Writing and Building Community
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DESCRIPTIVE WRITING Building Community
Transcript of Writing and Building Community
DESCRIPTIVE WRITING
Building Community
INTRODUCTION
Writing is a part of Pennsylvania academic standards of education.
Section 1.4 of the Standards addresses “Types of Writing.”
Students in grade five are to: convey ideas and information clearly, provide a concluding statement, use description to convey a message
By the end of fifth grade students need to demonstrate their ability to describe.
Literature can provide ideas or topics for what students can describe.
This activity can be used in the beginning of the year to build community.
INTRODUCTION- ACADEMIC COMMON CORE STANDARDS(FROM PA DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION JAN. 2013) 1.4 WritingStudents write for different purposes and audiences. Students write clear and focused text to convey a well defined perspective and appropriate content.
CC.1.4.5.MWrite narratives to develop real or imagined experiences or events.
CC.1.4.5.OUse narrative techniques such as dialogue, description, and pacing, to develop experiences and events or show the responses of characters to situations; use concrete words and phrases and sensory details to convey experiences and events precisely. E05.C.1.3.2 E05.C.1.3.4
“My house is me and I am it. My house is where I like to be and it looks like all my dreams.” (Mr. Plumbean)
Everyone is unique and it’s what makes the world an interesting place to live.
What words would you use to describe Mr. Plumbean’s house?
Mr. Plumbean’s House
Colorful
Bright
Shades of greenLeaning palm trees in the front
Rectangular multi-colorwindows
Seven orangesplots decreasing in size
MR. PLUMBEAN’S HOUSE DESCRIPTION Here is what Mr. Plumbean’s house looks like. Mr.
Plumbean’s house is bright and colorful. There is a variety of shades of green that fill the front yard. Two palm trees stand almost as tall as the house and lean to the side. To relax there is a hammock that is stretched to its’ max tied between the palm trees. The house consists of four rectangular windows that have almost every color of the rainbow. Curvy flowers grow in each of the four bushes in the yard. If you need to know what time it is, look to the highest part of the house where you will find a clock. Mr. Plumbean’s house has a large yellow lion looking face between the two top windows. Last, you can not miss the alligator resting in the front yard. Now you know what Mr. Plumbean’s house looks like.
YOUR DREAM HOUSE"My home is where I want to be and it looks like all my dreams.“
Everyone has an idea of his or her perfect dream house.
- Draw a picture of your dream house.- Write a description of your house so others would be able to visualize it.
-Descriptive Paragraph Writing Frame
-List of Descriptive Words
-List of Position Words
-Bubble Map
Would You Live in a Shoe?
IF YOU FINISH EARLY:Pick a picture of a house and write a description of it.
Add figurative language to your description.
TIME TO SHARE!
ADAPTATIONS Graphic organizer. Give students a paragraph frame. Give students a blank house to fill in with
pictures. Have students describe a house from a
magazine in groups before creating their own.
Spend time writing a description together for Mr. Plumbean’s house using words from the list.
RESPONSE Please fill out the response paper.
At first all the houses on Mr. Plumbean’s street were the same. What do you think about the houses on Mr. Plumbean’s street
changing from being all the same to being different? Do the houses being different make them more interesting? What do you think about the visitors at the end of the story who
say that Mr. Plumbean’s street is not a neat street? The neighbors on Mr. Plumbean’s street are proud of their houses
at the end of the story. Why don’t they care what the visitors think about their street?
Which is better, being like everyone else or being different? Is it ever okay to be like everyone else? If so, when? Mr. Plumbean decides to be different by painting his house
rainbow colors. Are there ways that you show that you are different? If so, who
are you different from? How are you different from them, and why do you show you are different from them?
Are there ways that you show that you are the same? If so, who are you the same as? How are you the same as them, and why do you show that you are the same as them?
Other Discussion Questions
After telling Mr. Plumbean to paint his house, why were his neighbors unhappy when he did paint it?
Why does having a “neat street” seem to be so important to Mr. Plumbean’s neighbors? Why did everyone want all the houses to be all the same?
Was it okay for Mr. Plumbean to paint his house to look like his dreams? Should you paint your house any way you want? If so, when? Why did Mr. Plumbean paint his house the way he did? Why did his neighbors paint their houses? Are there ways that you are like Mr. Plumbean? Are there ways that you are like Mr. Plumbean’s neighbors?
When Mr. Plumbean painted his house to reflect his dreams, what effect did this have on his neighbors? Let’s make a list of the things the neighbors do:
Thought Mr. Plumbean was out of his mind Muttered (unhappy) Pretended not to notice Shouted at Mr. Plumbean to explain why he painted his house like a
rainbow Asked the next door neighbor to talk to Mr. Plumbean to make his house
look the same as everyone else The neighbors started painting their houses like their dreams
At one point, the neighbors “decided they would pretend not to notice” the rainbow house of Mr. Plumbean.
Is ignoring a problem every a good idea? What is a better way of dealing with something
that you do not like or disagree with? Mr. Plumbean says that “My house is me and I am
it. My house is where I like to be and it looks like all my dreams.”
Should people live their dreams? Do you think that Mr. Plumbean is his house and
his house is Mr. Plumbean? Are your clothes you, and are you your clothes?]
