Teach Elementary Students How to Use Adjectives

Sheila Rae's Peppermint Stick Descriptive Writing Lesson Plan

Feb 12, 2009

Use the book Sheila Rae's Peppermint Stick in a candy writing lesson plan to teach students how to use adjectives in descriptive writing that appeals to the five senses.

In this elementary writing lesson plan, teachers use Kevin Henkes's picture book Sheila Rae's Peppermint Stick [HarperFestival, 2001] to provide students with examples of how to use precise and colorful adjectives to describe how something looks, smells, tastes, and feels. The story's setting and plot make this book appropriate for use as part of a Christmas writing lesson plan that can be adapted for use with any holiday during which children receive treats.

How to Help Elementary Students Build Background with Using Adjectives

To begin this candy writing lesson plan, display the cover of the book and have students identify the object in Sheila Rae's hand (a peppermint stick). Ask students to use their prior experience to brainstorm vivid adjectives, or words that describe what this peppermint stick might look, taste, smell, and feel like. Record suggestions in a list on the board.

Once students have generated many adjectives, discuss how adjectives can describe how something appeals to the five senses of sight, sound, touch, taste, and smell. Then, work with students to group the words they brainstormed into categories based on the sense to which each one appeals. Note that an author does not always need to address all five senses when describing something. For example, an author would not usually describe how a peppermint stick sounds!

Tell students to listen for adjectives as you read the book. Then, share the book with students. Pause to record the adjectives used at the beginning of the book to describe Sheila Rae's peppermint stick: long, striped, thin, and sweet. Stop in the middle to have students make predictions about how Sheila Rae could turn one peppermint stick into two, then have them check predictions. Pause a final time at the end to record the new adjectives used to describe the peppermint stick: short, striped, thin, and sweet.

Ask students to compare the two sets of adjectives from the book and identify how the peppermint stick has changed over the course of the story (from long to short). Discuss how the words long and short have opposite meanings. Have students think up possible antonym adjectives for striped, thin, and sweet, such as dotted (or plain), thick, and sour. Then, ask them to write sentences using these antonym adjectives to compare a peppermint stick to other kinds of candy or food that possess opposite qualities. For example, A peppermint stick tastes sweet, while a lemon drop tastes sour.

Provide small groups of students with three different kinds of candy. (CAUTION: Check that no students are allergic to candy ingredients such as milk, nuts, or eggs.) For example, teachers might pass out rectangular chocolate candy bars; round, fruity Lifesavers; and triangular, striped candy corn. Have groups look at, touch, taste, and smell each kind of candy. Then, have them brainstorm and record a list of adjectives to describe how each kind of candy looks (its color and size), feels (its texture), smells (its odor), and tastes (its flavor).

Ask students to use these adjectives first to write sentences comparing each kind of candy to the other kinds and then to write a description of each kind of candy for someone who has never had this kind of candy before.

Using candy as the focus for a descriptive writing lesson plan will keep students interested in learning how to use vivid adjectives in their own descriptive writing. For other candy elementary lesson plans based on books from Kevin Henkes's A Box of Treats, teachers can use Sheila Rae's Peppermint Stick in a Christmas math lesson to teach fractions, Lilly's Chocolate Heart [HarperFestival, 2004] in a Valentine's Day writing lesson to teach how to use prepositions and adjectives, and Wemberly's Ice-Cream Star [HarperFestival, 2003] in a Fourth of July science lesson plan to teach how a solid changes to a liquid.

The copyright of the article Teach Elementary Students How to Use Adjectives in Primary School Lesson Plans is owned by Renee Carver. Permission to republish Teach Elementary Students How to Use Adjectives in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.