Activity 2: About
Me!
A great way for students to better understand adjectives and how they are used is to create a small writing assignment for your students. In this assignment, have each student write a personal narrative. This activity may take a little bit more time than usual, but make sure that the teacher explains what a personal narrative is.
A personal narrative is an essay or short story about an event that happened in the students' life. This is an event that happened to only them. Many students will use the example of getting a hole in one while golfing, hitting the winning run in a championship baseball game, or even a ballet recital. Whatever the experience may be, have the students explain this event as much as possible.
A key to writing a personal narrative is to be descriptive! Use as many adjectives as possible. Lush imagery is mandatory for a great narrative essay. Make sure there is an emphasis on 2 facts:
1. This is an event that happened to you!
2. Describe everything as much as possible. The reader was not there at the time, so they want to know everything about this event! Sight, sounds, feelings, taste, smell, texture, and all other sensory elements must be added for the reader to have a clear picture of this event.
A great activity for practice would be to take an object in the classroom, such as the teacher's desk, a class animal, or even a person. Have the students describe every aspect of the item that they can.
For example: The object that I chose was the teacher's desk.
Description: The large, wooden table had many staple markings in it. The left, front leg of this massive desk was held up by books due to the fact that it was still shorter than the other 3 legs. The smell of pine had washed away after years of educators sitting behind this desk. A green, flowering plant sat at the end of the desk where Miss Neilson resides, and a bronze frame sat next to this plant. No one ever knew what or who was in this medium size picture frame, that never seemed to move from the side of the green plant.
This is a bit too much to expect from a fourth or fifth grader, but as an educator, you understand where I am coming from. Make an emphasis on the fact of lush imagery, description, and sensations must be used. This will be a great practice for your students, and will better prepare them for the one to two-page essay on an personal experience.
The one to two-page essay should focus on an event or a time in the student's individual life when they felt happy, sad, excited, energized, alive, funny, courageous or even frightened. Emphasis the use of adjectives. Adjectives will create a clear picture of just what the writer went through, and will help the readers feel as if they were there with the writer at that moment in time!