Writing a description of a setting based on an image.

Hello and welcome to today's lesson.

My name is Mr. Young, and it is a pleasure to be teaching you on a lesson all about one of my favourite things, descriptive writing.

So let's get started.

So today's lesson has a very clear learning outcome, which is as follows.

So hopefully by the end of today's lesson, everybody should be able to do the following, which is, I can use a range of linked vocabulary choices and use punctuation accurately for effect.

And just as in any lesson, we have some very important words, which are our keywords.

So I do encourage you just to pause the video and jot these down, particularly if these are new to you.

'Cause we are going to be using these words quite a bit in today's lesson.

So let's see what they are.

Precise, marked by accuracy of expression or detail.

Atmosphere, the mood or feeling of a piece of writing.

So we could say a story has a spooky or romantic atmosphere for example.

Sensory imagery, descriptive writing that engages the reader's five senses.

Sentence types.

Categories of sentences, dependent on number and placement of clauses.

And finally, tension.

A feeling of being on edge as if something bad is going to happen.

So if you've ever read a particularly scary novel or a thriller novel and you felt so excited and kind of on the edge of your seat about what is gonna happen next, then you are feeling tension.

So I do encourage you just to keep your eyes peeled for these 'cause we are going to be revisiting these again and again in today's lesson.

So today's lesson will have two very clear learning cycles and they are as follows.

So learning cycle one is all about precise sensory imagery.

So you may have written sensory imagery before, but it's okay if you haven't.

What we're gonna focus on in this learning cycle is all about making that sensory imagery as precise as possible.

And what I mean by that is using the best possible words to achieve the best possible effects.

And then I'm super excited for learning cycle two, which is all about advanced punctuation and sentence structures.

So punctuation and grammar are not usually things we associate with creative writing, but I'm super excited to teach you how they can make your creative writing as engaging as possible.

So let's get started.

So a great starting point for any description can be sensory imagery.

So sensory imagery is descriptive writing that engages the reader's five senses of sound, taste, touch, sight, and smell.

And you may wish to just pause the video now just to think about what senses are currently being engaged.

So what sounds can you hear? Maybe you can hear something far off from your classroom or bedroom or wherever you happen to be working.

What are the sights you can see? And even the sensations that you're feeling at the moment.

Is there a cool breeze from your window? Can you feel the kind of hard chair, the hard desk, your feet on the floor, for example.

Sensory imagery is all around us and it's really important that we tap into it when we are writing our creative pieces.

So our first discussion question four today then please.

So do you think you rely on one sense more than any others when writing sensory imagery? So pause that video, have a quick discussion, and then do push play when you'd like to continue.

Okay, what a fantastic start.

Really impressed by everyone's enthusiastic responses to that.

So let's keep that going throughout today's lesson.

So I heard lots of people saying that maybe they rely on sight, and I think this is definitely something I see as a teacher.

I read lots of fantastic descriptions, but they are predominantly focusing on the sense of sight, kind of ignoring the other four.

So this lesson is hopefully going to change that.

So we have this fantastic image on the board in front of us, this kind of dystopian world, this futuristic world.

It looks like something kind of bad has happened, isn't it? Some kind of disaster of some kind.

And this is the image that we are going to be using throughout today's lesson.

So another quick discussion question for me then please.

So if you are writing a description of this scene, how could you focus on the five senses? Really interested to see how you get on with this one.

So pause that video, have a discussion, or just jot down some ideas if you're working independently, and then do push plate when you would like to continue.

Okay, once again, some lovely discussions taking place there.

And I agree this is actually a really rich image, isn't it? It's really vivid.

There's lots of fantastic things we could use in our description.

Well done for picking up so many.

So the things that really jumped out on me were as follows.

So if I was looking at taste, I think that kind of acrid smoke is something that we could really focus on.

Acrid means bitter.

If something is acrid, it's bitter, or we could potentially elevate it even further and talk about the taste of something abstract.

So if something is abstract, it doesn't have a physical presence.

So we could talk about the taste of fear potentially, or the taste of desperation.

Things that could certainly apply to a kind of desperate image like this.

If we were looking at smell, we could potentially talk about the pollution, or the smoke.

You know, that comes across quite a lot, doesn't it? It looks like there's some kind of environmental collapse here and I think that could really lend itself well to our sensory imagery.

So we could talk about the smell of the pollution, the smell of the smoke, or again, we could talk about something abstract in this case panic.

The smell of panic, potentially, how the people are reacting in this scene.

We've also got touch.

We could focus on the cold, or the crunch of the gravel on the foot, or potentially the ragged clove that your character or characters might be wearing in this scene.

