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...

Fourth graders look for sensory details and figurative language. In this reading strategy lesson, 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...

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,...

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.

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.

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...

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...

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...

Poe goes high tech with a lesson that asks high schoolers to use the internet and various apps as they read and analyze "The Masque of the Red Death." In addition to responding to comprehension questions in Quizlet, they use Minecraft to...

Carlos Fuentes’s The Diary of Frida Kahlo: An Intimate Self-Portrait and Jaspre Bark’s Journal of Inventions: Leondardo da Vince serve as models for an assignment that asks class members to create a personal journal they will use...

Fourth graders investigate the style of diary writing as its own genre of literature. They read Harriet The Spy in order to have a text for this literature study. Students use the skill of prediction to preview the story, and then...

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...

Fifth graders use a class garden as inspiration for a specific writing assignment. They conduct research into different types of flowers in photo images taken with a digital camera. Students write a creative essay and draw a picture to...

Young scholars view a PowerPoint presentation about Character sketches, and write a four paragraph character sketch. Emphasis is placed on topic sentences having one main idea per paragraph and elaborating. They study and discuss ways to...

Students explore Upham Woods at night and investigate about the special adaptations of nocturnal animals. They identify three nocturnal animals and how they are adapted to the night. Students explain what night vision is and how it works.

Young scholars examine the use of imagery in poetry. In this literature lesson, students read "Thought of Hanoi," by Nguyen Thi Vinhand use the provided graphic organizer to chart the poem imagery. Young scholars then describe the...