Using the five senses, or sensory details, to create an atmosphere and mood can add great depth to writing. Often, this is a left out lesson, but one that is just as crucial as teaching students how to organize a story from beginning to end. The following are ideas for lessons that will help strengthen a middle school or high school student's writing capabilities.
Teach Sensory Details by Becoming Familiar With the Five Senses
Give each student a piece of familiar candy. Allow them to unwrap the treat, but not to touch or eat it. Ask the students to pretend they have never seen this particular candy before, and in fact, are unsure that it is even food. Give students a graphic organizer which has five boxes, clearly labeled "see, smell, touch, hear, and taste." A good example is the sensory detail chart from the textbook "Elements of Literature."
Ask the students to write only what they see in the sight box. Do the same with touch and hear. Finally, ask the students to smell the candy and then to eat it, writing down the sensations of taste as the candy melts in their mouth. Ask students to take their favorite description for each sense and create five sensory sentences using one detail from each sense.
Create Sensory Details Using a Guessing Game
Partner up students and blindfold one. Give the other student an object. Ask the student who has the object to give the blindfolded student clues about what the object is. The clues can be anything, but must use one of the five senses. The blindfolded student then needs to guess what the hidden object is.
Use Examples to Allow Students to See Sensory Details in Literature
Give the students a passage from a story or novel that uses plenty of sensory details, says the UNC School of Education. Involve the class in a "sensory scavenger hunt," where students have to highlight a sentence each time a sensory detail is mentioned. Give students five different colored pencils or highlighters, one for each sense. At the end of the exercise, ask students which of the five senses is used the most and which is used the least. Discuss and brainstorm why certain senses may be used more than others.
Allowing students to become familiar with sensory details and encouraging them to practice these new skills will strengthen their writing tremendously. A narrative that creates a mood and setting for the reader through well placed sensory descriptions is riveting to read and more natural to imagine.
Sources:
Elements of LIterature; Sensory Details Chart
Teaching Voice: Learn NC: From the UNC School of Education
Sarahlynne Davis - Sarahlynne has been a professional educator for 8 years and a freelance writer for two years. She holds an MEd in Language, Literacy and ...
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