Kennan Cammack

EDUC 139
Writing Unit

Descriptive Writing Writing Unit

Grade Level: 4
Writing Focus: Using descriptive language in personal writing pieces
Standards:
RL.4.3: Describe in depth a character, setting, or event in a story or
drama, drawing on specific details in the text
W.4.3: Write narratives to develop real or imagined experiences or
events using effective technique, descriptive details, and clear event
sequences.
CLL Goals:
Use memorable words and phrases
Use language to create sensory images
Show through language instead of telling
Mentor Texts:
Owl Moon by Jane Yolen and illustrated by John Schoenherr
Green Giant by Jack Prelustky
Slide and Slurp, Scratch and Burp More About Verbs by Brian P. Cleary
and illustrated by Brian Gable

Day One:
Topic: Recognizing descriptive language
Resources: Owl Moon by Jane Yolen
Teacher Actions:
Intro: Ask the students for the definitions of adjective and
descriptive language (previously taught).
Hand out the five senses chart (below) and tell the students they
will be
completing one today
On the board, display the five senses chart and give examples of
adjectives for each box
Activity: Introduce the story Owl Moon by Jane Yolen and ask
students to record descriptive language on the chart as we read. For
the first two-three
pages,
model how to fill out the chart and
then allow students to finish it on their own.
Example (page 1): There was no wind. The trees stood still as
giant statues. Record giant statues in the box labeled sight.
After reading, ask students to share examples of what they put in
the box and
record these on the board.
Discuss the importance of descriptive writing and how it
enhances the story
and allows for visualization. Read a few pages
without the adjectives and
have students listen to the difference.

Chart:

Owl Moon Five

Senses

Sight:

Hear:

Taste:

Touch:

Name:
Smell:

Student Actions:
Verbally explain the definition of adjective and descriptive
writing.
Listen and watch teacher examples of how to complete the chart.
Listen to Owl Moon and record descriptive language in the chart.
Participate in class discussion after reading.
Compare and contrast how the story sounds without adjectives.

Day Two:

Topic: Using adjectives to describe an object

Resources: Have mentor texts out for students to look at as an
example
Teacher Actions:
Tell the students they will be writing 3 sentences using
descriptive language
about a random object.
In a brown paper bag, have objects written down on slips of
paper for students to pick at random.
Examples: Pumpkin, giraffe, snow, car, etc.
Model an example on the board for the word popcorn
The buttery, warm popcorn smelt sweet and delicious in
the kitchen.
The crunchy, yellow and white treat

melted in my mouth as I ate it. It

felt crunchy and bumpy
beneath my tongue.
Give students 10 minutes to brainstorm and create their
sentences about their chosen object.
Ask students to share their sentences with a partner and have
their partner
guess the object they picked.
Students will make edits to their sentences and give feedback
where
necessary (Self-Assessment).
Ask volunteers to share their sentences with the class.
Student Actions:
Students will pick an object to create sentences about.
Brainstorm and write three sentences using descriptive language
about
their object.
Participate in class discussion and share their writing with others.
Guess what object their partner had and give feedback.
Make edits on their own sentences.

Day Three
Topic: Visualization
Resources: Green Giant by Jack Prelutsky
Teacher Actions:
Partner students together and provide each group of 2 with chart
paper and makers.
Read the poem Green Giant by Jack Prelutsky to the students:
There lives a green giant whose name was Sam.
His hair was the color of strawberry jam.
He had one brown and one blue eye.
And a beard the color of pumpkin pie.
His coat and pants were oh so bright,
Like a peppermint stick all read and white.
His sock were as yellow as lemon pop.
His shoes were as brown as a chocolate drop.
His hat was the color of gingerbread,
With a tall, tall feather of raspberry red
Tell the students to draw what they think the Green Giant looks
like on their
chart paper based on the poem
Reread the poem and allow them to draw as you read the story.
Discuss the importance of visualization as a class.
Students Actions:
Listen to the poem and recognize the descriptive words
Collaborate with a partner throughout the lesson

Create a visual image of the Green Giant as described by the

poem
Participate in class discussion about visualization

Day Four:
Topic: Visualization continued and writing with descriptive language
Resources: Display Green Giant for students to refer to
Teacher Actions:
Discuss the activity from Day Three with the students.
Put partners back together and give them notecards, paper, and
markers.
Tell them that today they will be drawing and writing about their
own giant or monster.
Each student will draw a monster on their piece of paper and
then write three-four sentences about it on their index card. Without
looking at each others drawing, they will switch index cards and
attempt to draw their partners monster based on their description.
Then they will show each other
their originally drawing and
compare/contrast the pictures.
Model an example of this with a student on the Elmo so students
know exactly what to do.
Ask students to write a few sentences about what made this
activity difficult.
Ask the volunteers to show their drawings and descriptions.
Discuss the activity as a class.
Students Actions:
Students will draw and write a description of their monster.
They will switch index cards and try to draw another picture
based on someone elses description.
Look at each others drawing and have a discussion with their
partner about
the differences in the drawings and why there would
be differences.
Students will write sentences about their challenges during the
activity.
Participate in class discussion.

Day Five:
Topic: Verbs in descriptive language
Resources: Slide and Slurp, Scratch and Burp More About Verbs by
Brian P. Cleary
Teacher Actions:
Discuss the difference between strong and weak verbs.
Explain that strong verbs make a story more descriptive as well.

