Lesson video

Hi, there.

Thank you so much for turning up to my lesson today.

I know it's gonna be a good one because now you are here.

In this lesson, I'm going to be taking you through the linguistic features of descriptive writing.

Now, if you think you are ready, give me a big thumbs up, and then we can get started.

Good job.

Let's get started then.

Today's lesson outcome is I can identify and explain linguistic features of descriptive writing.

Here are the key words that you'll need to know for today.

My turn to say them, and then your turn.

Descriptive, figurative language.

Let's break that one up.

Figurative language.

Simile.

Personification.

Let's do that one again, personification.

Well done.

You said those excellently.

Descriptive language is language that creates a clear picture for the reader, and that is often found in fiction texts.

Figurative language is the use of simile and personification to paint vivid pictures for the reader in their minds.

A simile is a linguistic device that compares two things using like or as, often highlighting similarities to create vivid imagery.

And personification is a linguistic device that gives human characteristics to non-human objects to create vivid imagery.

In this lesson, you are going to be creating vivid imagery, and then you are going to be looking at figurative language.

Let's start on the first part of the lesson, creating vivid imagery.

Descriptive writing is a style of writing that gives the reader detailed and vivid descriptions of people, places, objects, or events.

And it keeps saying the word vivid because that's crucial, that's pivotal to descriptive writing.

Vivid just means that the person who is reading the writing can really, really picture something in their minds clearly.

The main purpose of descriptive writing is to create an image or images in the reader's mind because they need to picture each of the things that the writer is describing.

Now, descriptive writing is often used in fiction texts that tell stories.

Here is an example of a text that tells a story.

This one is called "Race to the Frozen North." "Race to the Frozen North" is based on a true story of Matthew Henson.

He was the first man to reach the North Pole.

However, through his life, he was discriminated against and his achievements were not recognised because of the colour of his skin.

Another fiction text that I thought you might be interested in is "Twitch." Now Twitch is a fun adventure book featuring a wonderful young boy who has found his passion in life, birds.

He loves looking after them, and he wants to work with them when he's older.

He has good head on his shoulders, he's caring, loyal, and helpful.

This engaging and uplifting tale about friendship, trust, and the wonder of nature is beautifully written.

It's seamlessly interwoven with an intriguing detective story.

It has a thrilling finale and is an absolute joy to read.

So I hope you have a chance to read that.

This book, "Son of the Circus: A Victorian Story" is based on real people and his historical events.

"Son of the Circus" is a tale of triumph, perseverance, fitting in, and standing out in the crowd.

With a real feel of Victorian Britain, the story deals delicately with the experience of being a person of colour in the latter part of the 19th century.

And finally, I wanted to talk about this book, this fiction text called "Finding Bear." And this book is actually a sequel to "The Last Bear." So Hannah Gold, who wrote "The Last Bear," wrote this one after.

This book is exquisitely written and enthralling, which follows April, who's the main character, the protagonist in this story.

You can see her on the bear there.

It follows April's journey to Svalbard.

So Svalbard is a place, as you can see, in the Arctic.

So begins an unforgettable journey across the frozen tundra and through glaciers.

But in Svalbard, April discovers more than she bargained for, a baby polar bear cub desperately in need of her help.

April must navigate the dangerous Arctic terrain and find her deepest fears if she's to save him.

"Finding Bear" is a stunning story of survival and hope that reminds us how change is made from the smallest beginnings and asks how far we are prepared to go to protect what we love.

Four stunning fiction texts there that tell incredible stories using descriptive writing.

So let's do a quick check for understanding.

What text type can descriptive writing most often be found in? Is it a, newspaper reports, b, chronological reports, c, stories and narratives, or d, explanations? Pause the video and have a think about what the answer is.

Okay, let's have a look.

It's definitely not newspaper reports or non-chronological reports.

So yes, stories and narratives, and it's not in explanations.

These are two features of descriptive writing.

Sensory details and precise and ambitious vocabulary.

Sensory details engage the reader's five senses.

So the reader's sight, what they can see, what they can hear.

So sound, taste.

Perhaps they can taste the environment.

Touch, the things that they can touch, and smell.

So there they are.

Sight, let's go over them again, sound, taste, touch, and smell.

Which of these are senses that help to create vivid imagery? Is it sight? Is it your balance? Is it sound, or is it touch, or are there a few there? Pause the video and have a think about what the answer is.

Okay, so the answers are, answers, so more than one.

Sight, sound, and touch.

Well done.

And descriptive writing is all about conveying.

