To improve the details they provide when describing their topic (the influence of a specific location), students will learn additional strategies in this lesson. Students are going to:
- Apply creative techniques to subjects.
- Recognize and put together sensory information.
- Find and create similes and metaphors.
- Recognize and employ concrete nouns.
- Create unique sentences by utilizing a particular sentence structure as a guide. 

- What function does writing serve in our daily lives?
- How can we improve our writing skills?
- To what extent does the writing process influence the quality of the writing?

- Writing Process: The stages of writing (prewriting, drafting, revising, editing, and publishing). These stages are recursive, rather than linear. For example, the writer might brainstorm and draft, step back and make changes, then write more. 
- Description: Words used to evoke images in the reader’s mind. 
- Topic: The subject matter with which a writer is working in a particular piece of writing. 
- Purpose: The reason or reasons why a person composes a particular piece of writing. Different types of purpose include the following: to express, to describe, to explore/learn, to entertain, to inform, to explain, to argue, to persuade, to evaluate, to problem solve, and to mediate. However, it should also be emphasized that writers often combine purposes in a single piece of writing. 
- Audience: The intended readers of a particular piece of writing. 
- Prewriting: The initial writing stage of gathering ideas and information and planning writing. Students may sketch, brainstorm, or use webs, outlines, or lists to generate and organize ideas. 
- Sensory Detail: Specific details relative to sight, sound, smell, touch, and taste working together in harmony to create concrete images and strengthen writing. 
- Metaphor: A literary device in which two different objects are compared by analogy (i.e., “The lake is a mirror.”). 
- Simile: A literary device in which two unlike things are compared, using words such as like or as (e.g., “Her cheeks were as pink as roses.”). 
- Figurative Language: Language enriched by word images and figures of speech. 
- Word Choice: The use of rich, colorful, precise language that communicates not just in a functional way, but in a way that moves and enlightens the reader. Strong word choice can clarify and expand ideas and/or move the reader to a new vision of things. Strong word choice is characterized not so much by an exceptional vocabulary that impresses the reader, but more by the skill to use everyday words well.

- copies of model sentences from “Baker’s Farm,” p. 167 of Walden by Henry David Thoreau. Project Gutenberg. http://www.gutenberg.org/catalog/world/readfile?fk_files=849122 
- a board, large screen, or easel with a large drawing pad to put up examples, student responses, etc.

- All students can write more model sentences. Students should practice mimicking sentences that have engaging structures and strong descriptions. As they work, assign them to groups so they can receive immediate feedback from other participants. Ask them to complete at least three more sentences. (It's a good idea to have a folder with model sentences that you want your pupils to use. As you read, gather examples and make notes about potential future references.)
- Throughout the lesson, concentrate on building details that illustrate the significance of a specific location. As students engage in oral sharing and sensory detail analysis, grade them. 
- Additionally, keep an eye on them as they start working on the model sentence and record details following the visualization activity. 

Explicit instruction, modeling, scaffolding, and active engagement 
W: Students gain knowledge on how to add more details to their own writing and enhance their descriptions by utilizing metaphor, simile, and particular sensory details. 
H: Students work with created sensory details while listening to other students' opinions and reactions. Both the details they used for the model sentence and the visualization exercise come from their personal experiences. 
E: Students' comprehension of descriptive details is improved through oral sharing, sensory detail analysis, and the visualization exercise. 
R: By talking about what makes a detail memorable, they can use that discussion to evaluate the descriptive details they have written. The practice for their first draft on the significance of the place is carried out through the model sentence assignment. 
E: Students can choose the most engaging or best details. 
T: The class has a discussion, and everyone participates in the sensory detail exercise. They each work on their lists and loop independently as well. Everyone has the chance to participate in the class analysis of the two model sentences, which also supports students who struggle with similes or metaphors. 
O: Building on Lesson 1, this lesson allows students to come up with more ideas, research their chosen topic in greater detail, and organize some of their details into a more formal structure that may be included in their first draft. 

Main Question: What is the process for creating descriptive details?

