Lesson video

Hi, everyone.

My name is Ms. Voyle, and welcome to this writing lesson where you are going to be developing and writing descriptive sentences about your special item.

For this lesson, you need to be listening and looking carefully.

You need your thinking brain.

You're going to need to be really imaginative and creative with your descriptive words, and then you will be writing your descriptive sentences, so you will need a piece of paper and a pencil or pen.

I hope you are feeling excited to learn because I am really excited to teach you this lesson.

Let's get started.

The learning outcome for today's lesson is, I can write descriptive sentences about a special item.

Here are our keywords for today's lesson.

Let's practise saying them.

My turn.

Your turn.

Colour.

Simile.

Compare.

Adjective.

We'll be hearing these words lots throughout our lesson and looking at their meaning.

There are two parts to today's lesson.

In the first part, we will be preparing to write.

And in the second part, you'll be writing descriptive sentences about your special item.

So let's begin with preparing to write.

The special item in "The Proudest Blue" is the hijab.

The hijab is worn by some Muslim women as an expression of their Islamic faith.

The colour of Asiya's hijab is of huge importance in the story.

It is used to communicate the beauty, strength, and normality of the hijab.

The author, Ibtihaj Muhammad, achieves this by stating what the hijab is not.

This communicates its unique importance.

You can communicate the special nature of an item through the use of precise adjectives to describe it.

What adjectives could you use to describe a special item? You might say it's unique, magical, memorable, precious, cherished, favourite, or rare.

When these adjectives are used to describe a noun, it communicates that that noun is very special.

Let's check your understanding.

Which of the following adjectives would communicate the special nature of an item.

A, lovely.

B, cherished.

C, unique.

D, green.

Pause the video and select your answers now.

The answers are B and C, cherished and unique.

If something is cherished, it means that you hold very special meaning for it and it's very important to you.

And if something is unique, it means there's nothing else like it, so it's very special.

Colour as an adjective alone is a simple form of description, so green by itself wouldn't communicate that that item is special.

However, there are ways to communicate special meaning through colour, which we will look at next.

Colours can be used to describe and represent ideas, objects, and feelings in powerful ways.

There are two key ways we can achieve this when describing our special item: using adjectives to describe the colour and similes to compare the object to something else of the same colour.

We can use a range of adjectives to describe the colour and create vivid imagery for the reader.

This means that they will be able to create an image of what you are describing in their mind.

Adjectives can describe shade or intensity of a colour and they can communicate feelings about a colour.

There are general adjectives that we can use for colour, such as bold, bright, electric, glistening, vibrant, dark.

You might use these adjectives to describe a range of different colours depending on their shade and appearance.

And then there are adjectives that are specific to a colour.

For example, if we wanted to specifically describe the colour green, we might use the following adjectives: emerald, lime, olive, turquoise, leafy, mint.

All of these words describe the shade of green and provide rich imagery for the reader.

Let's check your understanding.

Discuss with your partner adjectives you could use to describe the following specific colours.

A, red.

B, white.

C, brown.

Sometimes it helps to think of other items you know that are these colours and you can turn them into adjectives.

Pause the video and discuss with your partner now.

I loved hearing your ideas.

Let's look over some answers together.

For red, I heard burning, fiery, scarlet, crimson rose, flaming, hot.

These different adjectives used to describe red might provoke a different type of imagery in the reader's mind.

It provides greater detail because it's precise.

For white, I heard snow, pearl, chalky, frosted, pale, cream, milk.

And for brown, I heard chocolate, tanned, dusky, coffee, toasted, chestnut.

These were all wonderful examples and I am sure that you have many more.

In "The Proudest Blue", the author uses similes to compare Asiya's blue hijab to other things.

Asiya's blue hijab is compared to some of the world's most powerful natural elements, like the skies and the sea, which are also blue.

This communicates the beauty, strength, and normality of Asiya's hijab, just like the sky and the sea.

The sky and the sea are big, powerful, normal parts of our world that hold such beauty, and the author makes this comparison to help people view the hijab in the same way.

