This presentation was part of an ongoing Descriptive Writing Unit for a Grade 7 class. The objective was that students would be able to use sensory details and adjectives when describing places. Students held previous knowledge of planning and writing descriptive pieces.

1. Descriptive Writing
Describing Places
Form 1
Bishop's College Kingstown
January 2015

2. What will you learn?
• Why do you use descriptive language in your
writing?
• How to describe places using sensory details?
• How to effectively organise your descriptive
writing?

3. Why do you use descriptive language in your writing?

4. Describing places using sensory details
To give the reader a more vivid picture of the place
you are describing, you can refer to the senses.

5. As daylight breaks, restless winds sneak into my room causing little
bumps on my arms to form. I have no choice but to wake from my
dream. The bright reflection caused by the white, fluffy substance
blanketing my back yard forces my eyes to squint, as I throw open the
window curtains. Squeals and muffled laughter from the playful kids
next door catch my attention. I rush down the stairs to put on my gear,
and I run out into the bitter cold to join them. But after playing for an
hour, I’m convinced to come back inside. The brisk air that grabs at my
lungs, and the numbness of my toes in my boots have won. But the
delicious aroma of Mom’s hot chocolate comforts me. It is soothingly
warm as it melts down my throat and tastes like heaven on my
lips.
Can you spot the sensory details?

6. Did you spot the sensory details?
• As daylight breaks, restless winds sneak into my room causing little
bumps on my arms to form. I have no choice but to wake from my dream.
The bright reflection caused by the white, fluffy substance blanketing my
back yard forces my eyes to squint, as I throw open the window curtains.
Squeals and muffled laughter from the playful kids next door catch my
attention. I rush down the stairs to put on my gear, and I run out into the
bitter cold to join them. But after playing for an hour, I’m convinced to
come back inside. The brisk air that grabs at my lungs, and the numbness
of my toes in my boots have won. But the delicious aroma of Mom’s hot
chocolate comforts me. It is soothingly warm as it melts down my throat
and tastes like heaven on my lips.
• Red- sense of smell Blue- sight Green- sound/hearing Purple- taste
Yellow - feel

7. Describing places using sensory details
• What do I see?
e.g. flickering lights
• What do I hear?
e.g. cracked, creepy stairs
• What do I taste?
e.g. salty tears
• What do I feel?
e.g. a phantom hand on the
shoulder
• What do I smell?
e.g. burning smells, pipe or
cigarette smoke

8. Now it's your turn to describe a place!
• What do I see?
• What do I hear?
• What do I taste?
• What do I feel?
• What do I smell?
**Remember to organise your
description frame by frame

9. What did you learn
today?