Students will be creating more details for the location whose impact they will be describing. Tell them they'll start with sensory details from the last lesson.

Encourage students to speak aloud about their favorite sensory detail from an assignment in pairs or small groups. Once each student has given a turn, have the class choose a few that they can still clearly recall and project them onto the board or screen. Find out what (specific details, word choice, figurative language, unexpected observations) makes each one memorable.

Next, give students an additional method to add details about this specific location. Students can participate in a quick simulation that helps them revisit the location they are describing by having them close their eyes. After every query, give them a brief pause to allow for reflection. "Picture the location you're describing," instruct students. "Take a slow, left-to-right look around you. To capture every detail in a painting, you are paying close attention to everything. Does the scene include any living things? What are you able to see? Now concentrate on the sounds. The sound of a door closing, distant voices, and birds will all be audible, even if you believe the area to be extremely silent. If the area is noisy, make an effort to isolate the sounds. Which ones are pitch higher or louder than the others? What are those? How do you feel about them? Now consider the scents. Is there a scent associated with your location, such as the aroma of freshly baked bread, the odor of stale trash, or the scent of flowers?"

"Then, think about the textures associated with your location—the smoothness of fresh leaves or the crackle of dry autumn foliage, the scratchiness of a wool sweater against your arm, or the smooth leather of your bus seat. Which textures do you see in the scene? Taste comes last. Are you seated at the dinner table, in an ice cream shop, or a fast food restaurant? Are there any flavors connected to your location?"

Allow students to close their eyes for a short while before asking them to list all the new details they have come up with during the exercise. Just have them quickly jot down the details before they forget; they don't need to worry about word choice. You can assist anyone who needs assistance while they are working.

After they have completed two to three minutes of listing, post examples of powerful similes and metaphors that make use of intriguing sentence structures and precise word choice on the board or screen. The following are some examples, but you can think of more:

“He was ten inches long, thin as a curve, a muscled ribbon, brown as fruitwood, soft-furred, alert.” (Dillard’s description of a weasel)
“Sometimes I rambled to pine groves, standing like temples, or like fleets at sea, full-rigged, with wavy boughs, and rippling with light. . . .” (Thoreau, from Walden)

"Now, take a look at Annie Dillard's description of a weasel," instructs the class. "What do you think makes it effective?" Allow them to choose specific adjectives like "muscled," "soft-furred," and "alert," as well as concrete nouns like "curve," "ribbon," and "fruitwood." Give students time to identify the metaphor ("a muscled ribbon") and similes ("thin as a curve" and "brown as fruitwood"). Give students time to reflect and work through the material aloud rather than just telling them.

Ask follow-up questions as needed, such as "What does Dillard compare? What makes the comparisons valid? What has the comparison helped you understand more clearly? What is your opinion of the weasel after making this comparison?" Also, draw the student's attention to the peculiar way the sentence is put together: an ordinary sentence (“He was ten inches long”) is followed by an adjective, a metaphor, a simile, and an adjective. This is critical because you will be asking them to compose a sentence that is either based on your example or on a passage by Thoreau. When they've finished talking about Dillard's sentence, go over Thoreau's sentence. (Note that you could also do this with other sentences that you chose from your own favorites or from readings that you did in class.)

"Now that we've examined how two writers described their subject, choose either Dillard's or Thoreau's sentence as your model. Utilizing that format, craft a sentence that highlights a particular aspect of the selected location. Choose words that are as specific as you can, and stick to concrete nouns. Please copy the sentence twice, one for me to use and one for you to share with your classmates."

Extension:

Have students list at least a few details from your remarks to help guide their thinking. Students who feel they may need more time to learn after the visualization exercise can review a few of those remarks.
Students who may require an extra learning opportunity with the model-sentence assignment may require you to repeat instances of concrete word choice as well as metaphor and simile examples. Provide readily observable examples of each of the three types.
Some students may have difficulty with sentence structure. It could also be difficult to limit your description to just one person or object. If required, form a group and work with the students, one by one, as they construct their model sentences while adhering to the original sentences' patterns.