A simile is a linguistic device that compares two things using the word like or the word as, which highlights similarities and creates vivid imagery for the reader.

Let's check your understanding.

What is a simile? A, a linguistic device that compares to show similarities.

B, a linguistic device that makes the reader laugh.

Or C, a linguistic device that compares to show differences.

Pause the video and select your answer now.

The answer is A.

Well done.

A simile is a linguistic device that compares to show similarities.

So we know what a simile is, we know that it compares two things, and it does this by using the words like or as to highlight the similarities between two things.

Similes create vivid imagery by evoking the reader's senses.

Here are some examples.

My book is orange like the sunset.

Have a little think.

Which of your senses is that evoking? This simile evokes the reader's sight.

It helps them imagine what it looks like.

My bracelet jangles like chimes in the wind.

Which sense is being evoked here? This is evoking the reader's sense of sound.

They can imagine what the bracelet jangling sounds like.

My blanket is as soft as a feather.

Which sense is being evoked here? This evokes the sense of touch.

You can imagine what the blanket feels like and how soft it is because of the comparison.

And my favourite jumper is as colourful as a rainbow.

Another simile evoking the sense of sight helping you to imagine what it looks like.

Let's check your understanding.

Read the following model.

Can you spot where I have used the following things? A, precise adjectives.

And B, similes.

And remember, a simile uses the words like or as to compare.

I will read this to you now.

My favourite is not just any book.

Its cover is a faded shade of burnt orange.

It is like the sun saying goodnight, ready to be opened again the next day.

Its pages are as worn as a well trodden shoe.

My book is cherished because it has been with me for as long as I can remember.

Pause the video and search for the precise adjectives and similes now.

Well done.

You were so good at spotting these.

Let's highlight the precise adjectives first.

Faded shade of burnt orange.

I could have just said the cover was orange, but I was really precise in terms of explaining and describing just what it looked like by saying it was a faded shade of burnt orange.

Cherished.

This adjective communicates really precisely how special and important the book is.

Like the sun saying goodnight.

This is a simile.

It implies that when the book closes, it's like the sun going down at night.

And as worn as a well trodden shoe.

This is another simile which describes the pages being so worn.

That lets you know that the book is really well read.

It's time for your first task and it's a talk task where you are going to orally rehearse your descriptive sentences about your special item.

Say the first few descriptive sentences about your special item and use the following structure.

You all have the same first sentence stem.

All of your first sentences will begin my and that's where you'll put the name of your item.

So you will say my is not just a and you'll put the name of your item again.

This is to communicate that it's not just what it.

So my book is not just any old book.

Feel free to play with the words slightly.

Then your second sentence needs to describe the colour of your item, or another aspect of its appearance, but hopefully you can use the colour because that will really help you with your similes.

And your third sentence needs to be a simile, comparing your item to something else.

You can choose a simile that evokes any of the reader's senses.

But if you've been really descriptive about the colour of your item, then you should think of other objects or things that are the same colour that you could compare it to.

Pause the video and orally rehearse your sentences now.

I am so impressed with how well you orally rehearsed your sentences.

I could hear so many precise adjectives and such wonderful similes.

It really helped to create vivid imagery in my mind of what your special items looked like.

I am going to share an example I heard now.

My cap is not just any hat.

This communicates that the cap is special.

It's not like all the other hats.

It is a deep olive green and it knows the shape of my head.

This describes the colour with really precise adjectives, helping to create vivid imagery.

And it lets us know that this cap has probably been owned a long time because it knows the shape of the owner's head.

The two possible similes for this were.

It is like a protective shield that keeps me warm.

Here, the simile uses the word like to compare.

And the other example was it is as protective as a shield.

This simile uses the word as to compare.

We now know that the owner of the hat feels protected by their hat, like somebody would feel protected by a shield.

It's now time for the most exciting part of our lesson where you are going to get to write your descriptive sentences.

When we write, we always try to do these things.

Plan and say each sentence before we write it.

Use punctuation where we know the rules.

