# data[].attributes.body
Our first class meeting, we began to write about anything we wanted to write about. I remember sitting down thinking, "what does that even mean?" I'm not use to writing for fun, so I sat down confused and wrote a little bit. I am so prompt dependent.

# data[].attributes.body
We started writing more and I had to get used to writing 5 times a week for 10 minutes, which is doable. I saw the mini lesson on writing territories and did mine in my writing journal. I was surprised at how many things I wanted to write about.

# data[].attributes.body
The mini lesson about heart mapping I loved. I got to write down what's nearest to me. I did this in my writing journal and for my lesson. This is for my writing journal.

# data[].attributes.body
I wrote about my great day at work. During this time I want to focus on the positive when there is so much negativity around us lately. My classmates agreed and made people enjoy my writing, which I never really thought I can do. I never was the one write for fun.

# data[].attributes.body
This is the heart map for my lesson and video below. I tried color coding to catch student's attention.

# data[].attributes.location_name
Dolland Elementary School, Bloomfield Avenue, Norwalk, CA, USA

# data[].attributes.headline
Dolland Elementary School, Bloomfield Avenue, Norwalk, CA, USA

# data[].attributes.subject
Dolland Elementary School, Bloomfield Avenue, Norwalk, CA, USA

# data[].attributes.body
Christine Peralta
Heart Mapping
K-1

# data[].attributes.body
The story idea I picked was my Europe trip I took in 2017 with my best friends, it was just such a memorable experience. I got the idea for this story because I wanted to rethink this trip and feel happy since I had such a good time. That trip made me feel so carefree and made me enjoy that I did something for myself. Thinking about today makes me feel hopeful for the future when COVID ends to travel once again since this summer I was not able to do anything. As I reread this story I noticed that I was not really focusing on one activity I did and chose to focus when we went to the beach in Barcelona, Spain. A goal I want to set myself as a writer to be more specific and choose an individual activity to incorporate more sensory details. I will stop and think about all the senses and try to incorporate different ways to make my writing more descriptive.

# data[].attributes.body
I had so many thing I wanted to write about and didn't know how to put it in words to make you feel what I felt. As I see my writing, I'm starting to think of more ways to intrigue my readers, I'm wanting to express myself more. I want my writing to speak for itself. I will use this for my future as a teacher, the power of writing.

# data[].attributes.body
I see my writing has grown, the fact that I want to use more words. Most of the time, I need more than the 10 minutes to write. I started to find a love for writing, it makes me unwind. It makes me to think of feelings I haven't thought about it in a while. Professor I am working to find more time to evaluate my writing. I started to use these strategies for my other classes, and I realized its tedious but worthwhile. My writing goal is to reread my writing, evaluate and revise more of my writing. I will achieve this by setting more time aside to be able to revise and edit my work. This week I will set aside 30 minutes after I finish work to revise, read aloud, and edit my work to make it better. Check in with classmates or other sources to get help on my revision. Read aloud my work, so I can hear my writing flow. The grade I deserve in this class I would say is an A because I am trying to better myself and take in critique to make myself better.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
What is descriptive writing?

Descriptive writing helps the reader visualize the person, place, thing, or situation being described. When a text conjures a vivid, sensory impression in the reader's mind, not only does it make the writing more interesting to read; it helps the reader understand the text better and recognize the author's intention more clearly.

Why teach descriptive writing?

It helps students make their writing more interesting and engaging to read.

It creates opportunities for students to practice using new words in meaningful contexts, a key strategy for building vocabulary.

Descriptive writing tends to include figurative language, such as simile, metaphor, and onomatopoeia. Noticing figurative language in mentor texts and incorporating it into their own writing help students build critical verbal reasoning skills. To find out more about verbal reasoning and other components of language comprehension, see the "In Depth" section from the Comprehension module of our Reading 101 Course.

It encourages students to learn from-and be metacognitive about-the techniques other authors use to write vivid descriptions.

It can help students clarify their understanding of new subject matter material and remember more of what they learn.