That means telling the reader or letting the reader have a clear and vivid image of the character or scene.

This includes using ambitious adjective, verbs, and adverbs.

Here is an ambitious adjective that I'd like you to learn.

So let's do a little bit of my turn, your turn.

Blustery.

Your turn.

Blustery.

Well done.

So blustery means windy or blowing noisily, just like you can see in that picture.

It is a blustery day.

The second word is howl.

Your turn.

Howl.

It means to cry or wail.

The next word is incessantly.

Again, incessantly.

And that means endlessly or nonstop.

It was raining incessantly.

True or false? Descriptive writing uses basic, simple language.

Pause the video and have a think about whether this is true or false.

Okay, so the answer is false.

It's definitely false.

Descriptive writing uses ambitious and rich vocabulary to create vivid imagery, or descriptive writing relies on simplified vocabulary to create vivid imagery.

Definitely not simplified vocabulary.

We've talked about how we need to include ambitious and rich adjectives, verbs, and adverbs to create vivid imagery.

Now, expanded noun phrases help to paint vivid pictures.

An expanded noun phrase is an adjective, an adjective, and then the noun.

Vivid pictures are often written with sensory-rich descriptions.

For example, in this expanded noun phrase, we might say, blustery, comma, electrifying weather.

Howling, comma, incessant wind.

Screams of howling, incessant wind tore through Aisha's city just like the fear that tore through her heart.

Doesn't that really help to create a vivid and rich picture in your mind? Let's look at this sentence again.

Screams of howling, incessant wind tore through Aisha's city just like the fear that tore through her heart.

Imagining colours that we want our reader to see in our description helps us to choose and pick the right vocabulary carefully.

So we can imagine a colour scale.

This will help us to do that.

So you can see, we start with blue, and we work our way through to green, yellow, orange, and then finally, red.

In the example screams of howling, incessant wind tore through Aisha's city just like the fear that tore through her heart, the words howling, and incessant, and tore through, and the words the fear, they all paint a really negative picture.

It makes you feel scared for Aisha.

So that's, on the scale, we would say that it's more of the orangey and red colours that we want our readers to kind of imagine when they read those words.

So it's roughly there.

Let's now generate expanded noun phrases for this scene.

So we've got a wonderful woodland scene.

I want you to think about what mood this might create if you are just looking at the photo.

So in the scene you can see there's sunlight, there are trees, branches, leaves, the forest floor.

Perhaps you might see or smell flowers.

And then you might hear birds, and you might feel the dew on the leaves or taste, perhaps.

So all of these nouns here could be related to the five senses.

So these are the nouns that you might hear, see, smell, touch, and taste.

I'm going to choose for what I can hear, the birds.

What I can see is the sun.

What I can smell are flowers.

What I can feel are the trees.

And what I'm going to taste is the dew.

And now we are going to create a positive image.

So let's paint some blue colours for the reader.

Bluey, greeny.

Let's create some expanded noun phrases for what we can hear, see, smell, taste, touch.

Okay, so I've chosen birds for what we can hear.

So I'm going to have adjective, comma, adjective, birds.

I need to be thinking about what adjectives I can use.

And then for what I can see with the sun, adjective, comma, adjective, sun.

And then I think I'm gonna extend that by using that the sun, the mm-mm sun that, okay? And then for flowers, adjective, comma, adjective, flowers.

Touch, I might change to leaves or I might have trees.

Adjective, comma, adjective, leaves or trees.

And then I've got adjective, comma, adjective, dew that tasted like, okay.

So those are the things that I'm going to have in my head for when I do, and I do, we do.

So let me show you how I'm gonna do it.

First, remember, on that colour scale, I'm choosing vocabulary that's going to create a positive, calming, happy feel for the reader because that is what the picture shows.

So for sound, I can hear cheerful, tweeting birds.

I think that's creating a positive image for the reader.

And then for what I can see, I'm going to say the warm, inviting sun that welcomed us into the forest.

So again, I'm choosing warm and inviting, and the words welcome.

They all create a positive image for the reader.

Now you are going to have a go at choosing two adjectives for what you can smell, for what you can touch, and for what you can taste.

Are you ready? Pause the video and have a go at using these sentence scaffolds there to help you to create your expanded noun phrases.

Okay, let's see my examples for smell.

I remember I said I was gonna choose flowers.

So I'm going to say that they were fragrant, perfumed flowers because again, I'm choosing those words that create a positive image.

And then for touch, I want something to feel nice.

