Standard Lesson
Describe That Face: An Interactive Writing Game
Grades
6 - 8
Lesson Plan Type
Standard Lesson
Estimated Time
Four 60-minute sessions
Author
Publisher
ILA
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Overview
Students try their hand at creative descriptions of characters, learn new vocabulary words that allow for more precise descriptions, and practice using simile and metaphor. After analyzing sample character descriptions, students choose a picture (from a print or online source) and write a vivid description of its subject. Students engage in peer editing, rewrite their descriptions, and post them on the classroom walls for a matching game. Students read one another's paragraphs, make note of favorite descriptive words and comparisons, and find a matching set (description and picture) to share with the class.
Featured Resources
Peer Edit With Perfection! Tutorial: Familiarize your students with peer editing using this engaging PowerPoint presentation.
From Theory to Practice
- Before students begin writing, they should know whom they are writing for, and respect their readers or listeners enough to make an effort to write well. They need to have a real audience.
- Real writers take time to draft and redraft according to the importance of their audience.
- "Writers need time: time to think, time to rip it all up and start again, time to get it as right as possible for the reader, who's as important as possible."
- "[R]eal literacy only happens in a community of one sort or another, when people need to connect for one reason or another." Creating community in the classroom encourages students to produce writing that is "genuine and urgent and meaningful and correct."
Common Core Standards
This resource has been aligned to the Common Core State Standards for states in which they have been adopted. If a state does not appear in the drop-down, CCSS alignments are forthcoming.
State Standards
This lesson has been aligned to standards in the following states. If a state does not appear in the drop-down, standard alignments are not currently available for that state.
NCTE/IRA National Standards for the English Language Arts
- 4. Students adjust their use of spoken, written, and visual language (e.g., conventions, style, vocabulary) to communicate effectively with a variety of audiences and for different purposes.
- 5. Students employ a wide range of strategies as they write and use different writing process elements appropriately to communicate with different audiences for a variety of purposes.
- 6. Students apply knowledge of language structure, language conventions (e.g., spelling and punctuation), media techniques, figurative language, and genre to create, critique, and discuss print and nonprint texts.
- 11. Students participate as knowledgeable, reflective, creative, and critical members of a variety of literacy communities.
- 12. Students use spoken, written, and visual language to accomplish their own purposes (e.g., for learning, enjoyment, persuasion, and the exchange of information).
Materials and Technology
- Computers with Internet access and printing capability
- Magazines or newspapers, at least one for every two to three students, if students will use print sources to find photos
- Scissors and tape (or other fasteners)
- Peer Edit With Perfection! Tutorial
Printouts
Websites
Preparation
| 1. | Review and print the Teacher's Reference Sheet—Metaphors and Similes. If you wish, collect other examples of vivid character descriptions from fictional works to read to the class. |
| 2. | Print the following handouts and make one copy for each student: Sample Character Descriptions, Character Description Vocabulary, Peer-Editing Form, Note-Taking Worksheet, and Grading Checklist. |
| 3. | Decide where students will display their work for the activity in Session 4. |
| 4. | Familiarize yourself with the online dictionaries and thesauruses listed under Websites. The Word Reference site offers some bilingual dictionaries for the ELL students in your class. Choose the sites that are most appropriate for your class and bookmark them on students' computers. |
| 5. | Decide whether students will use print or online sources for the photos that they will describe. If they will be using an online source, bookmark the photo sites listed under Websites or other sites that you deem appropriate on students' computers and make sure you have enough ink and paper for the printers. |
| 6. | If necessary, reserve time in the computer lab for Session 1 and Session 2. |
| 7. | Make a list of student pairs that might work well together for the peer-editing session. |
Note: If your students need a very basic review before the lesson, Skillswise: Adjectives provides a fun, simple introduction to adjectives.
