and add another...
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Voyage
Learners listen to N.C, Wyeth's Pilgrims and discuss what the Mayflower looked like. In this Mayflower instructional activity, students use sensory words to describe what it was like on the Mayflower. Learners illustrate their vision...
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Essential Elements of Habitat
First graders compare their local area with the Belize landscape. They construct maps of the school area, adding descriptive information. They write haiku poems about their favorite outside places.
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Sense Poetry
Access your young poets' senses and emotions with this activity, which guides them through the process of writing a "sense poem." After working on a sense poem as a class and modeling the procedure, individuals work on their own poems...
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Imagery and Sound Devices: In Preparation for Reading Ray Bradbury's Dandelion Wine
Twelfth graders analyze Ray Bradbury's use of techniques and elements of fiction as well as nonfiction in the novel Dandelion Wine. In this novel analysis lesson plan, 12th graders analyze the sensory techniques in Dandelion Wine....
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Sense Poems
Students explore 5 senses poetry. In this poetry writing lesson, students visualize a special day and brainstorm related vivid adjectives and phrases. Students create mindmaps of the five senses to go with their visualization and write...
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My Favorite Room
Students practice describing a room. In this descriptive writing lesson plan, students use all of their five senses to describe their favorite room. The teacher will model for the class by creating a word list that describe the classroom...
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Reflecting/Writing after a field trip or other experience
Learners reflect on field trips in writing. In this journal writing activity, students write about a recent experience by using 4 of their senses to tell what they remember. They turn these into poetry.
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Praise for a Color
Students discover the 5 senses by analyzing poetry. For this poetry lesson, students read a poem with their class and analyze how each sense plays into their understanding of the poem. Students write a poem based on a specific color...
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"The Block": Romare Bearden's and Mine
Students study Bearden's style of collage and create their own collage that reflects their neighborhood. They are read "The Block" and poems about neighborhoods and write one about theirs.
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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.
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Describing Words Lesson (Lesson 2)
First graders create a computer slide show. They select pictures from the gallery, write descriptive words or phrases about the pictures, and develop a three slide presentation.
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Pedometer Activities to Enhance Cross-curricular Learning
Young scholars complete different activities involving pedometers such as writing a creative story, calculating step averages, researching pedometers, calculating calories, and much more.
American Institute of Architects
Architecture: It's Elementary!—First Grade
Build an interest and appreciation for architecture in your young learners with this fun 10-lesson art unit. Engaging children in using their five senses, the class first observes the environment around them, paying special attention to...