Descriptive writing is an important skill to learn and master. As a teacher, it can be difficult to help students develop their writing skills while also making the learning process fun and engaging. Fortunately, there are many creative strategies for teaching descriptive writing in middle school. Let’s take a look!
Mix it Up with Fun Writing Prompts
Writing prompts are an invaluable tool for helping students practice their descriptive writing skills. They provide a starting point for creativity and give students something concrete to work on. To make things more interesting, try coming up with fun prompts that push the boundaries of what your students know or that challenge them in unexpected ways. For example, ask them to write about their favorite celebrity as if they were describing them to someone who had never seen them before. Or, have them describe themselves as if they were characters in a book or movie. These kinds of prompts will get your students thinking outside of the box and give them freedom to express themselves in new ways.
Emphasize Showing over Telling
When it comes to teaching descriptive writing, it’s important that your students understand the difference between “showing” and “telling”–in other words, using vivid descriptions instead of simply stating facts or summarizing events. To emphasize this concept, let your students read stories or watch movies where showing is used well and then have them write about similar topics using those same techniques. You could even have your class write a story together, with each student taking turns adding details until the story is complete! Passing out a classroom treat and having students describe it using their 5 senses is another fun way to encourage showing instead of telling. This kind of collaborative exercise can be both educational and entertaining for your middle schoolers.
Incorporate Visual Aids into your Lessons
Visual aids can be extremely helpful when encouraging descriptive writing in middle school–especially if you have visual learners in your classroom! Incorporate pictures, illustrations, animations, videos, etc., into your lessons so that your students can draw inspiration from multiple sources when they’re crafting their own stories or descriptions. This will also help break up the monotony of reading/writing lessons and keep everyone engaged throughout the duration of the lesson plan.
When it comes to teaching descriptive writing in middle school, you want to create an environment that encourages creativity while still providing structure and guidance for success. By mixing up fun prompts, emphasizing showing over telling, and incorporating visual aids into lessons whenever possible; you can create an atmosphere where both teachers and students benefit from learning about descriptive writing! So don’t hesitate–try out these strategies today!
Do you have some tips for engaging students with Descriptive Writing? Let us know in the comments below or follow us on Facebook and Instagram for more fun ideas!
Looking for some ways to practice these key skills with your learners?
Check out this fun creative Descriptive Writing activity in my TPT shop – it contains a variety of step by step lesson ideas to help engage your most reluctant writers! Grab a copy by clicking here or on the image below.
Looking for more posts about writing in the ELA classroom?
Check out these great previous posts from the ELA Matter blog below!
Simple Gratitude Activities for Middle and High School Students
How to Teach Comparative Essay Writing in ELA
