Today fourth graders did a cool “nature writing” activity. They each received a photograph of some scenic image in nature. For example, one student was given a photo of iced over tree branches and another student got a photo of cacti. They did not share these photos with each other.
In writing we are working on adding details and descriptions into our writing, so students’ task was to describe the imagine they were given as closely as possible. Instead of writing simple sentences like, “there are trees in a forest,” students were encouraged to be a a specific as possible.
When students were done writing their descriptions we gathered as a class on the rug. On the board, I posted each of the pictures the students had been given (but without names). Then the students each took a ten reading the description he or she wrote. The rest of the class had to listen to the description and guess which photo the writer was describing. In every single case, the class guessed correctly on their first try! That is because every single student wrote a beautiful and full description of their nature picture. I was so impressed!
This is definitely a class of creative writers! I cannot wait to read more of their writing!