Once again, this does not look like an affluent rich kind of setting.

So people would probably be wearing rags, or it would be certainly be underdeveloped in this way.

Sound.

What could we do for sound? Well, I've gone for distant alarms. We could do collapsing buildings, or even whispered voices kind of hinting that something is not quite right in this scene.

Potentially something bad has quite happened.

And then finally, sight.

We could talk about the grey clouds, we could talk about the dilapidated buildings, we could talk about the endless smoke and decay.

So as you can see, there are lots of options available to us when we are thinking about sensory imagery.

And what I've been picking up on so many in your own work.

Okay, so Andeep wrote the following description after seeing the picture.

And this is what Andeep wrote.

He said, "In the desolate dystopian world, the air tastes metallic and stale.

A chilling breeze carries the touch of ash, brushing against the skin like whispers of the past.

The once vibrant cityscape now stands as a silent witness to destruction, with the sights of derelict buildings and scattered rubble.

The distant echoes of footsteps are punctuated by the occasional creaking of crumbling structures.

The acrid smell of pollution lingers in the air, assaulting the senses and adding to the overall grim atmosphere." So I have to say that is a fantastic piece of writing from Andeep.

I think he really captures the kind of tone of that image.

It really comes across that he's describing that image and it is a really engaging piece of work.

However, that said, there are still some targets that Andeep could have.

So currently Andeep uses sensory imagery in his description and uses some really nice vocabulary.

However, Andeep's description reads a bit like a checklist and doesn't feel cohesive.

It kind of feels like he's ticking off each of the senses as he goes.

And that kind of takes away a little bit from the quality of Andeep's work.

So we could suggest some amendments.

Instead, Andeep could use more precise language, and use his sensory imagery to create a wider atmosphere.

So Andeep could pick a particular atmosphere of desperation, of decay, of panic, and he could use his sensory imagery to support that.

So let's take a look at what that could look like in practise.

So we have an amended version of Andeep's paragraph.

So let's read it again.

The air hangs heavy with the taste of metallic bitterness, a remnant of a world long past its prime.

The touch of the atmosphere is a chilling caress carrying with it the powdery residue of ash that settles on the skin like the ghostly fingerprints of an apocalypse.

The once majestic buildings, now reduced to skeletal remains, cast eerie shadows against the backdrop of a leaden sky filled with ominous great clouds.

The symphony of despair is composed of distant footsteps and the occasional groans and creaks of structures surrendering to decay.

The acrid smell of pollution permeates the desolation of sorting the senses and leaving an indelible mark on the collective memory of a world that once thrived.

So wow, what a great improvement from Andeep's work there.

I think you can really see how he's elevated his work.

And particularly you can see how he's done it.

So Andeep has used more precise language to create an atmosphere of despair and loss in his writing.

So rather than just kind of arbitrarily chucking in all of these kind of pieces of sensory imagery, what Andeep has done is pick a specific tone, a specific atmosphere of loss and despair, and use his sensory imagery to support that.

So all the bits in purple we can see are really good examples of Andeep including that in his writing.

So well done Andeep.

Okay, quick check for understanding for me then please.

So all sensory imagery is equally effective.

Is that true of false? Hit that pause button, have a go, and then push play when you would like to continue.

Okay, it is of course false.

And well done if you are able to identify that.

But let's try and justify that answer.

Let's try and make it a little bit more tricky.

So how could we justify that that is in fact false? Is it A, the best sensory imagery is precise and contributes to atmosphere.

Or is it B, the best sensory imagery must include all five senses to be truly effective.

Once again, hit that pause button, have a go, and then push play when you'd like to see the correct answer.

Okay, it is of course A.

And well done to everybody who identified that.

The best sensory imagery is precise and contributes to the atmosphere that we create.

So we can pick any atmosphere that we want, but we want our sensory imagery to support that.

We don't want it to just be kind of random examples of what we can see, taste, touch, et cetera.

We want to underpinned by a clear atmosphere.

So well done if you're able to pick up on that.

Okay, over to you then, our first practise task is upon us.

I'm super excited to see how you get on with this one.

So you have exactly the same image that Andeep had for his piece of writing, and I would like you to do the following.

So using this image as inspiration, write the opening to a story set in the future.

So it's just the opening, and it's set in the future.

Crucially though, I would like you to do the following, you need to write the the opening paragraph for the task above using sensory imagery to create an atmosphere of fear.

So all of your examples of sensory imagery have to be there to support that atmosphere of fear.

And you have a vocabulary bank there to support you.

So the words in that vocabulary bank are as follows, unsettling, acrid, remnants, lingering, demise and paranoia.

