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301activitiesDescriptive Writing Activities and PromptsOriginally found at http://www.thewritingsite.org/resources/prompts/descriptive.asp. Memorial Day (K-2 suggested grade level) Memorial Day was first called Decoration Day because people decorated the graves of soldiers, who fought during the Civil War, as a way to remember and honor their memories. After World War I, it was renamed Memorial Day. We now dedicate this day to remember the men and women who died during any American war. Those men and women who have served in any of the armed forces are called veterans. Describe why you think it's important to honor America's veterans, or make a list of ways you could honor veterans. Who Am I? (K-2 suggested grade level) Have students create 「characteristic cards」 about themselves that list information such as hair color, eye color, favorite food, etc. Then, ask students to listen to the characteristics and guess who is being described as the teacher selects and reads a card aloud. Younger students could listen for characteristics of storybook characters or animals, and either write the name or draw a simple picture as an answer. A Thousand Words (K-2 suggested grade level) Use pictures to enlarge student vocabulary and increase fluency. Discuss the saying, 「A picture is worth a thousand words.」 Project a complex picture, such as an I-SPY page, in your classroom. Challenge students to write down as many nouns, verbs and adjectives they see in the picture. How close to a thousand words did you come? Pass the picture on to other classrooms and see if your school can approach one thousand words. (Website) Matching Pictures Collect a classroom set of pictures, all centered on the same type of place -- beach, farm, park, school, city, etc. Pass out the pictures and as a group create a word bank of things that are commonly found in that specific place. Students will use the word banks to write a description of the pictures that will enable others to identify it. Number and post the pictures and the descriptions on the wall. Give a prize to students who can correctly match the pictures to the correct descriptions. Check out these sites for free pictures:
In Math (K-2 suggested grade level) Draw or cut out and paste shapes of circles, triangles, rectangles, squares, etc. then have students dictate or write words that describe the properties of the shapes. In Social Studies (K-2 suggested grade level) Draw or use a printed map to diagram how to get from one place (school to home, city to city, etc.) to another. Ask students to write or dictate directions for traveling somewhere from their home, using directional words. Homeless Animal (K-2 suggested grade level) You are a dog, cat or other animal in need of a home. Write a letter to your future owner, describing what type of home and what kind of care you need. In the Arts (K-5 suggested grade level) Students can begin writing narratives to accompany their artwork after using the WriteFix site, a quick idea generator for creating illustrations. After a crazy illustration is drawn, students can trade with a partner and write in descriptive words. Students will have fun being illustrators and authors. Memorial Day (3-5 suggested grade level) Memorial Day was originally called Decoration Day and was a day for our nation to remember the soldiers who died during the Civil War. People paid their respects by decorating the graves with flowers. After World War I, the day was renamed Memorial Day. We now dedicate this day to remember the men and women who have sacrificed their lives during any American war. Do you know what the word, sacrifice, means? Sacrifice is giving up something precious for someone or something else. Make a list of ways you can sacrifice something that is precious to you in order to help someone else. Choose one sacrifice you would like to make, describe what would be hard about making this sacrifice, and how it would help someone else. Greening Up Your School (3-5 suggested grade level) Is your school community doing its part to help take care of the environment? Finding the answer to this question might take a little investigating and thoughtfulness. First, brainstorm a list of things that hurt the environment. Next, devise a list of actions schools could take to be environmentally friendly. From what you see around you, write a paragraph describing how "green" your school is. To take this assignment a step further, you could interview your teachers, principal, and custodial staff to find out what steps your school is currently taking to be "green." Your final steps would include analyzing your brainstorming lists and your interviews to construct a "green plan" for your school. Ultimately, you would need to write a letter to your principal to persuade him or her to help put your plan into action. Writing Activity on Elections (3-5 suggested grade level) When Americans vote for their next president, many will consider the character of the candidates. Make a list of character traits