Introduction 
A
portrait is a painting, drawing or photograph;
usually of person.
What about using your words
to make a portrait?
Why do people write,
anyway?
Task
You have just made a new
e-pal! She lives across the ocean in a small village that does
not have much technology. Her neighbor has an old computer with
internet access, and your friend is allowed to check her email once a
week on it. She cannot look at photographs or many graphics on
this computer, because it is so slow. You want to send her
a picture of your family, but she tells you that she wouldn't be able
to open thefile. What can you do to give her a mental picture of
your family? How can you help her to picture them? Your job
will be to write a paragraph describing one of your relatives in a way
that your friend will begin to be able to picture your family in a
powerful way. Below are some jobs for you to do as you prepare to
do this important work.
Process
1.
Describing a Character
We
have read many books with strong characters in them. Here are
some examples:
Charlotte, in Charlotte's Web
Wilbur, in Charlotte's Web
Ramona, in Ramona Quimby, Age 8
Sammy, Sammy Keyes and the Hotel Thief
Ralph, in the Mouse and the Motorcycle
You have read other books not listed here. Think of
one character from a book above, or
another that you have read. Click on the link below to fill out
the form on this character. Remember an action
of his/her in the story. Write it in a space in the first
column. In the space to the right of that, write
an adjective
to describe your character.
Click here
if you need an example.
Click here
if you are ready to do the activity.
Where you are finished doing the activity, print it out and give it to
your teacher.
Now think about the relative you are going to describe to your
e-pal. Use the same form above to write
about some actions s/he has done, and the adjectives that describe
her. (You won't have to type in the title for this one,
because the character is a real, live one; not from a book!).
Print this form out for yourself. You will want to look at it
when your write your descriptive paragraph!
2. Using Sensory
Detail 
What about the clues your
senses give you about your relative.? Think about when your class
brainstormed together to
describe your
teacher. You thought of "seeing," "hearing," "smelling,"
"tasting," and "feeling/touching" words. You might
have also thought of feeling words that describe your
emotions. Click here to get that same brainstorming
form, and fill it out with interesting words that will help you to write great
sensory detail about your relative.
3. Planning your Writing
Good job!
Now that you have done so much thinking about your relative, the
paragraph should be a piece of cake! Click
here to go to a graphic organizer
to help you decide what you want to put in your paragraph. You
prabably have too much
information right now, so remember, choose the best words you have!
4. A Visual Check
for Yourself 
When you are finished with your paragraph, one way to check your
writing is to draw a picture based on the
description you have provided in your paragraph. Using a program
like Canvastic, or Tuxpaint, type your paragraph, and then
make a digital picture of your relative. Did you include enough
interesting detail in your writing to make knowing what to draw easy?
Should you add anything else to your writing?
Now read your written work to a partner. Ask him/her to draw a
picture of your family member based on your description. Look at
the work. Remember, you are not looking at how great an artist
your partner is. You are looking to see whether s/he had enough
interesting detail from your reading to create a picture that resembles
your relative! Do you still need to add something more to your
writing? Thank your partner, and now it is your turn to be a
careful listener for him/her!
Save your file in your electronic folder. Your teacher is
going
to make a class slide show! Maybe some day your e-pal will get a
faster computer, and you will be able to send your slide--or even the
whole Powerpoint show--to her!
Resources
English
Zone
Canvastic
Tuxpaint
Evaluation
Will
your e-pal have a clear mental picture of your family member
because of your show, not
tell writing? Click on the link below for
a rubric that you can fill out on your own writing. When you are
finished,
attach it to the hard copy of your writing, and give it to your teacher
to complete, as well.
Descriptive Writing Rubric
Conclusion
Congratulations!
You have proven once again that you are an author! You
can use these tools, or ones like them
to write about characters you know from books and from your
own life. If you do a good job, your readers will
get to know them, too!
