One of my go-to writing exercises for exploring the use of descriptive words and phrases is very simple. I can’t take credit for the original idea and am not sure where I found it years ago. However, it’s become a staple exercise I’ve adapted and use every so often.
Here’s how my version goes:
- Have your student write a brief description of a room, outside spot, or other location. Keep the view very precise. For example, describe one room, not the whole house; a picnic spot, not the whole park; or the view at the summit of a hike; not the whole hiking trail.
- The description should be very ‘flat’ with just the facts.
‘My bedroom has a bed.’
- The length of this assignment is dependent on the abilities of your student and how far you want to go with it. It can be one sentence or a whole paragraph. And it can be a one-day assignment or stretch over several days.
- After they have completed the flat description, ask them to create a mood of their choice (e.g., cheerful, creepy, peaceful, or angry).
‘My sunny yellow bedroom has a comfy bed.’
or this –
‘In the dark recesses at the bottom of the stairs, my bedroom lurks with its miserly and tortuous bed.’
That second one might make you wonder how your child perceives their current sleeping arrangements. Ha.
Anyway, there it is. A writing assignment that can be short, long, basic, or complex.
Want to go further with this?
I usually gear this exercise toward scene description, but I’ve used a similar technique for character description and dialog as well.
Start with a simple line generated by you or the student –
The man said, “Don’t touch the statue.”
Then work on character development –
The chubby man said, “Don’t touch the statue.”
The tomato-shaped man looked apologetic as he said, “Don’t touch the statue.”
Or work on dialog –
The man yelled, “Don’t touch the statue.”
The man said, “Don’t even think of touching that statue if you want to see tomorrow.”
Note: Ask the older student to try and convey a different tone of voice without changing the verb ‘said’.
Bonus points if your student combines character description with colorful dialog, BUT…
As always with writing, be very clear on the primary objective. Shoot for one achievable goal. This goal would NOT be – “You have to vividly describe the scene AND the character AND make the dialog show emotion… AND, oh yes, please spell everything correctly.”
So you choose your one goal – scene description OR character description OR dialog. Not all three. You’re delighted if they exceed your expectations. And you try not to worry too much if their work has no periods or capital letters. Honestly, it’s okay to let spelling and punctuation mistakes slide. You can work on those another day.
I’m laughing because I just gave you a lot of directions on what to do and especially what NOT to do! It’s in direct opposition with my primary objective – to share an assignment that’s simple for you to use and a fun learning experience for your kids.
On that note, one final instruction: Despite all the do’s and don’ts from me, have fun with this!