How to teach descriptive writing

If only descriptive writing were as simple as "show, don't tell"! Descriptive writing is a skill - and a craft - that takes instruction, practice, and time to learn. The good news is that it can be explicitly taught. An understanding of the characteristics of effective descriptive writing, combined with a toolkit of structures and strategies to scaffold learning and practice, can enhance students' development as authors of vivid, evocative writing.

What effective descriptive writing looks like

Authors of descriptive writing use a variety of styles and techniques to connect with readers, but effective descriptive writing often shares these characteristics:

Vivid details. Specific details paint a picture in the reader's mind and appeal to the reader's senses. Descriptive writing may also go beyond creating a strong sensory impression to give the reader a "picture" of the feelings the description evokes in the writer.

Figurative language. Tools of the writer's craft such as analogy, simile, and metaphor add depth to authors' descriptions.

Precise language. General adjectives, nouns, and passive verbs are used sparingly. Instead, specific adjectives and nouns and strong action verbs give life to the picture being painted in the reader's mind.

Thoughtful organization. Some ways to organize descriptive writing include: chronological (time), spatial (location), and order of importance. Descriptive writing about a person might begin with a physical description, followed by how the person thinks, feels and acts.

What effective instruction in descriptive writing looks like

There isn't one right approach to teaching descriptive writing, but effective instruction often includes:

Mentor texts. Reading aloud and analyzing high-quality mentor texts to help students understand how authors use descriptive writing to connect with readers.

Focus on the five senses. Helping students make the connection between sensory input (sight, sound, smell, taste, and touch) and descriptive writing.

Teacher modeling. Modeling different ways to generate descriptive writing.

Guided practice. Repeated, structured practice scaffolded to meet students' needs.

Feedback and revision. Cycles of constructive teacher and peer feedback followed by thoughtful revision.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Descriptive Writing | Classroom Strategy | Reading Rockets

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
The primary purpose of descriptive writing is to describe a person, place or thing in such a way that a picture is formed in the reader's mind. Capturing an event through descriptive writing involves paying close attention to the details by using all of your five senses.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Descriptive writing seems like it should be easy to teach, yet it is one of the most popular posts on my site, and I receive the most questions about teaching it.

We know what we want our students to do, but they still struggle. There are plenty of reasons for this, but let's start by making sure they can identify descriptive writing when they see it.

First - Is it narrative or descriptive?

What's the difference between narrative writing and descriptive writing? Students sometimes have a difficult time with this- isn't a narrative just describing a story?

The difference is that while narrative writing should be descriptive, not all descriptive writing is narrative.

To help your students distinguish between the two, try using a Venn diagram. On one side, we have a book, while on the other side, we have a cereal box.

This can help your students visually see the differences between the two writing styles:

book is a narrative that tells a story

a cereal box includes a description of the contents, but doesn't tell a story

You can have them add items to the diagram as you work through a variety of texts.

Next, find descriptive texts

I LOVE reading descriptions of food products. Cereal, crackers, soup ... they fascinate me.

Why?

I think that describing food is an art! The crunch, snap, sizzle, spice...all the words that make me want to dump the contents into a bowl and grab a spoon!

Food descriptions are great items to use as mentor texts. They are perfect examples of sensory language.

Another great place to find description in for clothing. Lands' End is one of my favorites.

Here's a description for boots:

"You're going to need a boot that can handle even the most torrential downpours. Our rain boots have you covered for those rainy days with a waterproof upper and durable rubber outsole. We didn't skimp on the comfort either. Our rain boots have a removable padded footbed that's easy to clean and perfect for a little extra cushion."

And here's one for a dog raincoat:

"Wouldn't rainy day walks be a little more bearable if you just had to dry off Buddy's feet - and if he didn't make a wet mess by shaking off all that water? Get him a Dog Rain Jacket! It's an ideal barrier against stormy weather, made with a water-resistant nylon outer shell for protection against wind and rain. The soft cotton jersey knit lining is comfortable without being too warm. Reflective nylon trim and cording detail help drivers see your best friend on nighttime walks. Fun details like a handy back pocket and woven interior name label - which you can fill in with your dog's name - complete the package. Adjustable hook and loop closures for easy on and off."