So I'm gonna be honest, I think this is a really challenging task.

I think this is really, really difficult to create an atmosphere of fear using sensory imagery.

But I absolutely believe that you can do it and I'm super excited to see how you get on.

So pause that video, and then complete this task and then do push play when you'd like to see a little bit of feedback.

Okay, great job on that.

What a fantastic effort to a very challenging task.

I'm super impressed that all of the effort that you've put in so far.

So here's how you could have approached this task.

Let's see how we could have written an opening to that story with an atmosphere of fear.

So, in this unsettling new reality, fear saturates the air, a bitter premonition lingering on my tongue.

Each step sends shivers through my skin, a tactile dance with the pervasive dread that clings to the desolate streets.

The skeletal remnants of once majestic buildings cast grotesque shadows against the leaden sky, their decaying facades whispering tales of unspeakable horrors.

The unsettling silence is pierced by distant other worldly sounds, intensifying the paranoia that coils around my senses.

The acrid stench of decay infiltrates my nostrils, a nauseating perfume of demise, amplifying the fear coursing through my veins as I navigate the ruins of a world consumed by its own nightmares.

So what a great piece of writing, and hopefully you've been able to create something similar.

It may be a good idea just to pause the video now, just to go through your piece of work or a partner's piece of work, and think about where exactly those sensory imagery examples have been included.

Okay, fantastic effort in this lesson so far.

I'm super impressed at all the hard work I'm seeing.

So let's keep that going into learning cycle two.

So quick discussion question to kick us off in learning cycle two then please.

So can you recall the different sentence types? So what are the different sentence types? So pause the video, have a quick discussion or jot down some ideas if you're working independently.

And then do push play when you'd like to continue.

Okay, once again, fantastic start to this lesson.

I'm hearing lots of different sentence types flying around the classroom, which is fantastic to see.

There are quite a lot of them, aren't there? So let's recap exactly what they are.

So we have complex sentences, compound sentences, short sentences, imperative sentences, interrogative sentences, exclamatory sentences and declarative sentences.

So it's worth mentioning there are more sentence types than these, but these are the ones that are particularly helpful for our creative writing.

So varying our sentence types and even our sentence structure, and what we mean by that is where we put a subordinate clause for example, will make our writing vivid and engaging.

We can use different sentence types to achieve different effects.

A common mistake students sometimes make is by just repetitively using the same sentence types kind of compound, complex, compound, complex.

This can make our writing seem a bit kind of dreary, a bit boring.

So we want to mix that up as much as possible.

Okay, so let's see how we could apply this to our futuristic story.

So we are looking at that image once again, that kind of dystopian image.

So Andeep has continued his piece of writing.

So he has said, "In this haunting reality, a mysterious figure materialises from the shadows, their presence amplifying the pervasive dread.

As we lock our eyes, a chilling stillness descends, broken only by the distant haunting echoes.

The strangers voice laced with fear, pierces the silence demanding, "What madness brought you here." So again, a really great piece of writing from Andeep, I think that continues his story really nicely and you're gonna get an opportunity to do that later on in this lesson.

But what we are gonna focus on right now, are the sentence types that Andeep is using, or potentially could use to develop that piece of writing.

So Andeep wants to continue his story by raising the tension and showing his character is on edge.

What sentence structures might be appropriate for this? Tricky question this one.

Really excited to see how you get on.

So pause the video, have a quick discussion, and then do push play when you would like to continue.

Okay, absolutely.

You've absolutely nailed it.

It is short sentences.

So Andeep could add short sentences which build tension and add pace, And also exclamatory sentences potentially.

And I heard that one as well, perhaps in dialogue which show the character's fear.

So let's see how those sentence types have elevated Andeep's work.

So Andeep's story now reads, "In this haunting reality, a mysterious figure materialises from the shadows, their presence amplifying the pervasive dread.

As we lock eyes, a chilling stillness descends, broken only by the distant haunting echoes.

The stranger's voice laced with fear, pierces the silence demanding, "What madness brought you here?" I stare into the wide-eyed terror.

I struggle to find words caught in a shared nightmare amidst the skeletal ruins of our unravelling world.

The air tightens.

The distant sounds crescendo.

Then the stranger says it.

"By the gods, we're not alone." So hopefully you can see just how much those two sentence types have elevated Andeep's work.

Okay then quick check for understanding for me then please.

So, John wishes to quicken the pace of his story and introduce more tension.

So what would be an appropriate sentence structure to achieve this? So hit that pause button, have a quick discussion or jot down some ideas if you're working independently, and then do push play when you'd like to continue.

