Grade: 4

Materials
-

Handout will have a basic sentence at the top of the

page (1 per student)

Objectives
-

Snowball Descriptive Writing

Subject: Language Arts
Date:
Student Groupings
-

Time: 30 minutes

Individual

Outcomes

Make sentences
more descriptive
through
collaboration

8.3 experiment with language, appropriate to purpose, audience, and form, that enhances
meaning and
demonstrates imagination in writing and other ways of representing
9.1 create written and media texts, collaboratively and independently, in different modes and
in a variety of forms
10.1 develop a range of prewriting, drafting, revising, editing, proofreading, and presentation
strategies
10.2 demonstrate an understanding of many conventions of written language in final
products
10.5 select, organize, and combine relevant information from two or more sources to
construct and communicate meaning

Introduction to Students
-

Explain to students that they are going to practice writing descriptive sentences.
Give example to students of how to change a basic sentence into a descriptive sentence using 5 Ws as ideas.
Explain to students that the goal is to take the sentence at the top of their page, and make it more descriptive.

Procedure
-

Students will all begin with a larger and smaller handout.

Have them write their original sentences on the smaller handout, so they can remember which sheet is theirs.
Students will use the 5 Ws chart space provided to write words that would make the sentence more descriptive.
After students write a few ideas, they will lightly crumple their papers and throw them to the front of the room.
After snowballs are thrown, everyone picks one up, and adds to the descriptive words in the 5 Ws section.
After we do this a few times, students will retrieve their original sheets, and create a more descriptive sentence using
some of the descriptive words others added to their paper as ideas.

Conclusion
-

Show one as an example of how descriptive words can enhance a sentence.

Assessment
-

Collect snowball writing and assess their finished

sentence.

Reflection Notes

Snowball Descriptive Writing

Original Sentence:

Who

What

Where

When

Why

Snowball Descriptive Writing

Name:
Original Sentence:

New Sentence:

Snowball Descriptive Writing

Name:
Original Sentence:

New Sentence:

Snowball Descriptive Writing

Name:
Original Sentence:

New Sentence: