Writing can become one-dimensional if authors don't involve all their senses. First, scholars observe a strange object which, ideally, they can touch and even smell. Without using certain words (you can create a list or have the class...

With descriptive writing, the pleasure is in the details. Young writers learn how to add sensory details to a paragraph about themselves. They read a short paragraph and identify the sensory details used. After revising their draft...

Add to the narrative writing experience. Elementary or middle school writers listen to the teacher read a descriptive passage, then reread the same passage silently. They highlight sensory details and figurative language, then orally...

Spice up your writing! Your amateur writers will benefit from concentrating on understanding and improving verb use in writing. An introductory activity addresses weak verbs. A second exercise helps them see the importance of strong...

"The Dinner Party" is the anchor text in a activity 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...

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...

A vampire, the beach, a bedroom, the school cafeteria. Writers are encouraged to add sensory details (sight, touch, taste, smell, sound) to bring these things to life.

Fourth graders look for sensory details and figurative language. In this reading strategy lesson plan, 4th graders read the story Go Free or Die by J. Ferris and complete a chart with figurative language. They use a word wall in the...

Budding poets choose a topic for a sensory-filled poem. Authors describe that topic using detailed language based on the five senses. Then, switch the senses to create a fanciful poem intended to add a touch of fun to the objective. 

I spy with my little eye! Learners observe page 23 in The Most Beautiful Roof in the World and practice what they would add to a field journal. They discuss how details from the text help add to their thoughts. To finish,...

After reading an informational text detailing the ins and outs of snowflakes, scholars draw their own special design then work cooperatively to role play a snowman building scenario. 

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.

Using the five senses is a creative way to write descriptively. Learners read 25 words, both nouns and verbs, and place them into the category labeled with the correct sense.

Bean shaker paintings and coffee grounds mosaics. Melted crayon drawings and raised glue art. Ten art projects for little ones are detailed in a 14-page packet.

"Lions and tigers and bears, oh my!" Primary graders write about an animal that interests them, describing what it looks like, where it lives, and what it eats.

To gain insight into the many different types of habitats, individuals must first get to know their own. Here, scholars explore their school environment, draw a map, compare and contrast their surroundings to larger ones. They then...

Learners follow five steps to compose an alliteration poem. They choose one consonant and brainstorm as many nouns, verbs, and adjectives they can think of to create rhyming sentences that come together in a poetic fashion. 

Home in on the quote on this page to explore setting, the author's and character's voices, and plot in Willa Cather's My Antonia. Pupils draw a picture of what is described in the quote, discuss the content, and make connections to their...

Students keep running record of the activities they engage in and the food they eat. In this lesson on healthy living, students discuss the dangers of anorexia and bulimia, record their activity level and food consumption over the course...

As part of a study of narrative writing, young story tellers are asked to revise 20 telling sentences and create showing ones.

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...

Sea ice contains 17 sub-types based on age and various characteristics. Scholars observe ice floating in a simulated ocean and record their observations. Then, they view photographs of different types of sea ice and learn to...

Look carefully. Scholars practice observing and recording the natural world around them by looking out a window or viewing an image. Learners discuss how their experience compares to that of Meg Lowman in The Most Beautiful Roof in the...