Reading Response Blog #27

5/3/2015

Visualizing is an important skill to have as a reader. When you visualize, you form a mental picture of what the words are describing. Visualizing is often a natural skill for people who have vivid imaginations and have seen a lot in their experiences.

Great descriptions invite us to use our visualization skills. Authors use clever, striking words and phrases to enable readers to picture characters, settings, objects, and actions in their heads. Without great descriptions, we would struggle to see the "movie in our minds" as we read. Everything would be blurry instead of crystal clear.

This Week's Prompt:

From your current independent reading, choose one or more great descriptions that helps you visualize a character, a setting, an object, or actions.

Quote the text accurately.
Explain how the description(s) helped you visualize by focusing on the specific word choice of the author.
Explain why it is important for a reader to be able to visualize this description in relation to the plot or purpose of the story.

I look forward to hearing about all of the visualizing you are doing in your reading!

78 Comments

Layla

5/3/2015 01:49:28 pm

Dear Ms. Kimball,
I am choosing a description from the book The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins. The description is, "... Wreathing her face. Weaving her hair with bright colors." When I read this, I visualize the colors, or in the story it is actually flowers, going in and out of the girl, Rue's, hair. I also picture flowers and colors bunched around her face and making her look almost like an angel, in my opinion. The description is important to the plot of the story because it is when Rue dies, and Katniss buries her and decorate with flowers to make sure people think of her as something just more than a contestant in the Hunger Games. Also, it is important to visualize Rue and see how sweet she is and how the flowers kind of resemble that in a way
From,
Layla

Alec

5/4/2015 06:29:07 am

Layla,
The colors you talked about reminded me of the rainbow. Did that thought happen to you? Otherwise, Great response! I saw how clearly you described the description. Keep up the good work Layla!

From, Alec

Sage P

5/4/2015 06:32:18 am

Dear Layla,
Wow great response! I really liked how you chose a pretty challenging description to challenge yourself. I also liked how you said that Rue almost looked like an angle. Wonderful response!
From,
Sage P.

Ms. Kimball

5/6/2015 01:23:16 pm

Dear Layla,

Great analysis of how this simple description of the flowers in Rue's hair relates to her importance in the plot of the story. I never thought of it that way! I'm curious to hear more context, though. The amount of text you quoted is small and leaves me wanting to know what came before and after it so I can compare my visualization to yours.

Sincerely,
Ms. Kimball

Layla

5/12/2015 08:34:25 am

Dear Ms. Kimball,
The entire description is this: "Slowly, one stem at a time, I decorate her body in the flowers. Covering the ugly wound. Wreathing her face. Weaving her hair in bright colors."
Thank you for responding to me!
From,
Layla

Sofia

5/12/2015 01:29:15 am

Layla,
Why does the description make you think Rue looked like an angel? Is it because flowers give off that effect to you, or the description itself and the way it's worded?
Sofia

Layla

5/13/2015 12:28:41 pm

Dear Sofia,
The description makes me think Rue is an angel because I imagine white flowers around her face and that makes me interpret the flowers around her face as a halo. Also, Rue is so sweet that I already imagine her as an angel, and that description reinforces that.
From,
Layla

Sage W.

5/13/2015 03:10:26 pm

Dear Layla,
Reading that description I didn't picture exactly what you did. Though know that I read it again I see what you mean. Great blog I love the post and description. Keep up the good work!

From,
Sage W.

Alec

5/4/2015 06:25:55 am

Dear Class,
The book I chose fora good description is from the book, The Scorch Trials by James Dashner. The description is,
"...hanging in the air, strung tightly to a canvas litter with handles, swaying back and forth. ... attached to a ring of blue metal held him as he was lowered..."
The descriptions helped me visualized what was going on because it was descriptive. I imagined Thomas hanging from the blue metal and the canvas litter with handles. The swaying back and forth. All of the descriptions were really clear. I think it's important to visualize this because the reader wouldn't know where Thomas was sent to. You wouldn't know the new setting of the story. The story will be a lot more confusing if you didn't know where Thomas was.