Students can start a collection of descriptive writing to add to their resource books - or create a "descriptive writing wall" that students can add examples to.

Once students have a collections of examples, they can write their own descriptions in similar ways.

Involve your students to identify descriptive language

Share a few clothing descriptions with students and ask them to point out where the description is. (You can use the examples above.)

Next, ask students if these ads are narratives. Certainly, they have an element of a story to them (especially the dog jacket is one one), but they are not true narratives. They are descriptions.
Now take a closer look
Where do they see sensory language?

Words like: dry, wet, soft, warm included in the description are great ways to show students that sensory language includes "feeling" or "touch" words as well as the more obvious ones of sight and sound.
What are other types of descriptive language?
Are there any similes or metaphors? If someone is as quiet as a mouse or has a heart of gold, these aren't literal, but they can describe more abstract concepts in simple terms.

Be sure to keep an eye out for connotative language as well. Saying that you're sitting by a peaceful lake, or that you see angry storm clouds on the horizon acts as a shorthand for all sorts of broader reaching descriptors.

As students notice these things, have them create a word bank - and continue adding to it as they find more examples and texts to analyze.

This will give your students a start when they are going to write something descriptive.

Classify your mentor texts

If your students are struggling to see the difference - keep your descriptive narrative texts separate from your narrative ones at first.

Of course, you'll have narrative texts that are full of description, but until your students are clear on what exactly descriptive writing is, and they have practice using it, you should have a separate list of narrative texts.

By asking "Is this a narrative or a description?" will help students look for and see (or not see!) the elements of a story.

Digging in deeper

Once your students have a grasp on distinguishing narrative and descriptive writing, we can move into your more narrative-heavy texts. Stick with a small passage at first, and have them identify all the descriptive language in the text. Be sure that they're looking for all the same types of descriptive writing as before.

Looking for more? This descriptive writing freebie walks you through the process!

Ways to practice descriptive writing

After giving your students multiple examples of descriptive texts and having them analyze them, challenge them to write descriptions only.
How to do this:
1.Go back to the descriptive mentor texts you collected.

2. Challenge your students to students think about the bottle water industry. Back in the day, the only bottled water was distilled water. Now, there is practically an entire grocery store aisle filled with choices of water.

And...

It's all water!

How did this market grow - by descriptive writing!

Fiji water states: "From a sustainable ancient artesian aquifer in Fiji to more than 60 countries across the globe, FIJI Water has been bringing Earth's Finest Water to the world since 1996."

3. Give your students a product to create a descriptive ad about. How about an apple? A pretzel? A toothbrush? A paper clip?

They are describing the physical item, yes, but also describing how the items feels, smells, tastes - how does it make the reader feel about it?

Don't forget to bring in figurative language and connotation when your students are ready for the challenge.

Keep practicing

Once your students have some practice with descriptive writing, add in a challenge.

Here are five writing challenges and prompts to try.

1. Find descriptive writing in a text

Here is where a mentor text will help.

Provide your students with a few texts that exemplify this.

Great examples aren't difficult to find; the opening scenes of a dystopia novel or historical fiction text can provide you with great examples - and you only need a paragraph or two.

(I have a worksheet that you can use for this - grab it here.)

Go through the mentor text with your students, locating and annotating descriptive words and phrases. I try to focus on sensory words and vivid verbs.

You can make an anchor chart as you go or just have students create their own observation notes as you analyze the text.

It can also be helpful for students to create a "bank" in their resource book with descriptive words. This is helpful when they need to add description to their own writing.
But don't stop there!
Now put your students to work to find descriptive details on their own in other mentor texts.

They don't have to go any further than your classroom library or their independent reading texts. Use their sentences to create a class poster of "sentences that show."

They can also create a "sentence collector" page in their notebooks to record favorite sentences. (As a side note, this is a great opportunity to reinforce the use of quotes and citing sources!)

2. Practice: Let's start with verbs!

Once your students have some examples, give them the opportunity to practice descriptive writing.
Try this:
One of the easiest challenges is to ask students to write a descriptive paragraph (any topic - soccer practice, the lunch room, their locker) and NOT use any verbs of "to be." Or - limit them to one or two per paragraph.
The focus of this activity:
The aim is to help students try out different verbs.

