Setting and Description

Arlene F. Marks holds degrees in Modern Languages and Education from the University of Toronto and has twenty years of experience teaching high school English, Literacy and Writer's Craft at all levels from Pre-Advanced Placement to Remedial. Arlene is the author of From First Word to Last (2013, Legacy Books Press) and the LITERACY: MADE FOR ALL series (2014, R & L Education). She welcomes visitors to her web site, www.thewritersnest.ca. Bette J. Walker holds degrees in English and Education from York University (Toronto) and has thirty years’ experience teaching in Junior (grades 3 to 6) and Intermediate (grades 7 and 8) classrooms. She also spent three years as a Language Arts Consultant with the York Region District School Board (Ontario, Canada). Bette is the author of Adolescent Literacy (York Region DSB), THE DRAMA PROCESS series (with Frank Smith, Summit Educational Services), and Teaching Excellence 101 (Edupress).

As a novice to teaching English, having taught only Science for twenty years, I found the Let Them Write/ Let Them Read program was easy to follow and easy to implement. This is a structured program for the teacher and built for the individual levels of ability of the students. My students’ enthusiasm for writing and reading, and their blossoming literary skills, resulted in their achieving the highest English language standard for the school. Every student advanced significantly in grade level during the instructional time frame. Every student was successful every day in this program.

• INTRODUCTION TO LET THEM WRITEMessages from the authorsHow to implement this programThe aims and objectives of this programHow to implement Let Them ReadWriting a literary essayThe aims and objectives of Let Them ReadSetting up a writer-friendly classroomAuthors need a writing planPublishing students' workNCCS Anchors addressedSECTION 1: SETTING THE SCENE SKILL 1: DESCRIBING AN INDOORS SETTINGStudents will practice using their descriptive writing skills to create a realistic indoor setting for a scene or story, in the process becoming more observant about their real life surroundings.Reproducibles/Media:STR 1--MY SETTING DETAILS WorksheetSTR 2—SETTING PURPOSES Worksheet SKILL 2: DESCRIBING AN OUTDOORS SETTINGAs students practice using their descriptive writing skills to create a realistic outdoor setting for a scene or story, they may become more aware of the natural world around them.SKILL 3: DESCRIBING AN OCCASIONALLY VISITED LOCATIONStudents will practice creating a realistic story setting using their descriptive writing skills, in the process increasing their bank of descriptive vocabulary.SKILL 4: DESCRIBING A MODE OF TRANSPORTATIONAs students practice describing the interior of a transportation vehicle, they will also be expanding their active vocabulary.SKILL 5: REVEALING SETTING TO THE READERYoung authors will learn and practice one effective way to include setting details in the introduction to a scene or story.Reproducibles/Media:STR 3--REVEALING SETTING TO THE READERSECTION 2: INCLUDING SENSORY DETAILSKILL 1: USING THE SENSE OF SMELLAs young authors become aware of and familiar with a variety of different smells, they will also increase their active vocabulary by practicing different ways to describe them.Reproducibles/Media:STR 4--EXAMPLE PARAGRAPHS SHEETSTR 5--SENSE OF SMELL CHARTSKILL 2: USING THE SENSE OF TOUCHIn order to make their writing come alive with sensory details, students will experience a variety of different textures and practice ways to describe them.Reproducibles/Media:STR 6--EXAMPLE PARAGRAPHS SHEETSTR 7--SENSE OF TOUCH CHARTSKILL 3: USING THE SENSE OF TASTEYoung authors will learn about and practice making their writing more vivid by including interesting descriptions of taste where appropriate.Reproducibles/Media:STR 8--EXAMPLE PARAGRAPHS SHEET STR 9--SENSE OF TASTE CHARTSKILL 4: USING THE SENSE OF HEARINGStudents will practice listening to and describing a variety of sounds in order to enrich their writing with authentic auditory details. In the process, they will become more aware of their everyday environment.Reproducibles/Media:STR 10--EXAMPLE PARAGRAPHS SHEETSTR 11--SENSE OF HEARING CHARTSKILL 5: USING THE SENSE OF SIGHTYoung authors will hone their observational skills as they learn how to select those details which will help a reader to visualize what an author is describing.SKILL 6: ACTION DESCRIPTIONAs students practice using colorful verbs to make action scenes come alive for a reader, they will also be learning how to use a thesaurus and dictionary to expand their active vocabulary.Reproducibles/Media:STR 12—ACTION DESCRIPTION PATTERN A WORKSHEET STR 13—ACTION DESCRIPTION PATTERN B WORKSHEETSECTION 3: INCLUDING FIGURATIVE LANGUAGESKILL 1: SIMILES TO DESCRIBE APPEARANCESYoung authors will learn about and practice making their descriptive writing more interesting and powerful through the use of simile, a figurative comparison.Reproducibles/Media:STR 14--SIMILES TO DESCRIBE APPEARANCES WorksheetSKILL 2: SIMILES TO DESCRIBE ACTIONSYoung authors will practice using simile to make a character's actions easier for a reader to visualize, in the process adding strength and drama to their writing.Reproducibles/Media:STR 15—SIMILES TO DESCRIBE ACTIONS Worksheet SKILL 3: USING METAPHORS Students will learn about and practice using metaphor to paint vivid language pictures in a reader's mind.Reproducibles/Media:STR 16--METAPHORS WORKSHEETSKILL 4: USING ONOMATOPOEIAAs young authors practice including in their descriptions words that are interesting to listen to as well as read, they will increase their sensitivity to the music of language.SKILL 5: USING SYNESTHESIAStudents will learn how to make their descriptions memorable by substituting one sense for another.Reproducibles/Media:STR 17--SYNESTHESIA WORKSHEET