Paint That Event!
Supporting Descriptive Writing
Stage of Literacy Development:
Stage 3: Literacy for GrowthAges:
6-11
Grade Range:
2nd 3rd 4th 5thFood Groups:
Primary:
Writing Processes & Strategies, Reading Comprehension Strategies
Activity Description
Preparation:
- Gather materials required for painting
Implementation:
Session 1:
- Have students select an interesting part of a book that they are reading or have recently read
- Share that the goals of the activity are to visually depict the story event and then describe it through words using as much detail as possible
-
Support and offer feedback as students visually represent the story event through a sketch
- Invite individual students to use their sketch to orally explain the part of the story they have depicted
- Encourage students to share their sketches with a classmate to obtain feedback
- Have students paint the story event
Session 2:
-
Have students use markers to add detail to their paintings
- For example, encourage them to outline figures to add definition, add fine details to figures and objects, and add text
-
Invite students to write a retell of the event in the story using their paintings as a writing prompt
- Encourage them to describe all of the details that they have depicted in their painting
- Remind students that their writing should be detailed enough to create a mental picture of the event
Adaptations For
English Language Learners/ESL:
- Encourage students to work with classmates who speak the same first language
- Allow students to write their event retell drafts in their first language, have them share their ideas orally and then support them to translate to English
LD/Reading & Writing Difficulties:
- Work with students individually to help translate pictorially represented ideas into written form
- Provide vocabulary words, sentence starters and sample templates to scaffold retell writing
Related References
Evidence:
Moore, B. M. & Caldwell, H. (1993). Drama and drawing for narrative writing in the primary grades. The Journal of Educational Research, 87, 100-110.
Activity Objective
The goal of Paint That Event!: Supporting Descriptive Writing is to promote descriptive writing by having students create pictorial representations of story events.
What You Need
Prep Time:
10 minutes
- Gather required materials
Task Time:
2, 40 minute sessions
- Students sketch and then paint a self-selected part of a story
- Students add detail to their paintings using markers
- Students use their painting as a prompt to write a retell of the event in the story
Materials Required:
Students:
- Book
- Paint
- Markers
- Paper
- Writing utensil
What You Do
Teacher Role:
Direct instruction:
- while explaining the task
Facilitator:
- during painting and retell writing
Student Grouping:
Whole class:
- while instructions are given
Pairs:
- while providing peer feedback
Individual:
- during painting and retell writing
Assessment Ideas:
- Assess both the paintings and the written retells for evidence of students' comprehension of the story
a. Assess depiction of detail in both paintings and writing
Quick Tips
Activity Extensions:
- Have students use their paintings as a prompt to write a new story using the same characters, setting etc.
Additional Comments:
- Painting story events promotes visualization, which is an important strategy to use when writing descriptively.
- This activity is especially beneficial for ELLs and students with writing difficulties as it allows them to represent ideas pictorially and provides scaffolding to translate these ideas into written form.
Other Recipes by this Teacher
Bubble Diagram: A Pre-Writing Strategy for Stories
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Fairy Tale Checklist: Understanding the Structure of a Fairy Tale (Virtual Tour)
1st - 4th
Magnet Man: Integrating Science and Literacy through Writing (Virtual Tour)
2nd - 3rd
Student Made Books: Promoting the Enjoyment of Writing (Virtual Tour)
2nd - 4th
Teeny Tiny Books: Writing Narratives (Virtual Tour)
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