Educator's Page
Word Choice Activity: Painting a Picture
in the Reader's Mind
Summary of Activity: Students will write different adjectives to describe the words that they found in the first writing idea. The students will fill in a T-chart to help them organize their ideas. They will think about what each noun looks like, smells like, tastes like, feels like, and sounds like. After they have written down the adjectives for each noun, the students will get out their word tree, and draw/color a picture that illustrates each word. For example, if the word was "bug," they could draw a picture of a small, red, slimy bug. Once they have drawn a picture, they will revise the story that they wrote in the first writing idea. They will add in the adjectives that they used to describe the words in their story.
Rationale: This activity will be beneficial for students to complete because it will help students realize the importance of using adjectives to describe words in a story. Students will be able to see how adjectives can help paint a picture in the reader's mind. For example, they will be able to see that "small, red, slimy bug," is much more descriptive than just writing "bug." Descriptive words add meaning, tone, and style to a writer's story.
Common Core Standards:
Level of Bloom's Taxonomy: This activity addresses the synthesis level of Bloom's Taxonomy. Synthesis is a thinking skill that tells you that a student can originate, combine, and integrate parts of prior knowledge into a product, plan or proposal that is new. In this activity, students are thinking of different adjectives that they could use to describe the words on their word tree. This level allows students to revise, and reconstruct their writing. This activity gives students the opportunity to revise their writing by adding descriptive words to help paint a picture in the reader's mind.
Rationale: This activity will be beneficial for students to complete because it will help students realize the importance of using adjectives to describe words in a story. Students will be able to see how adjectives can help paint a picture in the reader's mind. For example, they will be able to see that "small, red, slimy bug," is much more descriptive than just writing "bug." Descriptive words add meaning, tone, and style to a writer's story.
Common Core Standards:
- CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RL.1.4: Identify words and phrases in stories or poems that suggest feelings or appeal to the senses.
- CCSS.ELA-Literacy.W.1.3: Write narratives in which they recount two or more appropriately sequenced events, include some details regarding what happened, use temporal words to signal event order, and provide some sense of closure.
- CCSS.ELA-Literacy.SL.1.4: Describe people, places, things, and events with relevant details, expressing ideas and feelings clearly.
- CCSS.ELA-Literacy.SL.1.5: Add drawings or other visual displays to descriptions when appropriate to clarify ideas, thoughts, and feelings.
- CCSS.ELA-Literacy.L.1.1b: Use common, proper, and possessive nouns.
- CCSS.ELA-Literacy.L.1.1f: Use frequently occurring adjectives.
- CCSS.ELA-Literacy.L.1.5d: Distinguish shades of meaning among verbs differing in manner (e.g., look, peek, glance, stare, glare, scowl) and adjectives differing in intensity (e.g., large, gigantic) by defining or choosing them or by acting out the meanings.
Level of Bloom's Taxonomy: This activity addresses the synthesis level of Bloom's Taxonomy. Synthesis is a thinking skill that tells you that a student can originate, combine, and integrate parts of prior knowledge into a product, plan or proposal that is new. In this activity, students are thinking of different adjectives that they could use to describe the words on their word tree. This level allows students to revise, and reconstruct their writing. This activity gives students the opportunity to revise their writing by adding descriptive words to help paint a picture in the reader's mind.