So I'm going to say, the healthy, vibrant leaves.

I'm seeing they're fresh, not dried up and shrivelled.

And then for taste, I've chosen glistening fresh dew that tasted like the summer, that tasted like summer.

So all of this vocabulary is now creating this wonderful image in my head about this woodland scene.

In your task, you are going to use your five senses to generate your own expanded noun phrases.

Use the colours, the colour scale to paint a positive image in the reader's mind and use the scaffolds here, as you can see, the two adjectives separated by a comma.

And then if you want to extend, you could say that after the noun.

Pause the video and have a go at doing this task.

Okay, let's have a look at my expanded noun phrases.

Remember, they will be different to yours.

And I've got my colour scale there to help me to think about the positive language or the positive vocabulary that I'm going to use.

So for birds, I've said pleasant, calm bird song that sounded like a lullaby.

And then for what I could see the glowing, radiant sun that streamed through the towering trees, creating warmth.

Smell, I have fresh, fragrant earth.

And then for what I could feel, rough, gnarled bark that felt as ancient as its trees.

And then again, with my taste, I have cold, glistening dew on blades of grass.

We are now onto the second part of the lesson, figurative language.

Simile and personification are two types of figurative language.

The forest floor was as soft as a bed of feathers.

In this example, we are saying the forest floor is as soft as, so we're comparing it using the words as.

So this is a simile.

The ancient oak tree stretched its gnarled arms towards the sky.

In this example, we are comparing the oak tree, which is not a human entity, to having human qualities or characteristics.

So we're saying the oak tree stretch.

Can you do that? Everyone, just stretch.

So the oak tree is embodying the human qualities that we have, and it's stretching.

Can you imagine that? Stretching its gnarled arms towards the sky.

So we are saying that this is personification.

True or false? Figurative language creates vivid imagery.

Did you have vivid imagery when you read that the tree reached towards the sky with its arms? Pause the video and have a think about whether that creates vivid imagery.

Okay, so the answer is true.

That's right.

Figurative language includes descriptive devices.

It does.

Figurative language includes devices like similes and personification.

Yes, it does.

That is what creates the vivid imagery.

Similes create memorable images by linking familiar concepts with unfamiliar concepts.

What do I mean by that? So we do this by linking them using the word as or the word like.

So in this example, again, we look at this one.

The forest floor was as soft as a bed of feathers.

So I'm linking a familiar concept such as a forest floor with an.

So a forest floor doesn't link with a bed of feathers, but we're saying that they are comparable.

Let's look at another one.

The leaves rustled like, so here we're using like, a chorus of tiny whispers in the breeze.

So in this example, we're linking leaves to whispers in the breeze.

Can leaves whisper? No, they can't, but we're saying that it's like that.

It's similar, it's comparable.

We are comparing them.

So the leaves rustled like.

So in the second example, we're using the word like to compare.

Let's do an I do, we do.

Firstly, I'm going to have a go.

I'm going to match two unlike things.

So things that don't normally go together to create the most appropriate similes.

So I've got the leaves shimmered like.

The trees stood tall and majestic like.

The scent of earth was as comforting as.

And I've now got to think about which of these would link well, would be the most appropriate.

So the leaves shimmered like ancient guards.

Would ancient guards shimmer? Hmm, don't think so.

The trees stood tall and majestic like a warm hug from a friend.

Well, is a hug the same as standing tall? No.

The scent of earth was as comforting as gold coins.

Hmm, none of those link up.

So I'm going to have to try and use another way.

So I'm going to try and compare it with something else.

The leaves shimmered like a warm hug.

No.

The leaves shimmered like gold coins.

Yes.

So another thing that shimmers are gold coins.

So I'm going to link those two.

The leaves shimmered like gold coins in the sunlight.

The trees stood tall and majestic.

So I need to look for another one that is linked to something standing tall and majestic.

Ancient guards, that does make sense.

And the scent of earth was as comforting.

So something comforting.

Something else that's comforting is a warm hug from my friend.

So that's the one that goes with the last one.

Now it's your turn to have a go.

You are going to match two unlike things to create the most appropriate similes.

So you have the forest silence enveloped me like.

The next one.

The mossy rocks were as soft as.

The air was as crisp as.

And then your options are here.

A freshly picked apple, a cosy blanket, and feather pillows.

You need to look for things that are quite similar.

They are two unlike things.

So things that aren't the same conceptually, but they've got to link.

So you've got to think the mossy rocks were as soft as.

So you have to think about something that's really soft.

