Do you want to inject life into your students’ writing and make it truly come alive? Look no further! In this blog post, I am sharing how important vivid verbs are for our students’ writing AND a free activity you can implement right away.
As English teachers, we all wish to see our students to blossom as writers, and to bring their writing to life. To achieve this, we have all kinds of tools to building their writing skills. However, it can still be a challenge at times.
Teaching our students how to harness the power of writing techniques such as vivid verbs can instantly up-level their writing abilities.
Let’s me share an engaging activity for your students to incorporate strong verbs into writing lessons to bring their writing to life.
The Magic of Vivid Verbs
Vivid verbs are the secret ingredient that can take writing from ordinary to extraordinary. They infuse writing with energy, color, and emotion, allowing readers to vividly picture the scenes and actions. With vivid verbs, students can take their ordinary writing to extraordinary with such a few shifts!
It’s helpful to first show our students how bland and boring regular verbs are at this stage of their writing.
For example: When she came around the corner, she saw Susan who said, “Help”.
There’s nothing WRONG with this sentence, but it does not paint the picture for us as much as: When she crept around the corner, she saw Susan who barely got out the whisper, “Help”.
The second version, with its added vivid verbs, gives more sense of urgency and a desire to continue to know answers… why are they having to creep? Why is she so scared that she has to whisper for help?
Here are the 3 (top) ways that vivid verbs improve our students’ writing:
- Enhanced Imagery: Vivid verbs contribute to a more detailed and vivid mental image for the reader.
- Increased Precision: Vivid verbs are specific and precise, conveying a more accurate and nuanced meaning. They eliminate ambiguity and help writers express their ideas with clarity, ensuring that readers grasp the intended message without confusion.
- Improved Tone and Mood: The choice of verbs can significantly influence the tone and mood of a piece of writing. They bring a dynamic quality allowing writers to convey emotions, intensity, or subtleties in a way that resonates with readers on a deeper level.
Free Lesson Plan and Activity on Vivid Verbs in the Classroom
I’ve created a free lesson plan and activity you can try out today! In this lesson, your students will not only learn about vivid verbs but also practice identifying them in a passage.
To make learning even more fun and engaging, this activity allows students to practice writing with vivid verbs. They’ll see firsthand how choosing the right verbs can breathe life into their narratives.
Here’s a brief overview of what this lesson and activity will entail:
I suggest using Post It notes to write out several vivid verbs to place around the room before students come in. They will instantly be intrigued when they enter the room!
- Your students will start with a quick introduction to vivid verbs and their importance.
- They will get to check out a short writing and identify all of the vivid verbs.
- Finally, they will get to engage in a hands-on activity by locating and claiming vivid verbs from around the room to use and then you will display pictures for them to craft the perfect sentence with the vivid verbs they have chosen.
Ready to get started? Download the FREE lesson plan here and introduce your students to the captivating world of vivid verbs.
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