From, Alec

Ms. Kimball

5/6/2015 01:28:59 pm

Dear Alec,

I agree that visualizing details of the setting helps you place the main character in it. When you explained what the quoted text meant, you kind of just repeated what the author wrote. For example, what do you think a "canvas litter" is? What is the "blue metal" that Thomas is hanging from? I'm curious to hear how you pictured it based on the author's word choice.

Sincerely,
Ms. Kimball

Alec

5/11/2015 08:53:01 am

Ms. Kimball,
I think the canvas litter is like artwork that's littered or something? That's just what I think. I think the blue metal was just blue metal. Not figurative language. I think the author meant literally.

From, Alec

Sage P

5/4/2015 06:28:03 am

Dear class,
I chose a description from the book, Year of the Dog by Grace Lin. The description is “My eyelids felt as heavy as sacks of rice,” on page 14 paragraph 1. I think this description helped me visualize how heavy her eyelids were because the author chose very funny words, and he also didn’t make you read between the lines. What I mean by read between the lines is that he didn’t make the words confusing or made the words really tricky that people who read this book wouldn’t have to guess what it means, the author just said that her eyelids felt heavy, but in a funny, not confusing way. It is important for the reader to be able to visualize this description in relation to the plan or purpose of the story because, without that description you wouldn’t know how the main character, Grace, was feeling at that moment.
From,
Sage P.

Ms. Kimball

5/6/2015 01:32:53 pm

Dear Sage,

When I read that description, I was picturing literal sacks of rice over my eyelids. I imagine a sack of rice being bulky and heavy. Now, no one would ever want to put sacks of rice on their face because that would be ridiculous. Why did the author choose to compare the heaviness of eyelids to the heaviness of sacks of rice? What do you think the character was feeling?

Sincerely,
Ms. Kimball

Sage P

5/11/2015 09:38:40 am

Dear Ms. Kimball,
I think the author chose to use sacks of rice for something heavy instead of anything else because I think it would be a very easy simile to see that her eyes feel very heavy. I think the character felt very tired because I know when I am tired my eyes feel very heavy, like sacks of rice are on my eyes. Thank you for responding.
From,
Sage P.

Danny

5/4/2015 11:23:10 am

Dear Ms.Kimball
I am reading the "Good Earth" by Pearl S. Buck with my dad. Here is a description of a setting. " He stood at the gate for a long time, looking at it. It was closed fast, two great wooden gates, painted black and bound and studded with iron, closed upon each other. Two lions made of stone stood on guard, one at either side. There was no one else. He turned away. It was impossible." I could visualize the gates and lions just like the ones in Chinatown. I could see the gates as if I was there. Visualizing is like watching a movie, and I could see and hear things as I went through the book. This description shows that Wang Lung, the main character, is intimadated by the great door to the Hwang house. Wang Lung is a poor man. He went to the Hwang house to go get a wife, because a long time ago in China, poor men had to get a wife by going to a rich person's house. He payed what he could for a woman to become his wife.

Ms. Kimball

5/10/2015 04:26:25 am

Dear Danny,

Wow! Great description and great analysis of the description. I agree, the details about the gate make it sound very intimidating. I like how you compared it to an actual gate you have seen in real life. I often do that when I visualize. I relate the descriptions to things I've seen in person, then add on to that with my imagination. Have you done that with other parts of the story?

Sincerely,
Ms. Kimball

Danny

5/12/2015 01:28:38 am

Dear Ms.Kimball
yes there are a ton of parts where I have related real moments of my life.

Yubin

5/4/2015 02:40:57 pm

Dear Class,

I’m choosing a description from the book “Tsunamis and Other Natural Disasters” by Mary Pope Osborne and Natalie Pope Boyce. The description is, “Waves rolled in with foam that looked like it was sizzling in a frying pan.” I can visualize the surface of the water in the ocean having a lot of bubbles like the water in a frying pan. This is important to visualize because it is one of the clues that a tsunami is on the way. If there is a tsunami, then you have to escape very quickly.

Sincerely,
Yubin

Julia

5/5/2015 08:21:41 am

Dear Yubin,

Does this help you visualize the setting, an object, a character or actions? I really like that descpription, and I can clearly see in my mind what the author is stating.