that people look for in a leader. In your opinion, what is the most important quality that a person running for President of the United States should have? A Special Pet (3-5 suggested grade level) Some people prefer dogs while some like cats as their pets. Other people prefer birds, snakes, fish, rabbits, pigs, horses or other animals as their pets. What do you think would be the perfect pet to have? Describe in your writing your ideas about a perfect pet. Make sure you give plenty of details so that the person reading your writing can picture it in their mind and will know lots of things about it. In Science (3-5 suggested grade level) Encourage students to write a complete description of the parts of a plant, the water cycle or other scientific process as a quiz to check their understanding of a topic presented in a recent lesson. Lights, Camera, Action! (6-8 suggested grade level) Cameras can promote creativity in writing. Students use technology and critical thinking skills when choosing and manipulating shots with photo editing software. Writing is also much easier after they have already begun tapping into their creative sides. Be sure to predicate your photowriting activities with a discussion about subject matter and expectations. You should also choose in advance which genre students will write in. Themes can provide much needed structure for students. For example, for a non-fiction piece, students might take pictures of their favorite spots around town. When they bring the photos back, you may have them brainstorm, trade, create storyboards, or write on demand. Final drafts can be printed and bound or loaded to a blog or class website. Sources for photography if cameras are not available:
A Magical Photograph (6-8 suggested grade level) You are holding a family photograph. As you look at the photograph you are suddenly transported back into the time and setting of the picture. Describe the picture and explain the interesting things that happened on the day the picture was taken. Far and Away (6-8 suggested grade level) You have just arrived in a distant place far away, and everyone "back home" can't wait to hear what it is like! Write a clear description of this place--whether real or imaginary---to give your readers a vivid picture of what it is like in this far-away land. In Science (6-8 suggested grade level) Encourage students to write a complete description of the parts of a cell, the water cycle or other scientific process as a quiz to check their understanding of a topic presented in a recent lesson. The Perfect Vacation Place (6-8 suggested grade level) You are on a family vacation. In your writing, describe your surroundings: what you see, hear, smell, taste, and touch. Where are you? Who is with you? What do you feel? Successful People (6-8 suggested grade level) Think about someone you know who is successful. In what ways is this person successful? How much of this person's success is due to luck, and how much is due to hard work? Write an essay to present to your class in which you describe a successful person. This person could be someone you know or may have never met. It could be a person who may or may not be famous. Explain whether you think luck, talent, or hard work is most important to success. Use details that support your ideas. In the Arts (6-12 suggested grade level) Writing in the fine arts curriculum can improve observation and analytical skills. Maintaining a writing portfolio will assist students in tracking artistic development patterns and documenting strategies and techniques. Below are assignment suggestions for areas in fine arts education. ACTING Encourage students to pay attention to a conversation in a public place. Write down what is overheard as dialogue. Including stage directions may is optional. DANCE Use descriptive writing (sensory adjectives, figurative language, vivid modifiers, active verbs) to critique performances of fellow students. VISUAL ART Use descriptive writing to respond to an abstract painting or photograph. Scene It? (6-12 suggested grade level) Increase your students' awareness of movie culture and give them an authentic audience for their writing. Use movie clips and a word bank to teach description. Read online movie reviews to prepare students for writing their own movie reviews. Act I Show a short clip of a movie to your students. Provide a word bank of approximately 15 words that could be used to convey the scene. Ask students to pair up and use their word banks to write about what is happening in the scene. Ask students to describe the main character, the setting, and the plot in their writing. Act II In class, show the website Common Sense. Read the reviews written by Common Sense. Spend some time in class reviewing a movie you have shown your students. Use this online worksheet to discuss vocabulary for reviewing movies. Taylor, K. (2007). Using DVD and video in your ESL class - part two. Retrieved March 4, 2008, from ESL Teachers Board Web site: http://www.eslteachersboard.com/cgi-bin/lessons/index.pl?read=1298 |