Helping Students Write Creatively about Setting

Purpose: To use a variety of nouns when describing a place

Materials: Calendar photographs or copies of paintings of a selection of places, index cards or small pieces of paper, pencils or pens.

Procedure:

1. Show students visuals of various ideal places, identifying many different things that they would find there.
   
   
2. Ask students to describe their own favorite places, naming many assorted or uncommon things one might find there.
   
   
3. Tell students that they are going to play a game about places called "Guess Where?"
   
   
4. Demonstrate the game by giving at least 10 nouns naming things one would find at a specific location; for example, cereal, tissue money, balloons, cards, apples, lights; smiles; aisles, conversation and check-out lazes for the answer “grocery store.”
   
   
5. Give students a card with a specific place name such as hospital, circus, and school, warning them not to reveal their place to anyone else.
   
   
6. Ask students to list at least ten things that would likely be found in their place.
   
   
7. When each child shares his or her list, have the class guess the place.
   
   
8. Finally, have students write a description of their place, using as many of these nouns as possible in single sentences. They can extend their writing by adding adjectives to their nouns.