Using the Five Senses in Teaching Students With Disabilities to Write Descriptive Paragraphs andor P

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Using the Five Senses in Teaching Students With
Disabilities to Write Descriptive Paragraphs
and/or Poetry

• Joanne M. Benson
• Email joeyntx_at_satx.rr.com
• San Antonio Writing Project

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Descriptive Writing Using Your Senses

• Purpose of this strategy
• To help students with learning disabilities and
  students in ELL use their five senses to increase
  their descriptive writing skills

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Descriptive Writing Using Your Senses

• All about me
• Recent graduate of UTSA with a Masters degree
  in Special Education
• Worked in Early Childhood, as a Substitute
  Teacher, and a Paraeducator

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Descriptive Writing Using Your Senses

• My philosophy of writing and literacy is that it
  is a gift ready to be opened
• I wish my students to enjoy the gift of writing
  and not fear it
• I wish my students to open the gift with joyful
  anticipation
• I wish my students to use this gift practically
  and expressively
• I wish my students to give the gift of writing
  and literacy to others in their writing

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Descriptive Writing Using Your Senses

• My Inspiration
• Walt Disney
• I would rather entertain and hope that people
  learned something than educate people and hope
  they were entertained.
• Carol Burnett
• Words, once they are printed, have a life of
  their own.
• My author friend LeeAnn Newton
• Close your eyes Joanne and tell me what you
  hear.
• My students
• I hate to write, no one can read my writing, why
  do I have to write?

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Descriptive Writing Using Your Senses

• How I used this
• Jennifer Hall Kruger Middle School 7th grade GT
  students
• The other teacher consultants in the summer
  institute

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Descriptive Writing Using Your Senses

• Research
• Patterson, E., Schaller, M., Clemens, J.,
  (2008). A closer look at interactive writing. The
  Reading Teacher, 61 (6), 496-497.
• Douville, P., (2004). Use mental imagery across
  the curriculum. Preventing School Failure, 49
  (1), 36-39.
• Santagelo, T., Harris, K.R., Graham, S.,
  (2008). Using self-regulated strategy development
  to support students who have Trubol Giting
  Thangs Into Werds. Remedial Special Education,
  29 (2), 78-89.
• Diliberto, J.A., (2004). Improving descriptive
  sentence writing in elementary school. Preventing
  School Failure, 48 (4), 34-36.

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Descriptive Writing Using Your Senses

• References
• For K-2 Writing a Poem Using the Five Senses
• http//www.eduref.org/Virtual/Lessons/Health/Body_
  Systems_and_Senses/BSS0009.html
• For 3-5 Sense You Asked! Writing Workshop
  Lesson
• http//www.atozteacherstuff.com/pages/520.shtml
• For Middle School Creative Writing A Unit based
  on the Harry Potter Series (Vocabulary)
• http//www.angelfire.com/journal2/englishresource/
  creative.html
• Using the Five Senses to Enhance Your Writing
• http//ezinearticles.com/?Using-the-Five-Senses-to
  -Enhance-Your-Writingid180036

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Descriptive Writing Using Your Senses

• Before the writing begins
• I explain the process
• Walk them through the steps
• I read excerpts from novels/short stories
• Examples
• Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire by J.K.
  Rowling
• Eggs by Jerry Spinelli
• Bud, Not Buddy by Christopher Paul Curtis
• Island of the Blue Dolphin by Scott ODell
• I give a list of descriptive vocabulary words
• I model how to use the senses by exploring one
  of the senses and doing a think aloud and writing
  a few sentences
• I then put my pieces together to write one final
  piece

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Descriptive Writing Using Your Senses

• The Lesson
• Each student takes a colored 3 x 5 note card the
  corresponds with the sense, i.e. Pink Sight
• The students will then go to the table with the
  corresponding sense.
• While at the table they will explore the sense
  object
• Once the object is explored the student will
  write descriptively on the note card (No rules,
  can have bullets, thoughts, complete sentences)
• After they have written what they wish on the
  note card, they will take their note cards and
  create a final product including all of the
  senses they wrote about
• This can be done in the form of an essay or poem
  or a narrative
• Modifications can be made to these steps

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Descriptive Writing Using Your Senses

• Modifications
• Can be used with all grades and abilities
• Special Education/ELL
• Can be used as a group pre-write or individual
  pre-write
• Can be used as a mini-lesson, i.e. one sense
  per lesson
• Can be used in workshop format