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Lesson Plan Image

Paint Pictures With Words

Authors are artists who paint pictures with words. Students will choose a descriptive phrase written by an author of their choice and illustrate its meaning.

Lesson Plan

Supplies Needed

Gather all the supplies needed to bring your craft ideas to life! From paints and markers to glue and scissors, our crafts section has everything to spark creativity and make every project truly special.

  • Paper

Steps

  • Step 1

    Words are not just tools for communication; they are also powerful instruments for painting vivid pictures. Ask students to think about books they've read that have moved them. Were there any phrases or passages that stood out for their ability to evoke emotions or create an expressive scene? Think of phrases such as "All the world's a stage and all the men and women merely players" from "As You Like It" by William Shakespeare, or "It is such a mysterious place, the land of tears" from "The Little Prince" by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry, or lines from poetry such as "The burnt-out ends of smoky days" from "Prelude" by T.S. Eliot.

  • Step 2

    Have students choose a passage to illustrate. It might be from a book the class is currently reading or a line from a favorite poem. Encourage them to evoke the feelings and the atmosphere the words describe by using colors and images that bring them to life. Ask them to write the passage or phrase on a smaller piece of paper and glue it to the bottom of their illustration.

  • Step 3

    Have everyone present their work and discuss how they captured the meaning of the author's words in the colors and images they drew.

Standards

LA: Add drawings or other visual displays to written text to clarify ideas, thoughts, and feelings.

LA: Apply knowledge of how language functions in different contexts to make effective choices for meaning or style, and to comprehend more fully when reading, writing, speaking, and/or listening.

Adaptations

Challenge students to write a metaphor or simile and then illustrate it. For example, if they write "The forest is a symphony" they might draw various forest animals and music symbols, or if they write "Friendships are like flowers in the garden of life" they might depict a group of friends as flowery creations.

Ask students to explore the phrase, "A picture is worth 1,000 words" and discuss other examples of how images influence people. For example, consumers are often motivated to make a purchase based on the product's photograph. And the cover design of a book might motivate a reader to choose it.