If you were a sound, what sound would you be?
10
If you were a smell, what smell would you be?
If you were a kind of weather, what kind of weather
would you be?
If you were a vegetable, what vegetable would you
be?
Sight- easiest to describe.
Colours are useful.
Be precise:
If it’s red- a pale/faded/deep red?
What can we compare it to? Blood/ nail varnish/
velvet?
Sky
Bedsheets
Sound-do you prefer noise or
silence?
Be precise:
Don’t just say there was sound of traffic
Was there a boom?/ Was it shrill? Did something
chime?
Dog
Photocopier
Smell- most effective
Roasting coffee beans/ tang of sea air/ granny’s
home baking.
These smells can evoke strong and often fond
memories of the past.
To this day, the delicious aroma of fresh ground
coffee reminds me of those Sunday mornings long
ago.
Touch & Taste- can provide something extra
Be precise:
Sticky/ ooze/ sugary/ bitter- this can set the
imagination off!
Eating chilli
Touching velvet
Think of an object. Write a description of your
object that appeals to all of the senses- but doesn’t
give the game away!
The rest of the class will guess what your object is.
Similes
When one thing is like another thing:
As stubborn as a mule
As solid as a rock
Metaphors
When one thing IS another thing:
It’s raining cats and dogs
My legs were jelly
1.
The baby was like an octopus, grabbing at all the cans on the grocery store
Simile
shelves.
2.
My love is like a red, red rose, that is newly sprung in June. Simile
3.
The giant’s steps were thunder as he ran towards Jack. Metaphor
4.
After my long day, the pillow was a cloud.
5.
I feel like a limp dishrag. Simile
6.
Those girls are like two peas in a pod. Simile
7.
Taylor was a walking colour wheel, always wearing just about every shade
possible, all at once. Metaphor
8.
No one invites Harold to parties because he’s a wet blanket. Metaphor
9.
Her elderly fingers were thin gnarled branches, twisting oddly from the stem of
her palms.
Metaphor
Metaphor
10. Ted was as nervous as a cat with a long tail in a room full of rocking chairs. Simile
Show Don’t Tell
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7UaKYOE
c5h8
TELL: The morning was beautiful.
SHOW: Behind the mountains, the sun peaked
brightly, ready to start a new day. The blue sky
remained silent yet showed signs of sadness.
The wind whispered through the trees as the
cheerful sun rose. The birds sang gently by my
window as if they wanted to wake me up.
Telling: He sits on the couch holding his guitar.
Showing: His eyes are gently closed, and he
cradles the guitar in his arms like he
would a lover. It seems as though he’s
desperately trying to cling on to
something like a drowning man to a
lonely fragment of driftwood.
1
Show Don’t Tell
TELL: The coffee was enjoyable.
TELL: He is angry.
TELL: I was nervous.
TELL: It was a day unlike any other day.
15 minutes
“Dark shapes glide through the night sky on silent
wings, their sinister shadows outlined against the
light of a full moon. Swooping down to the earth,
they hover near houses and deserted buildings,
breaking the peace of the night with their
disturbing presence. Carriers of disease, drinkers
of blood, companions of witches and demons,
bats – the very word brings a shiver of fear to
most people.”
~ Sylvia A. Johnson, Bats
Identify what makes this
description effective.
“Anybody could see how cold it got. The wind already
had glass edges to it, stiffening muscles and practically
cutting through the stitches of our clothes. When it blew,
the chill stabbed our teeth like icicles, and our voices
jiggled every time we talked.”
From Parrot in the Oven: Mi Vida
by Victor Martinez
Identify what makes this
description effective.
Sometimes it’s difficult to start writing a piece of
description. This video will help. Then we’re going
up to the art gallery.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/learningzone/clips/craft
ing-an-opening-paragraph/766.html
Let’s see what we need to TRY and achieve in our
piece of writing.
Jump Into a Painting – Descriptive
Writing Rough Draft
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Where is this place?
What are you doing there?
Who are you with?
What made you go there?
Are you appropriately
dressed?
6. What is the climate
(weather) like in this area?
7. What sounds do you hear?
8. Did you stay awhile, or did
you go somewhere else?
9. What problems did you
encounter?
10. How were the problems
resolved?
11. What kind of person are
you in this painting?
12. What kind of people are
your friends?
Collate all of your descriptions together and write a
creative piece that incorporates all of these elements
and creates a vivid setting.
Your title is
‘Welcome to my world’
Simile
Metaphor
Definition:
Definition:
Examples:
Examples:
Simile
Metaphor
Definition:
Definition:
Example:
Example:
Personification
Underline the word that gives an object/ animal a quality of a person.
The large rock refused to budge.
1. The sun stretches its warmth across the land.
2. The chair danced as the baby bounced to and fro.
3. The darkness wrapped its arms around me.
Look at the words below. Try to give each word a quality of a human
and write a sentence.
Sun
Tree
Bear
Computer