PREVIOUSLY: In Unit
11.2; we discussed about how to study and teach the sub topic “Analysing factual information from the media”
in Form Two.
In
This Unit 11.3; we will discuss how to study and teach the sub topic “Writing descriptive compositions/essays” in Form Three.
(Also: For Literature in English
Subject, Check out my Literature in English Blog. Also check out My Diary for Diary Writing Inspiration and More!
)
TOPIC’S INFORMATION
Main Topic: WRITING USING APPROPRIATE LANGUAGE CONTENT
AND STYLE
Sub topic: Writing descriptive compositions/essays.
Periods per sub topic: 14
Class: Form Three.
DESCRIPTION
OF THE SUB TOPIC.
Descriptive writing is the
type of writing that requires a writer to involve all of his or her five
senses; smell, touch, see, hear, and feel so that he/she can clearly describe
someone or a particular thing.
Describing something or
someone is the way to get to know them more precisely than before. Almost
everything can be described either in terms of its appearance or in terms of
its content.
THE
OBJECTIVE OF THE LESSON.
By the end of this sub topic,
the student should be able to write vivid descriptions of people/places and
events. The student should be able to use five senses of human beings in
writing various descriptions of things, situations and people.
TEACHING
AND LEARNING PROCEDURES, ACTIVITIES AND GAMES
- Step One: Introducing students to the sub
topic. This introduction is important because it helps students to get
to know what descriptive writing is about. First, to describe is to
explain something by giving its details. Descriptive writing is a
description of something. This description can be about a person, place,
thing, emotion or experience. The author has artistic freedom when writing
in descriptive form. Descriptive writing uses five human senses. The
writer of descriptive writing also uses descriptive and figurative
language, as well as concrete images to describe the subject. In this
sense, literary devices like similes and metaphors may be used as well.
Steps of writing a good descriptive essay.
This step involves
teacher introducing students to the steps of writing a good descriptive essay.
These steps are combined with the format of writing an essay that has been
introduced in this blog earlier. The following are the steps of writing a good
descriptive essay:
(i)
Choose a topic. A teacher may provide special
life aspects where students can choose their topics to write and specifically
writing in pairs or groups.
(ii)
Good introductory paragraph. After choose a
topic, a student plans a good introduction with the thesis statement in it. The
creation of the essay's introductory statement sets the writer forward.
(iii)
Put the senses together. This is a
descriptive essay, thus, there is a great use of sensory details and words that
will make the reader feel like he/she feeling, touching, tasting, seeing, and
smelling something. For example, the sentence like; 'We left the forest, and when we approached the village, we meet a
stranger wearing rags'. This sentence makes the reader feel as if he/she is
standing somewhere and watching the forest and the rough stranger.
(iv)
Creation of the essay outline. This is the stage
where the writer lists all the details or points of which he/she is going to
discuss in separate paragraphs. Each listed point will have its own paragraph
in the main body.
(v)
Drafting the main body of the essay. Now write the
essay by discussing the points you have outlined in essay outline. Use sensory
details to vividly discuss the points you outlined earlier.
(vi)
Write the conclusion. The conclusion makes a
summary, not mentioning of discussed points, of the entire essay and it
reaffirm the introductory statement of the essay. That's, it winds up what was
stated in the introduction with the connection to what has been discussed in
the body of an essay. It also suggests and give ways forward on the particular
issue.
(vii)
Reviewing your essay. The draft of any essay or
writing should be revised. Reviewing is important because 'no one is perfect'
to write all the way through without encountering some errors. When writing
assignments, home works, group works, or even individual works (not exams), it
is a good idea to a break for a short time, then come back to the essay and
take a look at it with some fresh eyes and energy. Put the changes you have
seen as you review your essay.
(viii) Finish it up. Read your essay again and check any errors for the last time. Then your essay is at a good shape now.
- Step Two: A teacher to present his/her
model compositions.
By using model compositions,
the teacher and students will discuss the features of a descriptive
composition/essay. The teacher should remind students that descriptive essay
has introduction, main body, and conclusion just like other common essays. The
main feature of descriptive essay is that it uses five human senses and
figurative language.
A teacher guides students to
the discussion of common topics in the societies so as to explore them and
write about them. Therefore, students are guided by the teacher to select
topics and brainstorm the main ideas or points of the selected topics. Here
students are guided to choose their topics basically basing on the following
common life aspects such as causes of poverty, gender issues, HIV/AIDS,
conflict resolution, road safety, early marriages, forced marriages, causes of
corruption, illiteracy, and killings of albinos.