The air was as crisp as something that's fresh.

And then the silence enveloped.

So enveloped as like hugging, wrapping around.

So I'm going to let you have a go at that.

Pause the video and have a go now.

Okay, get ready to point to the right answer.

For the forest's silence enveloped me like a cosy blanket.

Well done.

The mossy rocks were as soft as point feather pillows.

And then point to the last one.

The air was as crisp as a freshly picked apple.

Well done.

Which one of the following is in an appropriate simile? Hmm, a, we've got the fallen and leaves cover the ground as quick as a flash.

The fallen leaves cover the ground like watery gravy.

The fallen leaves cover the ground like a colourful patchwork quilt.

Pause the video and just imagine the autumn leaves covering the ground.

What would it look like? Would it be like a patchwork quilt? Would it be like watery gravy? Or would it be as quick as a flash? Hmm.

Pause the video.

Okay, so the answer is, get ready to point in three, two, one.

Yes, that's right.

c, the fallen leaves covered the ground like a colourful patchwork quilt.

I can really picture that in my mind.

I can picture the red colours, the orange colours, the yellow colours, the browns.

That, to me, looks like a beautiful quilt.

It doesn't look like watery gravy because leaves aren't the same texture as gravy.

And I wouldn't say that as quick as a flash would be good here because they fall very gently, don't they? And over time in the autumn.

Okay, your task is to match two unlike things to make appropriate similes.

So we've already had a go at this, we practise, but this is now with some different examples.

The trees stood tall and proud like.

The forest's silence enveloped me like.

The wild flowers nodded in the breeze like.

And the options are delicate dancers in a ballet, a warm cloak, wise, ancient storytellers with tales of time.

Now think about what you are trying to create here.

If you are talking about something that's tall and proud, what would go well with that? If you are trying to create a sentence that is about something hugging, what would be the appropriate second part of that simile? And then the final thing.

If you imagine wild flowers just standing pretty, if they nodded in the breeze, what would that look like? Pause the video and have a go at your task.

And I can't wait to see what your answers are after.

Okay, so I have the answers here.

And I've said that the tree stood tall and proud like wise, ancient storytellers with tales of time.

Can imagine those trees standing like that.

The forest's silence enveloped me like a warm cloak.

So the silence is a positive thing.

It's not a negative thing because we're saying it's like a warm and comforting cloak or coat.

And then the wild flowers nodded in the breeze like delicate dancers in a ballet.

So even though they're not dancing, like they're not moving around like this, you can imagine how graceful they are if they were just nodding in the breeze.

All of these similes are creating positive images in my head.

The second task of, the second part, sorry, of task B is to combine the two parts and write them out as a sentence.

So this time, I've given you the first part and the second part of the simile.

The expansive sky watched over like a wise guardian looking after its youngers.

The second one.

The woodland's calmness welcomed me like an old friend that I'd known forever.

And finally, a carpet of snowdrops nodded in the light as gentle as a breeze.

I want you to pause the video, combine the two parts and write them out as one sentence.

Let's have a look at the answers.

So the expansive sky watched over like a wise guardian looking after its youngers looks like this.

The woodland's calmness welcomed me like an old friend that I'd known forever is this sentence.

And finally, when you combine the two, a carpet of snowdrops nodded in the light as gentle as the breeze.

Moving on now to personification.

Personification gives human qualities, and emotions, and actions to things that aren't human.

This helps the reader relate to and imagine the non-human object or idea.

And it helps to create that really vivid picture in their minds.

Let's look at this example.

The morning sun stretched its golden fingers through the sleepy canopy.

Now, can the sun actually, does the sun actually have fingers? No, it doesn't.

So you are imagining that the rays of the sun are light fingers penetrating through the sleepy canopy, waking the sleepy canopy up, saying, "It's morning time, wake up." Well, maybe not that aggressively because we're trying to create a lovely, positive image.

So it's slowly just drifting its fingers through the sleepy canopy.

And here I've got, I've circled sun because that's the non-human noun that we're making have human qualities, okay? So we're saying the sun stretch.

So it's like waking up, stretching its golden fingers, which are the rays, through the sleepy canopy.

Here's another example we can look at.

The ancient trees whispered secrets to one another.

Now we know that trees can't whisper.

We can though.

So us, as humans, we can whisper.

Show me how you whisper.

(instructor whispering) Yes, so trees can't whisper, but basically, if we give the trees a human quality like whispering, it kind of creates a picture that the trees are kind of all just swaying towards each other, and they're very close because they're telling each other secrets.

