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How to Write a Descriptive Prompt

Descriptive writing involves the five senses: taste, touch, sight, sound and smell. Teaching students to write using the five senses makes their writing more interesting and easier to visualize. The ability to visualize is key to helping students comprehend text. Many states require students to provide a descriptive writing sample to assess their writing ability. Help your students practice the art of writing descriptive essays by prompting them with topics that require them to use their describing skills.

Instructions

- 1
  Choose a focus for your students writing. Common topics are family vacations, funny memories, favorite stories or embarrassing moments. You may wish to provide a variety of topics and let the students choose the one that interests them the most.
- 2
  Ask your students to describe, in detail, the topic of their choice. To help them with this task, teach your students the five Ws: who, what, when, where and why.
- 3
  Help your students relate their writing to their peers by having them include descriptions using the five senses. For example, if you have a student who is trying to describe it being cold outside, ask them to relate the temperature to something everyone knows, such as, "It was as cold as an ice cube fresh from the freezer."

Ideas for Data Collection for Teachers

Differentiated Literacy Activities