Student Objectives
Students will
- Write for an audience, as their written character descriptions will be used in a game with their classmates
- Learn and use new vocabulary words to describe characters
- Practice using similes and metaphors in their creative writing
- Employ a structured writing process, including peer editing and rewriting, to create a descriptive paragraph they will be proud to share
- Engage in a literacy community as they mingle with classmates and walk around the classroom to share their classmates' creative writing
Session 1
| 1. | Before class begins, write four headings on the board: Adjectives, Descriptive Phrases, Similes, and Metaphors, with room to write examples under each. |
| 2. | Ask students to picture a fictional character in a story they have read. Ask them how they know what the character looks like. Discuss how the author's description and our own imaginations contribute to our image of a character. Tell students that they will be studying how to write a creative character description, and will then use their descriptions to play a class game. |
| 3. | Distribute copies of the Sample Character Descriptions and read one of the examples aloud to the class. Ask students if they can visualize what the character looks like. Point out the four headings written on the board: Adjectives, Descriptive Phrases, Similes, and Metaphors. Read the description again and ask which words and phrases helped them form their image of the character. List students' responses under the appropriate headings, pointing out how figurative language enriches the image. |
| 4. | Read several additional character descriptions from the handout and add to the examples of figurative language under the appropriate headings on the board. |
| 5. | Briefly review what similes and metaphors are, using several examples from the descriptions. Refer to the Teacher's Reference Sheet—Metaphors and Similes for a full list of examples. |
| 6. | Pass out the Character Description Vocabulary list and go over the first 10 words or so. Have student volunteers try to define each word, and explain the words they are not sure of, giving examples of how each word could be used to describe a character. |
| 7. | Ask students to read the rest of the list and put question marks next to words if they are unsure of the meanings. Explain that they will use online dictionaries and thesauruses to find definitions and synonyms for the unfamiliar words. Explain that by using the new words they learn in their writing, they will have an opportunity to expand their vocabularies. |
| 8. | Take students to the computer lab and model how to find and identify definitions and synonyms in the online dictionaries. Tell them to access the bookmarked dictionaries and look up at least 10 unfamiliar words from the list. (ELL students might find it useful to use an appropriate online bilingual dictionary.) Explain that students should write only definitions or synonyms that are meaningful to them-if they don't understand a definition or synonym, it won't help them understand the original word. Encourage them to use more than one source to find a definition or synonym that makes sense to them. They can write multiple synonyms or definitions, whatever helps them understand the word. |
Session 2
| 1. | Before class begins, write a dull character description on the board, something like: "The girl is pretty. She looks sad. She's wearing a green dress." Also, write the same four headings as in the previous session: Adjectives, Descriptive Phrases, Similes, and Metaphors. |
| 2. | Read the dull description to the class and ask students how they think this description could be improved. Have them take a few minutes to rewrite the description using adjectives, descriptive phrases, similes, and metaphors. Remind them to refer to the vocabulary list for interesting adjectives. Then have several volunteers read their improved versions aloud as you jot down their creative additions on the board under the four headings. |
| 3. | Have students choose a photo of a person to describe.
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| 4. | Tell students to write a one-paragraph description of the person in the picture they selected. They can imagine and describe any aspects of the person's life, character, and background. Explain that their descriptions will be used in a class game in which students will try to match each picture with its description. Thus, they should make their descriptions neither too obvious nor too difficult. Remind them to use new words from the handout or the board, and to include adjectives, descriptive phrases and details, similes, and metaphors. If necessary, students can finish writing their paragraphs for homework. |
Session 3
Note: If students are not familiar with peer editing, have them watch the Peer Edit With Perfection! Tutorial before beginning this session.
| 1. | Assign partners for peer editing (see Preparation). Have students sit with their partners and use the Peer-Editing Form to check each other's character descriptions and give each other feedback. |
| 2. | Give students time to revise their descriptions based on their partners' suggestions, neatly rewriting them as necessary. |
| 3. | Collect the finished descriptions and the pictures. Before the next session, look over the descriptions to make sure they are appropriate and correct any major errors. Mix up the pictures and descriptions and display them in random order on the classroom walls. |
Session 4
| 1. | Give students copies of the Note-Taking Worksheet. With the worksheet supported by a book or clipboard, students should walk around the classroom and read the descriptions displayed on the wall. Tell students to note their favorite Adjectives, Descriptive Phrases, Metaphors, and Similes in the appropriate spaces on the worksheet, collecting at least five items in each category. They should also examine the pictures and start thinking about which description goes with which picture. |
| 2. | When students have completed their Note-Taking Worksheets, tell them to choose a picture and a corresponding description (not their own), take the pair off the wall, and sit down. |
| 3. | If the final pictures and descriptions left on the wall don't match, the final students should take any picture and description (a nonmatching pair). |
| 4. | Have each student share the picture and description taken from the wall with the rest of the class, and ask the class whether it is a match. (The person who wrote the description can resolve any uncertainty.) If the picture and description do not belong together, put both on a table where other incorrect pairs will also be placed. When all students have shared their pictures and descriptions, students who did not get correct pairs the first time around can now find a matching pair on the table and share it with the class. |
| 5. | Reflect on the lesson as a class, using the following questions to guide the discussion:
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| 6. | Pass out the Grading Checklist and have each student attach all associated assignments, then turn the packet in for a grade. |
Extensions
- Challenge students to find vivid character descriptions as they read (in class or outside of school) and share them with the class.
- Conduct a similar activity having students describe a place, an object, an animal, or a plant instead of a person.
Student Assessment / Reflections
- The Grading Checklist, with all associated assignments stapled to it, helps students to clearly understand how their work is evaluated and graded.
- Monitor students as they work and encourage them to use their imaginations, expand their vocabularies, and use figurative language.
- Ask students individually to tell you what new vocabulary words they have learned in this lesson.
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