TEACHER'S
MODEL DESCRIPTIVE ESSAY
Description
of a Place:
Karema
Village
(Descriptive essay using descriptive language and all human five senses).
Karema
is the village in Tanganyika District in Katavi Region. It is located on the
shores of Lake Tanganyika. This village is famous for its fishing activity and
its amazing beaches where people go to enjoy during various holiday seasons. As
you approach Karema, you can wonder to see unending sky. When you look at the
lake it is as if it has been attached with the sky. There is no clear line
between water and horizon. The following features make Karema village one of
the unique villages along the shores of Lake Tanganyika.
First,
during the good fishing season, fish are available in all forms. You can visit
one household and find either cooked, roasted or dried 'mikebuka'. People in
this village enjoy the availability of fish for their daily meals.
Second,
beside Karema High School, there is Ikola-Karema dusty road that goes directly
through Karema Village up to the shores of Lake Tanganyika. The School is built
on the feet of some hills where telephone poles have been installed. This road
helps to connect Karema village with other villages. It also simplifies
communications and businesses.
Beautiful
scenery. When you climb on hills behind Karema village, you can view a good
scenery of Lake Tanganyika including the beautiful houses, canoes packed like
sardines along the beach, long and beautiful sand beach, far Congo DRC
mountains, and amazing blue water as if touching the horizon of the sky.
It is
the land of ‘Mikebuka’ and ‘Dagaa’. When you decide to go into Karema Village
itself, your nose becomes hit by the amazing and sweet odour of the roasted and
fried fish famously known as 'Mikebuka'. And during the good fishing season,
there is the smell of fished 'mikebuka' and 'dagaa'. Really, when you are at
Karema, your appetite for fish is quenched and comes to an end because you will
be thoroughly satisfied.
Also,
it’s the Home of Kasomo Beach. When you walk through the village to the beach,
you can find changing sounds of waves that hit the sand and rocky beach.
Singing and beating of the waves sound great to the people especially visitors.
People like to hear those sounds. Kasomo Beach is one of the famous beaches on
the shores of Lake Tanganyika. Many people go there to swim and sunbathe on the
beach seats especially during the holiday season. Some people prefer to enjoy
the cool air inside 'Misonges' and others like to sit on the beach sands to
enjoy the coarseness, dryness, cleanness, and hotness of the beach sands. One
amazing thing about beach sands is that they do not make you dirty. Even
clothes are dried over the sands.
Generally,
Karema village is a blessed village that any visitor feels proud of it. It is
where one’s stress can be removed; it is where comfortability is with you
whenever you touch your feet on; and finally it is the land of no hunger. This
is Karema Village; the Home of Kasomo Beach!
- Step Three: Students write the first draft
in pairs or groups.
A teacher can guide
students to form groups or to be in pairs and write their first draft (rough
draft as they discuss) about the topic they have chosen.
- Step Four: Revision and editing stage.
In this stage,
students are guided to revise and edit their drafts while focusing on the
content of the topic selected. They should revise and edit their works in terms
of the content they have covered. Here they should make sure that they are on
track, and not out of the topic or subject matter.
- Step Five: Correction of spelling and
other mechanical errors.
This stage is where
students make sure their works are well punctuated. The teacher should guide
them to correct spelling errors and other mechanical errors in writing. Their
works should be free from irrelevant content, grammatical errors and mechanical
errors as well.
- Step Six: Presentation of the essays to
other groups.
This is the stage
where students check their works for themselves. The groups of students to
exchange their essays for comments by another group.
After exchanging
their works, these groups should use the comments given by their fellows about
their works in order to improve their works.
REFLECTION
Ask students to reflect on how
descriptions of the things and people help them to understand them.
ASSESSMENT
Assign students to write a
descriptive essay. Discuss with them to choose the topic or form groups and
each group choose the question to write a descriptive essay on it. Make sure
they choose a relevant question. Prepare a checklist for their works to be
marked.
SUMMARY/CONCLUSION
Oral or written descriptions
of something or someone are crucial in everyday lives. We may use our eyes to
see, our ears to listen, or our skins to touch, but description of the things
we don't know is very important. Take an example of the situation you may be in
when you are describing something to someone who has never come across the
particular thing. But through description this person can understand about the
thing.
The practice of writing
descriptive compositions lays the foundation to the creative writing for the
students. As we all know, when we read stories we are so thrilled with the
events which are descriptively written.
Generally, writers use the
descriptive essays in order to create a vivid picture of a person, place, or
thing.
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It also useful to help help students use the right tense. Descriptive writing are mostly written in present tense.
ReplyDeleteThat's true. Tenses are the most important ingredients in any composition. Thank you for this contribution.
ReplyDelete