We added some examples of sensory language from Maya Angelou’s I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings. For one passage, I showed instead of telling:
I looked around the room that I had never in my wildest fantasies imagined I would see. Browned photographs leered or threatened from the walls.
I took some pictures while students worked, and then transformed them into sepia images for them to see what “browned photographs” look like.
We then worked on creating some sensory imagery ourselves, using “In the Hallway” as our theme. “What do you see in the hallway changing classes? What do you hear? Smell? Touch?” Students made short lists, then I modeled a first draft by using my own details to write a short description.
For second period, I wrote the following:
The bell rings and off we go. It’s like a race — everyone is pushing and pushing and I feel like a sardine. The nasty taste of dry mouth is all I can think about as the BANG BANG SLAM of lockers closing echoes down the hall. All I want is a drink of water to get this taste out of my mouth, but the students are rushing around me and the bright lights blind me. And then there’s Mrs. Copeland, standing at the end of the hall. If she sees me sneaking around – but no matter. There’s no room for me to sneak, the hall is so crowded.
First and second periods, afterward, developed sensory imagery for their own settings. Some chose their room; some chose sports practice; some even chose the classroom we were in.
Fourth period (English I Honors) began the last part of speech for our first group: nouns, pronouns, and adjectives. We’ll review the work tomorrow and then have a small test on it next week.
After completing the grammar work, I covered some basic introductory elements about Sophocles and Greek drama before beginning Antigone tomorrow.
Homework
- Second period: use the list from your chosen setting to write a description, including all the sensory details you developed for the list.
- Fourth period: complete the Lord of the Flies project (due tomorrow).