Descriptive Writing resources

Creative writing resources

The door is opened by this gentleman …

You must use at least three

similes.

Eyes like … Staring at me like …

Hair like … Hair as grey as …

As tall as … He _______ over me.

Bow-tie like … As smart as …

Shoulders like …

A suit as black as …

He walked like … His movements were … He smells of …

He smells like … A faint odour of …

Eyebrows like …

Resource 1

You are going to produce a narrative piece of writing. The genre is the gothic Imagine you have woken up in the middle of a graveyard at night. What would you hear, see, taste, touch, smell? Write the opening of a story based on the information I have given you. Use the images to help you with the scenery. Challenge: You must include a minimum of 2 language techniques e.g. Metaphor, simile, personification, alliteration, repetition, sibilance, pathetic fallacy, onomatopoeia Sentence starters: I felt a cold swift of air creep up against my spine… I saw a crooked finger point towards me out of the grave…

Resource 2

Extended Writing

LO: To practise our descriptive writing skills

Do Now: If you were at this abandoned theme park, what would you be able to see/ hear/ taste/smell/feel?

Resource 2

Nervously, I…… The abandoned roller coaster felt like… It made me feel as though…

The train was as…. It sounded as though… Petrified, I…..

The ground below me felt like… Anxiously, I climbed over the… Rubble fell on me as….

Eerily, the merry go round…. It looked as if…. The clouds were like….

The slide was covered in… it smelt like… It felt as though… The ground beneath me felt….

The face of the devil looked like… It made me feel…. Fear spread through me like…

Resource 2

Descriptive Writing Planning Sheet- Example

•Looking at your picture, jot down some simple words to describe what you might see, hear, or smell if you were in the scene. Sun shining through clouds. River flowing - noisy. Big mountains touching the sky. Thin trees. Leaves. Snow. Moss and grass. •Now, using a thesaurus, your vocabulary books and your imagination, add adjectives, adverbs or powerful verbs to describe each word.

Glittering sun streaming through thick, rolling clouds. Excited river babbling and gushing. Towering mountains iced with powdery snow reaching up to the endless sky. Thin trees dancing and swaying. Crisp leaves rustling in the breeze. Damp green moss clinging to the rocks. •Use your notes to create a piece of descriptive writing in your books. Remember to use full sentences, including correct punctuation, and try to use a mixture of simple and complex sentences.

•When you have finished your piece, read it carefully to make sure it makes sense. Use a dictionary to check your spellings.

Look carefully at your picture. Using the steps below, you have 10minutes to plan your descriptive writing.

Resource 3

Descriptive Writing Planning Sheet Look carefully at your picture. Using the steps below, you have 15 minutes to plan your descriptive writing. Looking at your picture, jot down some simple words to describe what you see, hear or smell if you were in the scene. _______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Now add adjectives, adverbs or powerful verbs, language techniques to describe each word. ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Use your notes to create a piece of descriptive writing on the back of this page. Remember to use full sentences, including correct punctuation, and try to use a mixture of simple and complex sentences. When you have finished your piece, read it carefully to make sure it makes sense. Use a dictionary to check your spellings.

Resource 3

Think of a person e.g. family member, celebrity, politician etc. . Write down 1 adjective per finger to describe the person. Around your finger answer the following questions 1. If the character was a song what would

they be? 2. If the character was an animal what

would they be? 3. If the character was a piece of clothing

what would they be? 4. If the character was the time of day what

time would they be? 5. If the character was a type of weather

what would they be? In the palm of the hand write down 4 things people see about this character

Creating character Resource 4

Resource 4

TASK: Write a paragraph describing your character entering a room (you decide on an appropriate room: classroom; office; living room etc.) Your descriptions should give the reader a clear idea of what the character is like.

Verbs: How they enter? (do they shuffle, stride, skip etc.) Adverbs: How they move? (confidently, cautiously, briskly etc.) Similes: Could you compare them to an animal? What could you compare their eyes/hair/smile etc. to? Metaphors: E.g. his hands were flat spiders; she had a heart of stone What are their facial features like? (E.g. small, shifty eyes could indicate they’re secretive; rotten teeth might suggest they neglect themselves) What are they wearing? Style of clothes and colours? (E.g. brightly coloured clothes = confident)

Resource 4

Example paragraph Lord Asriel was a tall man with powerful shoulders, a fierce dark face, and eyes that seemed to flash and glitter with savage laughter. It was a face to be dominated by, or to fight: never a face to patronise or pity. All his movements were large and perfectly balanced, like those of a wild animal, and when he appeared in a room like this, he seemed a wild animal in a cage too small for it.

Resource 4

Writing to Describe a Character

L.O: To use language which effectively describes a character

Do Now: Choose one character and write down five words which describe the character’s

appearance.

‘A Christmas Carol’ by Charles Dickens

As we read, make note of where you see the following in the extract:

• Description of their facial features • Description of the way they walk or move – interesting verbs • Focus on minute details • Figurative language • Colour imagery

Using the image of Lady Macbeth, describe her character at the start of the play by adding descriptions to the blank boxes.

You should be aiming to describe how she looks, how she might walk, some figurative language to discuss

her character and colour imagery.

Write your own opening description of a character either: Lady Macbeth (you can use the planning you have

just done). OR

Your choice Description of their

facial features Description of the way

they walk or move – interesting verbs Focus on minute details Figurative language Colour imagery

Peer review Share your writing with your partner.

WWW: Have they effectively described their character using figurative language and other elements needed for this task? How successful have you been? EBI: What could they have done differently? What could they add in to make it more effective?

Write up in full your description of your character

Description of their facial features Description of the way

they walk or move – interesting verbs Focus on minute details Figurative language Colour imagery

Use your EBI to help you to improve your next paragraphs.

Writing to describe a setting

LO: To use language which effectively describes a setting

STARTER- Look at the images below For each image write down one adjective

that describes each one.

1)

2)

3)

4)

5)

A funfair is a lively subject for a description. There are many things to see, smell, hear, taste and touch. Think about the lights, the food, the screams of enjoyment, the feel of flying through the air…

Create a list of words and phrases to describe the funfair in the picture, using each of the five senses.

1. Sight

2. Sound

3. Smell

4. Taste

5. Touch

What are the 5 senses?

Sentence starters I see I hear I smell I taste I can feel

Word bank Candyfloss, sweet, sugar, bright, fresh, colourful, cold, hot, warm, spinning, jumping

What is interesting about this description?

Have you noticed any language devices?

As we arrived, sausages on a food stall; the smell of doughnuts and candyfloss around wooden sticks

spat and sizzled

wafted like clouds of caramelised sugar

twirled

like fluffy pink dreams. Language devices Alliteration Simile Onomatopoeia

Write a description of the image below

Remember the 5 senses!