Writing descriptive paragraphs

Unit: Language Arts
Theme: Writing descriptive paragraphs
Lesson Length: 5 days

Objectives: Students will:

• Develop descriptive writing skills.
• Identify elements of a descriptive paragraphs.
• Write a descriptive paragraph that includes a topic sentences, no less than five adjectives, and a closing sentence.

Standard: Writing Expectation: W.8.3 DOK Level: 3

Materials: computer, PowerPoint presentation, board, projector, handouts

Development
Day 1
1. Greet students.
2. Brainstorm about what is a descriptive sentence. Some answers might be: one that says something about a topic; one that tells me how something is, etc.
3. Define what is a descriptive paragraph and its elements.

Day 2
1. Greet students.
2. Recall previous class.
3. Read an example of a descriptive paragraph and identify the elements. ( work on notebook)
4. Explain the "Orange Paragraph Method" for writing a descriptive paragraphs.

Day 3
1. Greet students.
2. Review steps in the Orange Method.
3. Practice exercise: Write a five sentence descriptive paragraph about the school.
4. Share sentences written and create the paragraph.

Days 4 and 5
1. Greet students.
2. Explain the instructions for the special activity and the rubric for evaluating the paragraph to be handed in.
3. Begin to work on the activity: first step: pre-write ideas for their topics. Teacher checks and assigns points.
4. Draft sentences. Students should use the dictionaries and thesaurus to look for descriptive words.Teacher collect drafts for revision.
5. Corrected drafts are returned; student edits and publish the paragraph.

Assessments:
Teacher's observations
Descriptive paragraph rubric
Group interaction
Completed paragraphs