Description of this lesson:



Description of this lesson:

When I entered the room, Mr. Ehret was reading the book Hairy, Scary, Ordinary: A Book About Adjectives by Brian P. Cleary and Jenya Prosmitsky. He told the kids they should be listening for good adjectives to use in their writing. Mr. E reminded them that the adjectives in their stories do not have to rhyme (

He showed the pictures after he read each page.

“So what is an adjective? Do we know?” the teacher asked.

Alexis, “A word that describes nouns.”

“I am passing out a list for your writing folder of many adjectives. I know many of you use the one on the board, but these are more detailed. These will go in your writing folders when we are done. Look over the list,” Mr. Ehret explained.

The class read the lists while Mr. Ehret put a paragraph up on the Smartboard.

“Listen and follow along as I read aloud,” Mr. E directed and then said, “It is an exaggeration, but you will get the idea.” Then Mr. Ehret read the paragraph.

“Use the lists in front of you to replace the word NICE in this paragraph,” the teacher said as he passed out the paragraph in written form. Lines were put in place of the word NICE from the paragraph and the class had to write alternate adjectives to make the paragraph sound better- like MAD LIBS he told the class. He also told the class they would complete one as a class also. When asked if they could use the word NICE; once was the answer. Mr. Ehret also reminded the class they could use an adjective not on the lists provided.

The class was given about 4 minutes to complete this task. He told the kids the story needed to make sense- unlike MAD LIBS when it doesn’t need to make sense.

“Let’s see what we come up with,” Mr. Ehret began. Once upon of time…

As he read the story aloud, he chose on students to fill in the blanks. With these miscellaneous words, it did sound like the answers to a MAD LIBS (

When complete, Adam read the finished class paragraph.

“It doesn’t make a lot of sense, but it does make it more fun then the land of NICE,” the teacher noted. George asked if he could read his paragraph. Mr. E said yes, but it would be the only one.

“Put the Nation of Nice in your writing folder, but leave your list out. In here, I have the bag of mystery,” Mr. Ehret said as he held up a paper bag. “I will let people who are not calling out touch what is in the bag of mystery. Each of those people will give me one word to describe how it feels,” Mr. E explained.

Tyler went first and came up with moist. Morgan came up with hairy. Jay came up with gooey. Moira said spongy and I said squishy.

“Now that we can see it, I want some more adjectives to describe it,” the teacher added.

Jack- Pokey

Olivia- Pink

Jake- Bright

Claire- Nubby

“These kids of words will give the reader a clear picture of what he is reading,” Mr. Ehret chimed in.

Adam- Flexible

Moira- Adorable

Tyler- Oblong

“We could put all those descriptions to describe this object. In a minute each group will get their own mystery object,” he told the class.

“But first, here is my short paragraph of my moist, hairy…. object,” Mr. E explained. Then he read his paragraph.

“What I am looking for right now. Writer’s notebook out and turned to your next clean page. When your group gets your object, keep it to yourself. Everyone’s object is different, but similar.

Step 1- Brainstorm a list of adjectives to describe your object- together.

Step 2- All students will write their own paragraph describing the object.

Step 3- Share your piece with your tablemates. Choose the best one.

Step 4- Mr. Ehret will show the objects on the board. One person from each group will read his/her piece. Your job will see if you can determine which object is being read about.

Mr. E put the objects, in bags, at each table. Then he asked someone to repeat the directions. Morgan and Jack did so.

“Remember, you WANT someone to figure out what it is. This will tell you you wrote a good descriptive paragraph,” the teacher reminded. Then he referred the students to the Smartboard where he had up-

Descriptive Paragraph

- At least 5 adjectives (Underline your adjectives)

- About 5-10 sentences

As the children worked, Mr. Ehret walked around the room to remind kids to be specific; he also answered questions. He had the kids relook at the object for minute details to help them be more descriptive. The students worked diligently. He reminded them to be as specific and detailed as possible.

(3 boys left for drum lessons at 9:30 AM)

“You may want to use figurative language in your paragraph. Whatever it takes to get a picture in your readers’ minds. You want them to figure it out,” Mr. Ehret shared with the class.

About 5 minutes into the writing Mr. E said, “You should be working on your paragraph by now. Understand everyone has what you have, but it is different in a way. Be very clear about its characteristics,” the teacher directed.

(They each had gourds in their bags.)

The students worked. They were focused. They asked questions when necessary and conversed with each other quietly.

“Let’s take 5 more minutes to finish up. If you are done, you may share them with your tablemates. Remember, you have to choose the one you want to use at the end of the lesson,” the teacher reminded.

At the table I was sitting at Marietta did not want to share. She said she was not done. I told her she had time to finish it. Mr. Ehret came by and saw she was upset. He squatted down to talk to her. As close as I was, I did not hear what he was saying to her. She was crying. I heard something about her grandmother.

I also heard he said he would let her take one home- anyone she wants.

Mr. E picked up the bags with the objects from the tables and placed them on the whiteboard ledge. Then he called up the groups and asked who was going to read.

“So we are finishing up about talking about adjectives. You will need to listen to each reader carefully so you can figure out which gourd is being described.

Volunteers to go first?” Mr. E asked. Olivia read. After she read, the teacher asked the class to review what she read- her description of it being orange, green and bumpy. Morgan identified it.

George read next. He was reminded to read loudly and clearly. Marietta identified it.

Alyssa read next. Morgan identified it. George said one word gave it away- curved.

Aidan read next. Olivia identified it right away.

Moira read last. Adam identified it.

After each object had been identified, Mr. E had the reader reread the paragraph.

“We talked today a lot about adjectives. When I give you your pieces back, I will want you to go back and sprinkle descriptive adjectives in your story. To paint a picture in your readers mind,” Mr. Ehret told the class.

“The last thing I want to talk to you about- you are to write a descriptive paragraph about your room. Be very detailed. Then tomorrow, a classmate will draw a picture of your room based on what you wrote. I will be Tyler’s partner,” Mr. E explained. Questions were asked and answered.

“Next time we will expand our writing. It is all about taking writer’s risks, making your writing sound more descriptive,” the teacher said as he closed the lesson.

Area(s) of particular strength or where progress is noted in this lesson:

See Comments in the Domains.

Area(s) in need of development in this lesson (if applicable):

None at this time.

Evaluator’s Comments/Recommendations:

Teacher’s Comments/Needs:

Overall Performance Rating: __X__ Competent ____ Needs Improvement

Verification of Review

The signatures below indicate the teacher and evaluator discussed the performance appraisal together. It does not necessarily denote agreement with all factors of the appraisal.

Teacher Signature: _________________________________ Date 11/30/10

Evaluator Signature: ________________________________ Date 11/30/10

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