Painting a Picture in the Reader's Mind:
Good writers, like Rocket, use descriptive words when writing a story. Instead of writing, "The owl had eyes and a beak," Rocket wrote, "The owl had friendly eyes and a beak the color of a buttercup." Rocket used descriptive words to help paint a picture in the reader's mind. Words that describe nouns, like "eyes" and "beak," are called adjectives. Adjectives can describe what something or someone looks like, smells like, tastes like, feels like, or sounds like.
Look back at the word tree that you created in the first writing idea. What adjectives can you use to help paint a picture in the reader's mind? Click the image below to download and print the chart. Write down the words that are nouns that you found in the first writing idea in the first column. Think back to the words that you found and ask yourself the following questions:
Once you have drawn a picture, go back and revise the story you wrote in the first writing idea. Add in the adjectives that you used to describe the words in your story. After you have edited your story, read the story to a friend to see if you painted a
picture in the reader's mind!
Look back at the word tree that you created in the first writing idea. What adjectives can you use to help paint a picture in the reader's mind? Click the image below to download and print the chart. Write down the words that are nouns that you found in the first writing idea in the first column. Think back to the words that you found and ask yourself the following questions:
- What did it look like?
- What did it smell like?
- What did it taste like?
- What did it feel like?
- What did it sound like?
Once you have drawn a picture, go back and revise the story you wrote in the first writing idea. Add in the adjectives that you used to describe the words in your story. After you have edited your story, read the story to a friend to see if you painted a
picture in the reader's mind!