It again, creates that lovely positive image that we want the readers to have.

Which one of the following sentences uses personification? Remember to think about those human qualities.

The old tree was as tall as a skyscraper.

Does that have human? Hmm.

The old tree's branches reached out like menacing arms. And then finally, the old tree had gnarled branches.

Pause the video and have a think about which one of those uses personification.

Okay, so hopefully you got the answer as b.

The old trees branches.

Remember, so reached out.

It's something that we can do.

Everyone reach out.

Show me how you reach.

Try and grab something that you really want.

Yeah, so reached out is giving the tree a human quality and also saying that its branches are like arms. As you can see in that sentence says arms. So those are the two clues there.

The fact that we've given the tree arms and the fact that we've said that it's reached.

My turn.

It's an I do, and then it's your turn, it's a we do.

We're going to circle all the groups of words that include human qualities.

So we've got danced happily, trembled with excitement, grew from a seed, and pierced through the clouds.

Now because this is my turn, I've got to think about this carefully on my own.

Don't help me.

I know you know the answer, but I need to do this myself.

Okay, so I need to think of which one of those is giving a human quality.

Can humans dance? Yeah, yeah, we can.

I've definitely done that before.

Everyone dance.

Okay, so I'm gonna say that one, danced happily, and then grew from a seed.

Can I grow from a seed? No, I can't, it's not that one.

Next one.

Trembled with excitement.

Have I ever trembled with excitement? Oh yes, I have.

I've definitely trembled with excitement many a times.

So I'm gonna circle that one.

And can I pierce through clouds? No, I definitely can't pierce through.

I know aeroplanes can, but I can't.

So I'm gonna leave it as those two.

Do you wanna have a go? Now you are gonna have a go at circling all the groups of words that include human qualities.

Whispered secrets, melted in the sun, crashed against the rocks, and breathed in the cold air.

Why don't you have a go at doing it like I did? So think about whether you can do these things.

Can you whisper secrets? Can you crash against the rocks? I mean, I guess you can, but it's not something that typical that a human does.

Can you melt in the sun literally? I don't think you can literally melt.

You can feel like you're melting.

And then can you breathe in cold air? Okay, pause the video and have a think about which one of those include human qualities.

Okay, so hopefully you, do you wanna point with me? Chose whispered secrets because I've definitely done that before.

Nice secrets, obviously, not bad secrets.

And then the other one is I've breathed in the cold air.

I definitely have done that.

I did that this morning when I went for a little walk outside.

And then you can't say that a human can crash.

You would say waves crashed against the rocks, and then you would say, what melt? You could say an ice cream melts in the sun, but those aren't, you can't say human, those include human qualities.

So in this task, you are going to give this woodland, so using this picture, you're gonna give this woodland human qualities, emotions, or actions to personify it.

So you're gonna think about what the tree could do, what human things could the tree do.

We've talked about a few examples.

Remember the branches.

Sun, what could the sun do? What could the leaves do? What human qualities, what emotions? It doesn't always have to be an action.

It could be an emotion, how they feel.

You could give them a human feeling.

And this is my example.

So I'm gonna help you do the first one.

The trees stood tall and proud.

So again, the simple one.

I'm giving the trees a human quality because I know I can stand tall and proud.

I often do that in front of the class.

And I think you can have a go at doing the rest.

So why don't you pause the video, and then I'll look at your answers after you've had a good go at this.

Okay, so these are my examples.

I will have a look at yours soon.

For branches, I've said all the branches reached out to embrace the light.

What did you have for branches? Have a look down and see what you wrote.

Sure it's brilliant.

And then for sun, the glorious inviting sun smiled with happiness.

So again, there, I'm giving it an emotion.

I'm saying it's happy.

And then finally, for leaves, I said hundreds of verdant leaves danced merrily in the light.

So they're dancing.

I'm giving them that human quality of, that human action of dancing.

So to summarise, descriptive writing creates a clear image in the reader's mind, often by engaging the five senses.

Do you remember what they are? Say them with me.

Oh gosh, I hope I remember them.

Sense of sight, sound, taste, touch, and smell.

Yes, I got those.

Precise and ambitious vocabulary include the use of adjectives, verbs, and adverbs.

Expanded noun phrases are a valuable tool because they enrich the text with detailed description.

And figurative language can include the use of simile and personification to paint vivid pictures in the reader's mind.

I really hope you enjoyed learning about the linguistic features of descriptive writing because I really enjoyed teaching you this lesson.