Sincerely,
Julia

Yubin

5/8/2015 06:51:54 am

Dear Julia,

Great question! This description helped me visualize the water on the surface of the ocean moving with bubbles on it. So, that is kind of like an object and an action.

Your friend,
Yubin

Ms. Kimball

5/6/2015 01:35:47 pm

Dear Yubin,

Great choice of a description to visualize. I tried to picture what liquid looks like when it sizzles in a frying pan, then tried to imagine what that would look like on top of a wave. For some reason, the sound of liquid sizzling kept sneaking into my visualization. I like how you imagined bubbles. How does this picture relate to the danger of a tsunami?

Sincerely,
Ms. Kimball

Yubin

5/8/2015 06:54:47 am

Dear Ms. Kimball,

The water of the ocean "sizzling" relates to the danger of the tsunami because the sound means that you need to stay away.

Sincerely
Yubin

Forrest

5/11/2015 10:26:03 am

Dear Yubin,

Great job! I love the way you visualize the water. I also think it is like a bar of soap. I love hearing from you. What do you think about that?

From,

Forrest

Yubin

5/12/2015 01:42:26 am

Dear Forrest,

I think the water has a lot of bubbles like bubbles on a bar of soap. Is that what you meant?

Sincerely,
Yubin

Julia

5/5/2015 08:19:07 am

Dear Class,

I am currently reading the book Where She Went by Gayle Forman. A great description from this book is, "She leads me down a cobblestoned street. Its windows are darkened, the door locked, by all signs the place is closed. But Mia knocks and within a minute a bushy haired man with flour clinging to his unruly beard swings open the door and shouts bonjour and kisses Mia on both cheeks." I could clerly see what the author was describing becasuse she was very specific with what she was describing. For example, instead of just saying, "the streets", the author says "the cobblestone streets." This gives the reader a clearer picture of what the author is describing. Another example is when the author adds the detail about the "flour clinging to his unruly beard" instead of saying "he has a beard." I liked that the author did this because it helped me to visualize the man. By describing this the author is letting the reader know about the setting. It is very important that setting is clear, because otherwise you migh not understand something further along in the strory.

Sincerely,
Julia

Layla

5/6/2015 12:40:14 pm

Dear Julia,
That is a very cool description! I like how you wrote about each part of the description, and how you thought of it.
Nice job!
From,
Layla

Ms. Kimball

5/6/2015 01:40:58 pm

Dear Julia,

I agree with Layla on appreciating how you analyzed each part of the description you chose. I also loved your choice of a description. There is so much to imagine. The word choices are so clever and precise --cobblestoned, darkened, bushy haired, clinging, unruly. When I read those words, specific images pop into my head. I agree that visualizing a clear setting is important because you may be confused by something later. Has that every happened to you?

Sincerely,
Ms. Kimball

Julia

5/11/2015 12:51:39 am

Dear Ms. Kimball,

Every once in a while that happens to me when I'm not paying attention, so I usually go back in the story and reread it. Then I understand what the author is saying. Thank you for responding!

Sincerely,
Julia

Rheona

5/5/2015 02:29:13 pm

Dear Ms.Kimball,
I have started reading the book The Maze Runner for the second time. I hope to finish it this time. I chose a description of when the main character, Thomas, meets the other boys whose memories are also gone.
“They stood in a vast courtyard several times bigger than a football field, surrounded by four enormous walls of gray stone and covered with thick Ivy. The walls had to be hundreds of feet high and formed a perfect square around them, each side split in the exact middle by an opening as tall as the walls themselves that, from what Thomas could see, led to passages and long corridors beyond… Thomas focused back in on the dozens of strangers around him. He knew he must look out of it- he felt like hed been drugged. A tall kid with blonde hair and a square jaw sniffed at him, his face devoid of expression. A short, pudgy boy fidgeted back and forth on his feet, looking up at Thomas with wide eyes. A thick heavily muscled Asian kid folded his arms as he studied Thomas,his tight shirtsleeves rolled up to show off his biceps. A dark-skinned boy frowned- the same one who'd welcomed him. Countless others stared.”

The author makes it very easy to visualize because he makes the descriptions very simple but also very detailed.For example, each description of a person is not more than two sentences long. When the author, James Dashner describes the “short, pudgy boy” who was fidgeting back and forth. I could see that boy standing in front of me fidgeting back and forth.