Read the story Slide and Slurp, Scratch and Burp More About
Verbs by Brian
P. Cleary to students. Discuss the authors usage of
strong verbs and how it
helped them visualize the text better.
Example (page 4): Verbs are words like sneak and sniff,
sneeze and seize,
and wheeze and whiff.
On the board, make a chart of strong and weak verbs and
compare and
contrast the difference.
Strong Verbs

Weak Verbs

Give students sentences with weak verbs and have them replace
them using more descriptive, strong verbs.
Example:
She went to the park vs. She strolled to the park
Ask the students to write a paragraph about their day using
strong verbs and share with a partner.
Student Actions:
Participate in class discussion
Listen to the story and recognize strong verbs
Give examples of strong verbs for the chart on the board
Replace weak verbs in sentences with strong verbs
Write a paragraph using strong verbs about their day
Share ideas and give feedback to a partner

Day Six:
Topic: Writing using descriptive language
Resources: Teacher example, thesauruses and all mentor texts
Teacher Actions:
Have each student pick his or her favorite holiday (besides
Thanksgiving as this is the teacher example).
Tell them that they will be writing three paragraphs using
descriptive language. They will need to write about at least four
senses in their
description.
Put the five senses chart on the board and add example words.
Also display
the strong vs. weak verbs chart created by the class.

Give each student a new five senses chart to fill out about his or
her holiday.
Leave out mentor texts, along with other stories about
descriptive language
for students to refer to as an example.
Read the teacher example and display it on the board for
students.
Leave thesauruses out for students to use.
Student Actions:
Look at the mentor texts for examples of descriptive language
Refer to the chart with examples of good adjectives and strong
verbs.
Write three paragraphs about their chosen holiday utilizing
descriptive language, including the five senses and strong verbs.
They will include a sentence about their progress in descriptive
writing and their challenges. (Self-Assessment)
Teacher example:
Thanksgiving
Thanksgiving morning, my whole family gathers at my
grandmothers cozy home in Kansas City, Missouri. The mouth-watering
smell of homemade food fills the air. The delicious aroma can be smelt
in every room of her home. My loud and rambunctious family huddles
over the food and pick at the warm, savory food trying to taste a
sample. My grandmother sternly tells everyone to be patient and wait
for everything to be done.
Finally, the loud timer buzzes, as the final dish is complete. My
family cheers and runs to the food like wild dogs. We see the plump,
juicy turkey come out of the oven and can hardly wait to get a bite. I
put three heaping scoops of the smooth and creamy mashed potatoes
on my plate. My brother fills his plate with the heavenly green-bean
casserole. My sisters favorite is the sweet, red cranberry sauce.
The grandkids gather around the long, wooden table and start to
dig in. The adults sit in the dining room and sip on chilled white wine as
they dine and have mature conversation. Meanwhile, we devour our
warm food and laugh at silly jokes. Once we finish our meal, we start to
clean up the messy and chaotic kitchen so we can get the sugary
dessert set out. Soon after, the assortment of flakey pies has been
scarfed down. My whole family falls on the giant, soft couches in the
basement and watches football for the rest of the day.
Reflection:
I think using descriptive language can be difficult, but writing
about your favorite holiday brings back many memories and is easier
to elaborate on. Obviously I wouldnt expect students to use as many
details as I did, but giving this as an example will help them expand

their writing. Before writing, I listed adjectives in the five senses chart
that reminded me of Thanksgiving and tried to incorporate them into
senses. I then added them into the story and tried to make it cohesive
and flow at an appropriate rate.
Differentiation:
I would work with students who were struggling individually
throughout the unit and help them create sentences using descriptive
adjectives and verbs. For the final writing project, I would provide these
students with sentence frames to give them ideas of things to write
about. I would also ask that they only wrote one-two paragraphs about
their holiday.
Students with high ability level would be grouped together
throughout the unit and assigned a different topic to write about for
their final paper. Because imagining your favorite holiday is relatively
easy, I would give students of high ability level a more abstract topic
such as describing the jungle (as they have little background
knowledge). This would require more research with books and
technology.

Assessment (Rubric/Checklist):
Students will be observed throughout the unit on their
participation and class activities.
Students will be graded on their final writing piece, using this
rubric:

Content

Organization

4
1.Keypointsare
explainedand
supportedwith
descriptivelanguage.
2.Fourfivesensesare
described.
1.Wellorganized
2.Easytofollow

3
1.Keypointsare
explainedwith
littlesupport.
2.Threeofthe
fivesensesare
described.
1.Mostly
organized
2.Mostlyeasyto
follow

2
1.Keypointsare
notclear.
2.Onetwo
sensesare
described.

1
1.Keypointsarenot
mentioned.
2.Zerosensesare
described.

1.Some
organization
2.Somewhat
difficultto
follow

1.Organizationis
confusing.
2.Hardtofollow
Distractsfrom
answer

Conventions

1.Fewtonoerrorsin
grammar,spelling,
punctuation,and
sentencestructure.

1.Someerrorsin
grammar,
spelling,
punctuation,and
sentence
structure.

1.Manyerrors
ingrammar,
spelling,
punctuation,and
sentence
structure.

1.Paperishardto
readandunderstand
duetolargeamount
ofgrammar,
spelling,
punctuation,and
sentencestructure.

*Studentsknowwhatismeantbysophisticated,mostly,some,etc.based
onclassdiscussionsandexamples.Studentsmaybeprovidedwith
clarificationonareaswheretheyneedhelp.