Descriptive Poetry & Tissue Painting: 5-Sense Your Poetry Lessons!

April is Poetry Month and I'm celebrating with the release of one of my all-time favorite lessons...

Descriptive Poetry and Tissue Painting:

Techniques to Inspire Young Writers & Artists!

Simply put...I love these lessons! Having used these poetry techniques with students in grades 3-8, I am confident that you will also experience immense success!

In the lessons, you will introduce students to a 5-sense method for gathering information about a topic. After learning the technique, they can use it to write additional poetry or transfer the knowledge to other kinds of descriptive writing. (In the examples shown here, we used it in a state study, writing descriptive poems about places in our state.) Don't be surprised if it inspires new urges to write!

After her kids learned the 5-sense technique in one of my classes, a mom shared how they extended learning. On a cold, frosty day, the kids dressed in their snowsuits and trekked down to the river with Mom. With 5-sense flaps in hand, they sat and collected sensory words and phrases about their surroundings. Since temps hovered near freezing, she'd only planned to stay for a short time, but the kids wanted to stay, writing in their flapbooks for 90 minutes. On the way home the kids talked about doing a Writer's Conference together, adding, "You and Dad can do it with us if you want to."



Lessons include:

• detailed poetry & art teaching notes, ideal for both classroom and homeschool settings
• photos and examples of student poetry and artwork
• handouts: 5-sense poetry flaps, poetry toolbox minibook, assignment sheet, Writer's Conference Record Sheet, Author's Self-Conference/Editing Checklist
• related book suggestions

Time Frame: the series of lessons can be completed in 5-7 days, working ~1hour each day. (more time with a large class, less time with an individual or small group)

Lessons are available through: 

Teachers Pay Teachers

Teachers Notebook

Celebrate Poetry!


P.S. A big thank you to all my students whose hard work is featured here! If you (or your parents) see a photo of your poem/art, drop me an email and I'll send you a copy of the lessons! :)