Describing a setting

Year 9

Starter:

1.The trees swayed gently in the breeze.

2.The tall, willowy trees moved in the breeze.

3.The trees moved in the breeze.

4.The trees moved in the breeze like sails over the water.

Read the following sentences. In pairs, put them in order of the one you think is the most descriptive and effective first. You must be able to give reasons for the order you choose.

Objective:

• Describe a setting using a range of effective descriptive techniques

The .....The ..... door creaked open. Something rustled in the darkness. I stared but could see nothing else but the vague shapes of old suitcases and trunks piled high. It smelt damp. I struggled up into the ..... and wedged the door open . Light poured into the darkness. The darkness in the head of the house. I balanced carefully upon the floor beams. I knew that if I stepped onto the plaster I could fall straight through into the room below. A cobweb brushed my face and I felt the sudden tickle of a spider crawl across my cheek. As I made my way forwards, it grew darker and colder. I was blocking the light from the ..... door . There were piles of old newspapers, brown paper bags tied with string, cardboard boxes and ancient, moth-eaten rugs that smelt of mothballs. Thick dust powdered every surface. I kept thinking that I would slip and put my foot through the floor. It was there that I first saw the hand…

Checklist for describing a setting

• Use of senses: Touch, taste, sight, sound, smell

• Use of adjectives and adverbs• Colours used to describe • Powerful verbs • Variety of sentence length• Alliteration and onomatopoeia • Imagery (simile; metaphor;

personification)

Planning your description

Things you can see

Things you can hear

Things you can smell

Things you can touch

Things you can taste

How does it make you feel?

Use a range of the devices on your checklist.

Describe the setting in one of the rooms OR outside of the house.

YOU COULD CHOOSE:

• The Cellar• The Attic• The Kitchen• The Garden• The Hall

Use detail and description to bring the setting alive.

You can write in the First (I) or Third person (He/She/It).

TASK:

FEEDBACK

Objective:

• Describe a setting using effective descriptive techniques