Ashley McCaw Beach Middle School 7th grade English Concept: Exploring Sensory Details Lesson Objective: Students

s will be able to include sensory details in writing Vocabulary: sensory details Resources and Materials: Excerpt of a literary text containing descriptions involving sight,
sounds, tastes, touch and smells displayed on the SmartBoard A very large, bright red delicious apple (Can also bring a other items to use for this activity as students explore the use of adjectives in describing objects. Choose items that are fuzzy, uffy, prickly, smelly, etc. so students will have a variety of sensory experiences.) Practice: Share with students that descriptive details involving the ve senses help the reader experience what the writer experienced. These sensory details help the readers recall their own experiences with sight, sound, taste, touch, and smells and invite the readers into the story, thereby enhancing the readers understanding of the text.

Place the apple in a spot where students can observe it and ask student to answer the following questions in their Writers Notebooks using as much description as possible: How would you describe the way this object looks? How would you describe the way this object feels when it is touched? How would you describe what this object smells like? What sounds would this object make if you took a big bite out of it? How would you describe the taste of this object? Ask students to share their answers to the questions. As they answer, record their responses on the SmartBoard. Using a passage from a suggested text (or an example you create yourself,) read the passage aloud from the overhead and ask students to point out phrases or sentences which help them "see" the experience. Go through the entire text noting which descriptions are best at creating sensory

images. Point out passages that make use of comparisons using similes and metaphors and remind students that comparisons are used to show similarities between subjects. Pay attention to details that involve the ve senses. Instruct students to review the work they've developed thus far for places where sensory details would enhance the readers understanding.

Extensions/Accommodations for Students with Exceptionalities: For the learners who need more practice, continue with a second activity
involving objects the students are not familiar with. Again, ask them to employ
the senses when describing. This activity will avoid responses such as, looks
like an apple, smells like an apple, and so on. Assessment: Ask students to write a sensory description of another object as an exit pass.
Collect as they leave and review for appropriate description.