The Genres of Writing

The Genres of Writing

Descriptive Writing

            Any teacher knows that the teaching of writing can be difficult. As teachers, we are faced with students who are engulfed in technological advances and devices. As such, reading has taken a back seat and writing has suffered. This week we were introduced to the different genres of writing, most specifically, Descriptive Writing. In a nutshell, descriptive writing involves using words to create unforgettable, mental images in readers’ minds; and, stimulates readers’ feelings and emotions. In order to create a well written descriptive piece, writers should be observant and use words that best relate to the five senses (sight, smell, taste, feel, sound).

Techniques in Descriptive Writing

In order to produce exceptional written piece students can become more vibrant and colourful

if students:

1. Add specific information
2. Choose words carefully
3. Create sensory images
4. Use figurative language
5. Write dialogue

 Before students begin to write, teachers should:

• model and allow students to create a list of descriptive words to students,
• have students be presented with objects and write about them,
• present students with colourful pictures and/or take them for a walk to observe their surroundings and ensure students are aware of their five sense

Although we touched on all the techniques, our blog wants to focus on technique three -creating sensory images.

Creating Sensory Images

It is important that our students understand and are cognizant of their senses. In our opinion, the heart and soul of descriptive writing do not just come from the specific information; but, the senses used in order to initially describe objects, people, images and/or scenery. Students should not only be able to identify the organs for theses senses but know how to associated words to describe their feelings with their senses. 

First, let us identify our sensory organs:

sight-eyes          smell-nose          taste-tongue          feeling-skin           hearing-ears

There are two ways to generate words from our students' Sensory Charts and Descriptive Clusters.

Sensory Chart

A sensory chart shows the words that are related to the object, place, person or thing being described and lists words that best describes it. To assist students, replace the senses with questions that relate to the senses, for example, sight-How does it look?

Popcorn

How does it look?	How does it sound?	How does it taste?	How does it feel?	How does it smell?
Bumpy White and yellow Brown	Crunchy	Salty Buttery	Warm Greasy	Delicious Tasty Burnt

Confused as to why a student may have used 'brown' to describe popcorn? Perhaps they are referring to caramel popcorn. Additionally, it is easy to now understand why the student may have used 'burnt' to describe popcorn. 

*Always remember to verify with students to understand why specific words were used to describe items.

Descriptive Clusters

A descriptive cluster hosts the object in the centre and has five arms extended to describe the object.

An example is as follows:

Helpful Links

• http://multifangled.com.au/wp/wp-content/uploads/2014/07/Descriptive-writing-techniques.pdf
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-Ezu8kTyk-s

References

Warrican, S. J. (2012). The Complete Caribbean Teacher Literacy. Pheonix: Pearson Education.

 Spandel, Vicki (2012) Creating Writers in the Primary Classroom: 6 Traits, Process,
        Workshop & Literature (6th edition). New York: Pearson

Thanks for reading! Until next Sunday, see you soon!