Unusual, specific, picture-painting words?

 

Remember that phrase from your TWT training?

 

An effective way for a writer to paint pictures for the reader is to include a variety of sensory details.  A proficient writer should help the reader see, hear, feel, taste, and smell what is happening in the writing. 

 

Students can become more aware of rich, vivid, sensory language, as well as practice the note taking strategy discussed in our last email tip. One way to do this is with well-written read aloud books.

Owl Moon, by Jane Yolen is one book we love to use, because it is chock full of sensory details.  It is a beautifully illustrated picture book (and a great example of a Personal Narrative), which tells the story of a young girl on an adventure with her father.  Read the story aloud to your class.  Then read it again, and have students use a note taking form like the one below to record examples of the author's use of sensory details.  Discuss the examples together after reading.