Descriptive Writing

Lubna Imran
Objectives:

By the end of the lesson, students will be able to:

 Articulate experience and express what is thought, felt and imagined

 Use a range of appropriate vocabulary and figurative language
 Use register appropriate to audience and context
 Make accurate use of spelling, punctuation and grammar
Starter Activity

Day 1 : Boring Sentence: English class is fun. Add sensory details.

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 • Sights: ______________________________Sounds:
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 • Smells: ______________________________
Learning Activity

On the slides, you’re to read through the different examples of descriptive

writing and answer the questions on them.
You have twenty minutes to read all of the extracts and answer the questions.
What is your strategy going to be? Are you going to read a description each and
then share answers? Are you going to work together on each?
The Beach

The golden sand stretched along the horizon as far as the eye could
see. It felt warm underfoot and tickled like a feather between the toes.
The tide gently lapped against the shore leaving a trail of white foam that
inched ever closer toward the sun bathe rs.

All along the beach, holiday makers relaxed: many had deep, brown
tans, whilst some were as red as lobsters. Shoulders and necks sizzled
in the heat and skin began to peel as sun cream was hastily applied.
Some people hid in the shade or under a towel , reading books or sipping
exotic cocktails, watching the world go by.

Children splashed happily, chased each other with water pistols and built
sand castles. A group of boys raced into the sea after a ball, pulling and
grabbing at each other like animals. One girl screamed with delight as
she was hit in the back by a cold shot of water whilst another cried
having being told off for wandering too far out.

Lone swimmers weaved along the distant horizon, gliding head first into
the waves, and then moments lat er surfacing for air. Further out,
dazzling white yachts were safely anchored to the sea bed and bobbed
gently on the waves. Their sails cast dark shadows over the clear blue
water.
The Beach Questions

Write down any examples of descriptive techniques that you find:

Adjectives……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………
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Adverbs…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………
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Senses……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………
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Similes…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………
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The Castle

The thunder rumbled menacingly in the black sky, the rain rattling down as hard
as rocks. Suddenly, lightening struck, illuminating the castle and the moat. The
towers were as high as mountains, poking into the blackness like spikes. The
gushing sound of water could be heard under the rickety bridge of the moat and
a horrible stench of decay drifted up from below. The cold stone of the castle
walls was as ancient as time itself. They stood guard, like silent sentinels, to
whatever lay beyond the gates. There was no sign of life except for the
occasional squawk from a bird as it dropped down from a perch to gouge its
unsuspecting prey with razor sharp talons that gripped like a vice.
The Castle

Suggest 3 effective METAPHORS to describe the castle.

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 Description of a fun fair
 It was a scorching hot summer’s day: perfect for a day at the fair. The sky was dotted with a few fluffy clouds that looked like
candy floss.

 The entrance to the fair could be seen in the distance and the long queues edged forward slowly. Customers were becoming
increasingly excited and impatient as they took a few steps forward every so often. Faint music could be heard from beyond
the tall gates with the occasional happy scream suddenly piercing the air. Closer to the entrance and the massive structures
of the rides could be seen: a rollercoaster, a big wheel, a helter skelter. They were steel giants reaching for the sun.

 Once inside, the braver kids ran towards the first rollercoaster. It zipped back and forth across the queue as fast as a bullet.
Those sat at the front screamed the loudest, their eyes bulging like frogs, as the wind howled into their faces. Hands gripped
the safety bars like a vice as the shuttle suddenly flipped upside down. One formerly cocky boy, immediately felt nauseous,
his confidence knocked and his turned face a sickly green colour.

 Below, younger children stood watching, eating their sweets and snacks. Ice creams wobbled perilously over the cones and
dripped down their small fingers as they melted. Some munched on brightly coloured balls of candy floss. The strands
dissolved on the tongue and the sweet sugar stuck to the teeth like glue. A few ate too much and complained to their
mummies and daddies.

 Across from the queues for the rides, were the picnic tables, a refuge from the madness. Families, young couples and
groups of friends sipped on drinks, applied sun cream or kept a vigilant watch on their children. One harassed mum,
struggled as a pack of young wolves yelped and cried around her for a drink, a snack, to go on the tea cups, to go on the big
ride, to go to the toilet, to go home.
The Fun Fair

Write your own description of a fun, using this one as inspiration.

Plenary

Share your learning using any figurative language.

Thank You