Students describe colors. In this descriptive writing lesson, students brainstorm color descriptions using all of the senses except sight. Students write poems including similes, sensory images, and interesting word choice. Examples are...

In our increasingly visual society, it is often difficult for some readers to create a mental picture of a picture created only with words. An image-rich text like F. Scott Fitzgerald's The Great Gatsby can therefore, present a real...

Film poems? To concluded a poetry unit, writers select one of their own poems and create a film that brings to life the sounds and images of their work. Included with the detailed unit plan are daily lessons, student examples, a list of...

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...

Students explore the use of imagery in writing. In this writing lesson, students create a writing piece that features sensory images without resorting to the use of clichés.

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...

Write narratives that include ideas, observations, or memories of an event or experience, and be sure to use concrete sensory details! Groups utilize a few of the famous I Spy books in order to create narratives that utilize sensory...

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.

Students 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.

Young scholars read "Fish Tale: Falling For a Live One" from The New York Times and discuss the methods and techniques the writer uses to create a strong mental image. Students pick a place in their community they wish to write about...

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,...

A well-designed, comprehensive, and attractive slide show supports direct instruction on how sonar and echolocation work. Contained within the slides are links to interactive websites and instructions for using apps on a mobile device to...

Models of and directions for how to write 20 different types of poems are featured in an NCTE resource. The introduction to each form highlights the embedded concepts. For example, tongue twisters encourage poets to use alliteration and...

Binoculars are used as a metaphor for good descriptive writing. Class members first view a small picture and then an enlarged view of the same image in which the details come into focus. Next, learners examine a paragraph lacking sensory...

Fifth graders encounter the TCI History Alive Assessment. Create a rubric together with other students. Use graphic organizers to brainstorm challenges that one would face attending school in a foreign country.

Students create a storybook about Texas missions including the history of why they were built. They research and create pictures depicting how and why the missions were built. They write and illustrate the primary groups of people found...

How many oceans can you name? First, have learners try to name as many oceans as they can, and then have them locate and identify the oceans on a world map. They create a recognizable ocean animal using poster board and tissue paper....

Study history through photographs. For this visual arts and history lesson, high schoolers learn to analyze photographs to discover details about life during the Civil War era. Students write journal entries as if they are the...

Young writers use nouns, verbs, and adjectives to describe details in two paintings. One depicts a sunny landscape, and the other shows a cloudier view. They write a narrative inspired by the paintings, paying attention to transitional...

Direct your class’s attention to the elements that make their community unique. After examining sample travel brochures, groups select something from their community to use as the subject, and then research, create, and publish a...

Develop readers’ awareness of the visual power of language with a guided imagery exercise. Set the stage and create the mood with dim lights, soft music and potpourri. Then read the provided section of Bud, Not Buddy. Next, invite...

High schoolers create a contour drawing of a hand creating an illusion of depth. After a brief demonstration of contour drawing, students practice by creating pictures of various objects. The final project consists of creating a...

Students create a poem on the subject of war. For this All Quiet on the Western Front lesson, students create poetry using phrases or lines that they brainstorm during a pre-writing session. Students enhance their poetry with...

Get your class up and moving as they explore how to express movement and dance through words. Designed around two poems by Lillian Morrison about break dancing, the activity truly captures the creative and multi-sensory aspects of...