3. Use the five senses/five sentences

In this challenge, students are asked to use sensory details to write a five sentence paragraph using a different sense in each sentence.

Try this:
Have students write a five sentence description - (their right shoe, backpack, text book, top of their desk, etc.). When the paragraph is finished, have them revise their writing so that each sentence uses a different sense.
Now, here is where this assignment gets interesting:
Sense of taste! You don't want your students to be licking the tops of their desks! However, by writing, "the golden, honey wood glistens as the sunlight streams across it" does have sensory details with the sense of taste - honey, right?

You can "taste" it as well as "see" it in your mind as you read. Use this sense as an opportunity for students to think about word choice in a different way.
The focus of this descriptive writing activity:
Students will need to think about their word choice in order to use all five senses. Paying attention to sensory details helps bring writing to life.

4. Gross me out!

One of my favorite exercises in trying to help students "show not tell" is to challenge them to write a gross descriptive essay. The grossest description wins!

I put a lot of restrictions on this one including:

must be about a real event

must be 100 - 150 words long - no longer!

cannot include anyone in our school

My reasoning:

If it's a real event, students are less likely to write about zombies or TV horror shows. I want them to write about their own experiences.

A 100 word word description is a challenge! Every word matters. By limiting the word count, I force students to weigh each word carefully - each one has to bring something to the party, otherwise it's cut!

Limiting the word count also requires students to focus on sensory details.

And, by restricting who can be included, I avoid potential drama.

The focus of this activity:
If your students can gross you out, they are writing descriptively! They will need to use all of their writing skills to create vivid images and along with an emotional response for the reader.

How will they do it? Through descriptive writing.

5. Take me there - descriptions I can see!

A fun descriptive writing activity is to ask students to bring in a picture (or provide them) of a vacation spot.

Day 1: Have students write a descriptive paragraph for their pictures. Encourage them to be so descriptive that readers will be able to see the picture in their mind.

Collect the writing and pictures.

Day 2: Hang the pictures up around the room. Have students work with a partner. Provide each pair with two descriptive paragraphs that were written the previous day. Have students read, discuss, and match the description with what they believe is the correct picture. Allow students to tape descriptions below the pictures. If there is more than one paragraph that students think belongs with the picture, allow it to be taped below the picture.

Analyze: Which pictures and descriptions were correctly matched up? Why? How did the writer(s) paint the picture in the reader's mind?

Hints about this assignment:

This works well if you teach two sections of the same class. You can swap the pictures so students are reading and analyzing pictures and writing from the other class.

Focus on the writing that is effective. No negative responses allowed!

Use numbers or letters rather than student names to match the photo and writing.

Helping students write descriptively is a huge challenge! They will remember to do this on an in-class exercise but will forget to apply that skill to their next writing assignment! Consistent practice does help. By repeating any one of these activities throughout the school year, you will be reinforcing their "showing" skills.

If you need additional writing prompt ideas, you might be interested in creating RAFTS or using a journal jar. Both great ways to help students practice descriptive writing.

What do you think? Are there activities you use with your students that strengthen their descriptive writing skills? Let us know in the comments below!

Where does descriptive writing fit in the writing process?

Ideally, using descriptive writing is something that is second nature to students. They add it as they are writing.

However, as teachers, we want to think about how we can help students develop that second nature. Consider adding descriptive writing into different places in the writing process - from prewriting to revising.

Asking students to pay attention to where and how they are using descriptive writing will help develop the second nature of using it.

Want more?

Check out this complete resourcefor teaching descriptive writing - using mentor texts, sketches, & self-assessments. Plus more writing support in my shop!

Looking for more fun writing activities to engage your students? Check out this post for some cool ideas.

With gratitude,

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Descriptive writing seems like it should be easy to teach, yet it is one of the most popular posts on my site, and I receive the most questions about teaching it. We know what we want our students to do, but they still struggle. There are plenty of reasons for this, but let's start by ...

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Award-winning online curriculum teaching math, language arts, science, social studies and more! Great for homeschool program, afterschool & summer use.