What do you see? Young reader tap into the visualization process as they listen to or read a fiction story and fill out a graphic organizer. Model this first with a think-aloud, showing scholars how you visualize a familiar story. For...

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...

Students read and answer questions on neural processing and the Pinocchio Illusion. They relate and discuss these topics in conjunction with body-image disorders such as anorexia and bulimia . This activity include video extension...

The painting Three Young Girls circa 1620, was believed to be painted after the death of the subjects' mother. Art enthusiasts analyze the image details to determine if they come to the same conclusion. They then use the sensory details...

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...

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.

Students voluntarily participate in a sensory test and examine hypothesis testing and statistical significance. They use low-fat and original Oero cookies for this experiment.

Students define and give examples of five senses, compiling a list of sensory words to be used in a written descriptive paragraph.

Imagine a day in the life of a child who has to work 12-14 hours a day, seven days a week. After viewing images and reading stories of child laborers, class members select an image and write a richly detailed narrative about a typical...

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...

Robert Hayden's poem "Those Winter Sundays" serves as the anchor text in a five-part instructional activity that takes the mystery out of poetry analysis by modeling explicit strategies for pupils to employ to conduct a close reading of...

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.

For this sensory visualization worksheet, students are provided with spaces to record their senses after a teacher has given them a visual prompt.

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.

Write with the senses! Try using art to inspire writers to consider all of the senses. Here, the class is divided in half. Each group looks at one of two images, imagines the senses that would be engaged, and records answers to five...

Students 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 and...

Students explore tree species based on their features. In this tree lesson, students visit a wooded area and work with a partner to describe distinctive features of trees using all of the senses except "sight." A discovery worksheet is...

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...

Helpful for an American literature or history unit, this lesson prompts middle schoolers to examine slavery in the United States. They read slave narratives that were part of the Federal Writers' Project and then conduct their own...

Gaia Squarci's photo essay, Broken Screen, turns viewers attention to the challenges faced by those with visual impairments. After viewing the images, class members discuss why they believe the photographer structured the album as she did.

After viewing slides and reading about child labor, young authors compose an original narrative story. They practice note-taking skills and work to effectively engage a reader by incorporating plot, logical order, complex characters,...

A guided imagery exercise is a great way to get readers thinking about writing. As part of their study of Out of the Dust, Karen Hesse’s 1998 Newbery Medal winning verse novel, class members listen to a reading of one of the poems...

Students view the artwork of Martin Johnson Heade.  In this Heade artwork lesson, students answer questions about the sensory images in the artwork.  Students design a series of designs for a postage stamp in the style of Heade.