Okay, excellent work on that and well on to everybody who identified it as a, short sentences.

Short sentences can be really, really effective in quickening the pace of our story and therefore adding just a little bit more tension.

Well done to everyone who was able to pick up on that.

So now let's move on to advanced punctuation.

And let's start by recapping some of the advanced punctuation we can use in our creative writing.

So we have a semicolon, a colon, and ellipsis and brackets.

So let's remind ourselves of what the purpose of each of these pieces of punctuation is.

So a semicolon or a semicolon can separate two clauses.

A colon can introduce a list or explanation.

An ellipsis can represent a pause, or something left unsaid.

And finally brackets can include extra information in a sentence.

These are not the only things these things can do, but they are kind of common things that these pieces of punctuation can do, particularly for our creative writing.

So over to you then please.

So a discussion question for me.

Can you think of any examples of how you could use these punctuation types in our futuristic stories? Can you think of any example sentences, or fragments of a story that could use these pieces of punctuation? So pause the video, have a go, and then push play when you'd like to continue.

Okay, great job on that task, and that is gonna be really helpful for the practise task that we are going to complete shortly.

So well done for all of your fantastic work on that.

So let's take a look.

A semicolon, an example could be the building fell; the dust rose.

So that semicolon is useful because the two clauses are related in some way the dust is rising because the building has fallen.

Let's look at a colon.

The city was dead: cold, grey and unresponsive.

Really good example there of listing to describe the city.

Ellipsis.

They fought, they were alone.

So a really good example of an ellipsis there showing something unsaid or a pause that certainly builds tension in that story.

We wanna know what happens next.

We wanna know why they're not alone.

And finally brackets.

The road (once flawless) was now a broken disaster.

So a really good example of brackets there, kind of adding a bit more detail about our scene, adding a bit more detail, a bit more colour about where the story is taking place.

Okay.

So using advanced punctuation effectively can help us heighten emotion, change the pace or add emphasis.

It can do all of those things and really elevate our writing.

Okay, quick check for understanding for me then please.

So which of the blow can advance punctuation help us achieve? Is it develop a character? Is it heighten emotion? Is it change the pace? Is it describe a setting? And I'll give you a clue.

It is more than one of those things.

So which ones apply in that instance? So pause the video, have a quick go, and then push play when you'd like to continue.

Okay, really great job if you identified it as B and C, they can help us heighten emotion, and they can help us change the pace.

Okay, so it is back over to you then for your practise task.

So what is really nice about this practise task is you get to continue that piece of writing you started in task A.

So once again we've got this kind of fantastic picture, this kind of desolate landscape we have on the board in front of us.

And your task is as follows, I would like you to continue your futuristic story inspired by this image.

However, ensure you use a variety of sentence types, and advance punctuation to add tension.

So I want you to add attention to this story.

Remember what we spoke about at the very beginning, it is all about kind of feeling on edge as if something bad is going to happen.

That is what I want you to put into your story.

So as a quick recap, our sentence types are, complex sentences, compound sentences, short sentences, imperative sentences, interrogative sentences, exclamatory sentences and declarative sentences.

And our advanced punctuation is semicolon, colon, ellipses, and brackets.

So I don't want you to use all of these things.

Don't feel like you have to use every sentence type and every punctuation type, but it would be great if you could use as many as possible, particularly to heighten the tension.

So once again, really excited to see how you got on with this.

I think you'll have a fantastic piece of writing at the end of this practise task.

So do pause the video, and push play when you'd like to see some feedback.

Okay, great job.

You should be super proud of all you've achieved.

You now have a fantastic opening or more than an opening really, of a really nice piece of descriptive writing using sensory imagery.

So let's do a little bit of feedback.

So I would like you to now self-review your work.

Have you used examples of the following? Have you used examples of those sentence types that we have spoken about throughout today's lesson? And have you used examples of semicolon, colon, ellipses and brackets? So do pause the video, have a quick self-review and if there is anything you are not using consistently, do not worry at all because that could be a really nice target for next time.

Okay, we have made it to the end of today's lesson.

My goodness, you have worked incredibly hard today and you have achieved an awful lot.

So let's remind ourselves of all of those fantastic things that we have learned.

So to plan a description of setting, consider using the five senses.

Select precise verbs and nouns that help to create a semantic field or overall.

Use advanced punctuation and varied sentence structures to heighten emotion, add emphasis or change pace.

And finally, use precise sensory imagery to contribute to an overall atmosphere.

It's been an absolute pleasure to teach you today and I really look forward to teaching you on another lesson in this sequence.

So thank you very much and goodbye.