Using a picture prompt, (e.g. photo, image, front cover of a book), brainstorm possible nouns and adjectives that could be used to put a sentence together and describe it, using one colour for nouns and one colour for adjectives. Then think aloud as you construct an Ad/Noun/Is sentence to best describe what you can see. E.g. using the example image of the dog smiling, you could model writing, “The cheeky dog is laughing”. Ensure you use a different colour to write the adjective, noun and “is” to really reinforce the structure to students.

Repeat this process (brainstorming possible nouns and adjectives using a picture prompt) to enable students to build their confidence writing Ad/Noun/Is sentences, then have them practice in pairs/small groups using different picture prompts scattered around the room (post-it notes will work well here). Again, remind them to highlight/underline/use different colours to show the noun, adjective and “is”, reiterating that these must always be together.

Now provide students with a new picture prompt and have them follow the same process independently. If they are feeling more confident, they might like to have a go at writing a few different Ad/Noun/Is sentences using the same prompt. Allow 10 minutes before stopping students and checking if any need redirection or more detailed scaffolding.

To finish the lesson, students can compare the Ad/Noun/Is sentences they created. Reflect on student learning by asking students how, using adjectives to describe nouns, can make their sentence writing more engaging for the reader, and discuss.