Text Types and Purposes – Descriptive Writing

360° Learning Experience

Teachers choose a 360° image or video and provide students with an opportunity to explore it. Teachers then instruct students to identify one element in the image or video, such as a specific object, movement, or person. Next, they ask students to do a creative writing activity where they place a person in the video and have that person move about it in a certain way. In addition, teachers should encourage students to use imagery, metaphors, similes, adjectives, and other language devices to increase the impact of their description. Finally, teachers can have students exchange papers with a partner, and their partner can identify specific uses of language.

Common Core State Standard: CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.CCRA.W.3

Write narratives to develop real or imagined experiences or events using effective technique, well-chosen details and well-structured event sequences.

Recommended 360° Content

Teachers can show students the 360° video below of the American Tobacco Campus. Next, teachers instruct students to write a short narrative that explains the procedures or sequence a person would follow to navigate from the chairs to the building behind them. An example is:

Just was lounging on a greenish-blue chair under the lusciously green-leaved tree during his lunch break. He realized, with a startle, that he lost track of time and had to get back to work! Quickly, Jason leapt to his feet and sprinted across the grass yard in front of this building. As he came to the building, he slowed his pace, so he wouldn’t bump into a co-worker. At this point, Jason who was somewhat tired, wiped his brow, took a breath, and entered his brown window. He hoped he could sneak to his second-story office without anyone noticing his tardiness.

After writing their narrative, students can exchange it with a partner. The partner then will box all the descriptive words and phrases used in the narrative and underline all the words that structured the sequence of the narrative.