Descriptive Writing: Excellent Word Choice Strategies

Listen to the full episode to hear excellent word choice strategies:

Do you have students who are constantly using bland and boring words in their writing? I know I sure do! I’m continuing our series on descriptive writing, but if you haven’t listened to the first two episodes in the series, Episode 94 and Episode 95, be sure to do that now. In today’s episode, I’m focusing on providing excellent word choice strategies to use with your students. 

When I noticed my students not being descriptive with their writing, I realized the words they were using were in their comfort zone. However, as I started implementing ways to get them out of their comfort zone, to think more creatively about the words they were choosing and using, their language became more colorful and descriptive. 

I came up with 7 word choice strategies to use with my students, which you can start using immediately in your classroom! As always, make sure you model and practice each strategy with your students so they know what’s expected of them and how to use each strategy properly. Those 7 strategies are:

1. Use the language
2. More action, more passion
3. Use more adjectives
4. Draw from your 5 senses
5. Look for examples
6. Partner practice
7. Use a thesaurus

We’re all tired of our students using dull and ineffective word choice in their writing, so today’s episode is for you! By implementing my 7 easy and practical word choice strategies, your students will soon go from good writers to outstanding writers. Plus, stay tuned for next week’s episode where I dive into figurative language!

In this episode on excellent word choice strategies, I share:

• 7 easy to implement word choice strategies
• Various easy examples to get students thinking about using more descriptive word choice in their writing
• The importance of creating and finding connections using real world examples or their environment
• Why modeling is crucial for a student’s understanding

Resources Mentioned:

• Monthly Writing Prompts
• Thesaurus Word Choice Charts and Posters
• Descriptive Writing Anchor Charts Bundle

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About The Literacy Dive Podcast:

Do you find yourself seeking new ideas when it comes to literacy instruction in elementary classrooms? The Literacy Dive Podcast was created to offer actionable steps and to share information for teachers, like you, who are always looking to improve their craft! ELA is our jam and we are excited to dive into all things reading and writing with you!

Your host, Megan Polk, is the creator and owner behind The Literacy Dive and loves to support students and their teachers with curriculum, literacy instruction, best practices, and engaging literacy activities.

Dive in with us every Monday for a new episode from Megan! She, and her guests, will chat about various literacy topics and will bring you tips and tricks that can easily be implemented in your classrooms. You can tune in wherever you get your podcasts! Listen to The Literacy Dive Podcast on platforms like Apple, Spotify, Stitcher, Google, and more! If you find value from listening to this podcast, please rate this show, leave a review, and follow!