My 4th grade ESOL students are writing memoirs. I did a mini lesson on descriptive writing using A Chair For My Mother.  This book has many examples of descriptive adjectives and sensory details. I did a read aloud and paused every few pages so that students could share examples they heard.

One page offers a vivid description of the armchair that family is saving up to buy. “Yes, a chair. A wonderful, beautiful, fat, soft armchair. We will get one covered in velvet with roses all over it. We are going to get the best chair in the whole world.”

While the family is shopping for a new chair, there is an example of using a text to self connection in writing. “We tried out big chairs and smaller ones, high chairs and low chairs, soft chairs and harder ones. Grandma said she felt like Goldilocks in “The Three Bears” trying out all the chairs.”

My students enjoyed listening to the story.  The book gave them many examples they can use in their own writing.  Their next steps will be to think of sensory details to add to their memoir.

After discussing the story have students use a sensory details graphic organizer (I have included one below) to write about their own memory.

Enjoy this Memory Graphic Organizer Freebie.