Lesson Title: Sensory Details

Grade: 6th

Learning Target:

I can come up with a variety of vocabulary words to describe something using the 5 senses, and use
them to enhance my sentences.

Number of class periods: 1

Materials / resources: Novel (IDR), Composition notebook, Personal Narrative (Extracted) that uses
sensory details.

Unit Overarching Concept:

 The different ways narrative writing can be used to express stories that
matter while incorporating well-structured events and relevant details.

Unit Essential Question(s):

 Why are details important to your special stories?

 What strategies can help us determine small, focused stories?
 Why is it important to tell your stories in sequence, and to not just list
details?
 Why is it so important to have a strong story starter?
 Why is it so important to leave readers with well-written endings?

Lesson Objective:

For students to practice using sensory details and understanding how it enhances their writing.

Common Core State Standard(s)

 CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.W.6.3.B
Use narrative techniques, such as dialogue, pacing, and description, to develop experiences,
events, and/or characters.

 CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.W.6.3.D
Use precise words and phrases, relevant descriptive details, and sensory language to convey
experiences and events.

 CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.W.6.3
Write narratives to develop real or imagined experiences or events using effective technique,
relevant descriptive details, and well-structured event sequences.
Context: (Briefly note how this lesson connects to the previous lesson?)

 The previous lesson was focusing in on the key moment they wanted to choose for their
personal narrative, so we now build on that moment remembering key details to make it
more engaging for a reader.

Context: (Briefly note how this lesson connects to the next lesson?)

 Students are working on different key elements for a personal narrative. Our next lesson will
be on dialogue and we will discuss how sensory details can apply to dialogue as well (ex: he
whispered nervously).

Lesson Procedure:

1. IDR for 15 minutes

2. 10 min. Lesson:
 What are sensory details?
 Why do we as writers use sensory details?
 Explain they don’t need to say I smelled, I heard, etc. if it is implied through
their writing Ex: “I heard him scream down the hall” vs. “His high-pitched
scream rang loudly down the hall.”
3. ~ 40 min Activities
 5-10 min. Each group will be given a sense to focus on when reading
Extracted
 Highlight/write down examples your group finds
 Share out examples
 10 min. As a whole class we are going to make a list of words that could
describe: Bacon and Bed
 15 min. Using the words we’ve come up with, write a paragraph about
waking up on a Saturday morning and having breakfast, focusing on sensory
details. (Model for them)
 5-10 min Share-Out

(5-10 minutes) -- Lesson-based Formative Assessment

 Quick write using sensory details

Culminating assessment for this unit:

 Personal Narrative Essay