RUNNING HEADER: Descriptive Words

Leigh Green
Descriptive Words: ELD Lesson Plan
EDES 5200
Loyola Marymount University

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Descriptive Words
Descriptive Words: ELD Lesson Plan

Academic Content Objective

Students will demonstrate the application of descriptive details to give effective detail of
an object so a listener can accurately visualize it.

Grade Level/Span
Third Grade, 8-10 years of age

California Common Core Standards, English Language Arts, Third Grade

CCSS ELA-L 3.3 Use knowledge of language and its conventions when writing,
speaking, reading, or listening.

CCSS ELA-L 3.4 Determine or clarify the meaning of unknown and multiple-meaning
word and phrases based on grade 3 reading and content, choosing flexibly from a range
of strategies.

CCSS ELA-SL 3.1 Engage effectively in a range of collaborative discussions (one-onone, in groups, and teacher-led) with diverse partners on grade 3 topics and texts,
building on others ideas and expressing their own clearly.

CCSS ELA-SL 3.3 Ask and answer questions about information from a speaker, offering
appropriate elaboration and detail.

CCSS ELA-W 3.6 With guidance and support from adults, use technology to produce and
publish writing (using keyboarding skills) as well as to interact and collaborate with
others.

English Language Development Standards

Emerging

Reading/Interpretive: Students will interpret text through active listening during read
aloud, by asking basic questions with prompting and substantial support.

Speaking and Writing/Collaborative: Students will adapt language choices to various

contexts and interact with others in written English in various communicative forms.

Expanding

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Descriptive Words
Speaking/Interpretive: Students will evaluate and describe specific language writers use
to support an idea by identifying the descriptive words in leveled texts.

Writing/Productive: Students will select language of general academic words in order to

add detail and create an effect in speaking and writing.

Bridging

Speaking and Listening/Interpretive: Students will distinguish how multiple words with
similar meanings produce shades of meaning and different effects on the audience.

Writing/Productive: Students will select and apply varied and precise vocabulary to
effectively convey ideas.

Materials Included

The instructor will provide plain printer paper for pictures, lined writing paper for
descriptions, a simple menu, visuals of actual simple food, and brown bags containing
one object. Students will also need access to thesaurus and dictionary, which can be in
book form or on individual iPads. The Challenge activity will be the use of the Mad Libs
application on the iPad.

Technology

Students will need access to individual iPads, along with applications such as White
Board, Merriam Webster Dictionary, Thesaurus, and Mad Libs. Instructor will utilize the
Elmo Camera, along with the Smart Board and images from the Internet.

Into

The students will begin the lesson with a listening activity called Quick Draw. This is an
activity used through out the year in which students are familiar with. The instructor will
read aloud a short and simple description of a flower in a vase. Each student will start
with a blank sheet of printer paper and be instructed to illustrate the simple description in
exactly one minute.

Next, the instructor will repeat the activity, reading aloud a very detailed and descriptive
summary of a flower in a vase and allowing the students to illustrate it on the opposite
side of their paper. The instructor should circulate the room during the activity to evaluate
the students understanding of the descriptive words (i.e. colors, sizes, adjectives, etc.)
and gain access to their background knowledge. Instructor may use flowers found in the
students native home or from previous lessons on habitats to utilize prior knowledge.

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Descriptive Words

Finally, the students may volunteer to share and compare the different illustrations to
determine the importance of descriptive words with guidance from the instructors use of
prompting and support. During this discussion, a list of descriptive words used by the
students will be placed on the board, creating a word wall with sorting when applicable.

Through

Moving forward, students will be presented with a simple menu of items, posted on the
Smart Board, minus the use of imagery. The instructor will call on students to order and
select from the items on the menu. The actual food selected will then be projected on the
Smart Board (i.e. fish displays an image of eel sushi, pie displays shepherds pie, and
beef stew displays menudo.) The actual food should connect to the cultural diversity of
the class.

Next, the students will think/pair/share with their partner to describe the menus actual
food items, using resources such as the dictionary, thesaurus, and Internet. The instructor
should circulate the room to observe students on task, as well as evaluate student
comprehension of detailed descriptions and support the students who may need additional
instruction. Again, descriptive words mentioned during the share portion of the activity,
selected by the instructor, will be added to the word wall.

Beyond

Last, students will be paired for an assignment in which they will write and present a
detailed description of an object. The object will be located in a brown paper bag and
each student will be assigned a task as a speaker or a recorder. The students will be given
the remainder of the class period to effectively describe the item in the bag, using the
word wall and additional resources. The description should allow a listener to visualize
and illustrate the item accurately without viewing what is in the bag. The instructor
should circulate the room to evaluate the students understanding and comprehension of
the content. During the next lesson, the students will be assessed on their write up and/or
presentation of their detailed description, while students participate by illustrating the
description on the White Board application, located on their individual iPads. If students
finish the descriptions before the majority of the class, students may work on the Mad
Lids application on their iPads.