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Two Exercises for Teaching Description and Using The Five Senses in Writing
One of the biggest losses I’m feeling from completing the semester at home is the inability to execute my favorite “Five Senses” activity in the classroom with my writing students. It’s one of my favorite days in the classroom, where I play music and ask students to sit and write based on prompts pertaining to their five senses. THE FIRST EXERCISE The exercise requires students to reach into a brown paper bag that I bring into the room and “touch” something that I’ve placed inside it. In the past, I’ve put pinecones, Silly Putty, or sand in it. After they touch it, they have to write what comes to mind…
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The Nose Knows: The Sense of Smell “Takes You Back”
Your five senses know a lot about your life. They know what you like to taste. They know what you like to see. They know what you like to hear. They know what you like to touch. And, they know what you like to smell. Studies have shown that perhaps more than any other sense, it’s your sense of smell that can bring you back to a particular place and time or person most poignantly, whether you were younger or older—that sense of smell can take you there in a moment. Bam! You are quickly reminded of an aspect of your life. That’s why when we teach writing courses, we…