Showcase each sentence type we know.

Write letters neatly on the line in joined handwriting.

Use spelling strategies to spell words accurately.

And check and improve our writing when we think we have finished.

Here is the success criteria for your writing today.

I have described the colour or appearance of my special item.

I have used a similarly to compare my special item to something appropriate.

I have used precise and descriptive vocabulary.

I am going to share with you a model write of the first few sentences about a special item, and then I'm going to need your help checking these sentences against the success criteria to check that it included everything it needed to.

My trainers are not just shoes.

They are royal blue with dashes of glistening silver.

They flash like lightning when I stamp.

They let me run as fast as a cheetah.

My trainers are precious because they have taken me on journeys.

Pause the video now and check these sentences against the success criteria with your partner.

See if you can spot where and how the sentences meet the success criteria.

You are checking that the colour or appearance of the item has been described, that there is a simile to compare, and that there is precise and descriptive vocabulary.

Pause the video and discuss now.

Well done, you were so good at checking this writing and spotting how it met the success criteria.

Now let's check it off together.

For I have described the colour or appearance of my special item.

The second sentence says they are royal blue, that's the colour, with dashes of glistening silver.

Even more information about the colour and appearance, so we can check that first point.

For I have used a simile to compare my special item to something appropriate.

It says they flash like lightning when I stamp.

This compares the way the trainers flash to lightning using the word like.

The next sentence also includes a simile.

It says they let me run as fast as a cheetah, so we can definitely tick that second point.

And for I have used precise and descriptive vocabulary.

There are lots of examples of that in here.

Royal blue is precise and descriptive because it describes what shade of blue, and glistening silver is descriptive because it adds even more detail to what type of silver it was.

Precious is also a very precise adjective.

It communicates how special the trainers are, so we can tick that one.

It's now time for your writing task.

Write three to four descriptive sentences about your special item.

Use the success criteria to help you structure your writing.

Your first sentence should follow this structure.

My.

is not just a.

This immediately lets the reader know that your item is special.

Then you need to describe the colour or appearance.

Include a simile, and ensure you use precise and descriptive vocabulary throughout.

Pause the video and do your writing task now.

Well done for all of your hard work producing wonderfully descriptive sentences about your special item.

I am going to share my descriptive sentences about my sewing box now, and we'll look at how it meets the success criteria together.

My sewing box is not just a box.

The inside of my sewing box is shades of oceanic blue.

It is like a sea ready to be explored.

The threads I sew are as colourful as coral reefs.

My sewing box is magical because it nurtures my creativity.

So for I have described the colour or appearance of my special item.

My second sentence says, the inside of my sewing box is shades of oceanic blue, so I can tick that first box.

For I have used a simile to compare my special item to something appropriate.

It says, it is like a sea ready to be explored, and it compares the threads inside by saying they are as colourful as coral reefs.

So there are two similes in there, so I can tick that one.

And for I have used precise and descriptive vocabulary.

The way I described the colour was very precise and descriptive.

Shades of oceanic blue, hopefully that helped you picture the different shades that you see in the sea, and the word magical effectively communicated how special the item is, and so that is very precise and descriptive too, so we can tick that last box.

It's now time for you to read over your writing and check it against the success criteria to make sure it includes everything need.

Pause the video and do that now.

Well done for checking your writing and reflecting on it.

Hopefully you were able to tick off all the boxes in the success criteria.

You may have needed to make a few changes first, and that's okay too.

We've now come to the end of our lesson, so let's go over a summary together.

The colour blue is referred to repeatedly throughout the story of "The Proudest Blue," and it is part of what makes Asiya's hijab special to her.

The author states what the hijab isn't as a way of communicating its special nature.

Colours can be used to represent ideas, objects, and feelings.

Precise adjectives can enhance the description of colours and nouns, and similes can be used to compare two things using the words like or as.

Well done for all of your hard work and wonderful creativity in this writing lesson.

I have loved hearing and reading all about your special items and I have really enjoyed teaching you this lesson.