The lessons highlighted below are just a sampling of some of the lessons that can be taught during the two writing units of Narrative and Expository. Please refer to the New Haven Literacy Curriculum Writing Unit for detailed ideas and plans for each writing unit throughout the school year. These activities are created to supplement the New Haven guidelines. The ideas in this unit pertain to elaboration of the student's writing.
Activity 1:
Learning Target: Students can look at a photograph and write a story about what they observe.
Materials: Photograph (example below), writing journal, pencil.
The link below is to a photograph of baseball players. One is a young boy and the other an older man. The man has his head in his hands and the young boy is looking at him. This photo (or one similiar) woulg work well for this lesson because there are details and emotions that can be talked about after looking at it.
http://www.britannica.com/blogs/wp-content/uploads/2008/06/baseball.JPG
Procedure: Show the students the photograph and have them turn and talk with a partner about what they see. Let some students share out about their first reactions to the photo. Then explain that they will be writing a short story, 2-3 long, paragraphs about what is going on in the photo. Have them go back to their desks and give them 5 minutes planning time and then 20 minutes writing time. Once they are finished with their work, give some students time to share their writing. Debrief with the class about what worked, why this activity was important, and how they can use what they learned in their future writing.
Activity 2:
Learning Target: Students can take basic sentences and add more details by using the 5 senses to elaborate in their writing.
Materials: Worksheet with sentences (example below).
Procedure: Review with the students the 5 senses (taste, touch, hear, see, smell) and talk with them about how we could use these senses to help us make our writing more exciting. Model reworking a simple sentence with one of the 5 senses. Write the sentence on the board: The cat walked by the door. Then pick one of the senses to use to elaborate the sentence. For example, say, "I'm going to use touch to help me to describe the cat better. A cat might have fluffy fur, so I could say: The fluffy cat walked by the door." You could use more senses to add even more details to this sentence. Pass out the worksheet and do a few with the students and then let them do the rest independently.
Example sentences to use for the worksheet:
1. The kids played outside.
2. The boy ate a sandwich.
3. We watched the movie.
4. The car made a noise.
5. The girl went to the store.
6. My mom told me no.
7. I put on my school uniform.
8. The dog was barking.
9. I had a drink.
10. We went to the park.
Activity 3:
Learning Target: Students can use a photograph that belongs to them to write a story with lots of details.
Materials: A personal photograph, writing journal, pencil.
Procedure: The students will take the photograph out that you asked them to bring in. They will use this photo to help them write a story about that moment in time. The first part of the lesson will be for the students to write about just what they see and what is going on. Then once they do those basic sentences, they will take them and use details to elaborate on the work. They will use the same technique of the 5 senses to help them to talk more in detail about what is happening in the photo. This will be the planning and for some the first draft of their writing.
Activity Extensions:
These three activities are just a few ideas about how you can have the students elaborate in their writing. I am sharing these three activities to show how to build upon each activity with the students, starting off with an unfamiliar picture and having the students write from that, then giving the students tools like the five senses to help with elaborating and making better details, then finally having them do those two activities with their own photograph. The students will see the connection and have the needed background knowledge as you build on each activity, making it easier for them to write about their own experiences and photographs with even better elaboration, which is the goal of the unit.
