Digital Lesson Plan
Step-by-step, whiteboard ready
January 30, 2012, Issue
The Power of Descriptive Writing
The Power of Descriptive Writing
Explore our featured skill using a Scope article, videos, worksheets, and more.
Great for meeting Common Core State Standards
Great for meeting Common Core State Standards
What descriptive-writing tools do authors use to make their writing come to life?
Approximate time to complete lesson: three to four class periods
Summary:
Students will view a Scope video about the science of tsunamis as well as footage of the March 2011 tsunami in Japan. They will then read a Scope nonfiction article about a group of amazing students who survived the tsunami, and an excerpt from Pearl S. Buck’s The Big Wave. After students complete a worksheet and write a reflective essay on descriptive writing, you can give them the opportunity to write their own descriptive paragraphs.
Main objectives:
• to identify elements of strong descriptive writing
• to gather information and ideas from multiple texts and media types
• to participate in class discussion
• to write a reflective essay
Note: This step-by-step lesson plan is an interactive PDF that includes embedded links to everything you will need. To use these embedded links, you need Adobe Acrobat Reader software. Download it free here. If you can’t use the embedded links, click the links below instead.
This digital lesson includes:
• Scope video: The Making of a Tsunami
• Weather Wiz Kids, a Web page about earthquakes, which includes a CNN video clip
• BBC News video clip of the 2011 tsunami in Japan
• digital version of “Surviving the Tsunami” to project
• Scope worksheet “Critical-Thinking Questions”
• Scope worksheet “How Do They Do That?”
• contest-entry form (optional)
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