Since this book is a fiction book, it can be very challenging to follow along because you can't really see this happening in real life. When you read a fiction book, it is a very helpful to be able to visualize what the author is trying to show you. When you can visualize what you are reading, you will enjoy, understand, and have a better reading experience.

From,
RHEONA

Ms. Kimball

5/6/2015 01:52:05 pm

Dear Rheona,

Clever choice for a description. I would say you have two types of visualizations going on. One about the setting of the maze. Another about the characters. Of the part about the setting, did you feel any particular words or phrases that the author used help you picture the central part of the maze? I remember when I read about the "glade," I had a hard time picturing it, especially its immense size.

I agree that simple descriptions are easier to comprehend. Sometimes, though, I like when an author uses figurative language and clever details because it makes the settings and characters more unique. For example, there are a lot of short, pudgy boys with wide eyes out there in the world. I can vaguely picture one, but he wouldn't be very memorable as a character until I have more specific details about him. What do you feel about that?

Sincerely,
Ms. Kimball

Rheona

5/12/2015 10:13:20 am

Dear Ms.Kimball,
To me the words that really helped me visualize the setting of this weird place that Thomas has found himself in were, "hundreds of feet high" and "each side split in the exact middle by an opening as tall as the walls themselves that, from what Thomas could see, led to passages and long corridors beyond". These helped me because I could clearly imagine the walls.

I definitely agree that figurative language can help a lot with visualizing. However, figurative language can also be very confusing when describing many things at a time. People may miss the main point of the description.

Do you agree?
From,
RHEONA

Marc

5/6/2015 11:07:54 am

Class,

I chose to take the description from the Maze Runner. The description is, "Harsh sounds of chains and pulleys, like the workings of an ancient steel factory, echoed through the room, bouncing off the walls with a hollow, tinny whine."

In this description, the first word, harsh, really stood out to me. It makes you picture the echoes and sounds even worse than you would have, and it changes the way chains and pulleys would normally sound to me. For example, in class, when we used those pulleys, they barely made any noise, but now, with the word harsh, it sounds like scratches and scraping.

Next, the words like the working of an ancient steel factory made everything feel so real, because I could hear the scraping even louder, and it gave me the chills because the setting was in the darkness, so it sounded felt like something was going to attack him.

Lastly, when the word "echoing" come up, it makes all of my noises and picture all get bundled up. With noises repeating and making everything sound horrible. This also helps you picture what Thomas is going through, because since he just woke up in a dark cage, he is probably going a little bit crazy with all of the creepy sounds.

Sincerely,
Marc

Ms. Kimball

5/7/2015 12:09:49 pm

Dear Marc,

Wow! Great job analyzing the author's word choice in that description. When I read the description, I had the same reaction you did. The author's use of such precise words such as "harsh," "echoing," and "hollow" gave me a sense of fear and emptiness. I especially liked your choice of a description because it is all about imagining sounds rather than images. I'm guessing at this point Thomas couldn't see or it was dark. Is that right?

Great job!
Sincerely,
Ms. Kimball

Marc

5/10/2015 02:25:22 pm

Ms. Kimball,
Thank you! You were spot on, earlier in the book, ip the author described it as cold darkness.

Sincerely,
Marc

Kaela

5/9/2015 04:50:05 am

Dear Marc,
That description was cool. One thing I'm not sure is what tinny means. That is a cool description, harsh does really stand out i agree. It was a very good description that you really can picture. This was a very fun description to read and you did a really great job on job on it.
From,
Kaela

Talia

5/6/2015 12:00:52 pm

Ms.Kimball,
I am reading the book P.S. Be Eleven by Rita Williams-Garcia. In the book, the younger sister needs to pee really badly. The older sister rushes her to the bathroom, but not in time. The book says, "A clear pee-pee stream ran from Fern's stall down the tiles to the next stall."
The description helps me picture this because of the word stream. Otherwise, I may have just thought it was a little bit of pee, but this shows that it was a lot. It is important for a reader to be able to visualize this description in relation to the plot or purpose of the story because it shows that Fern is younger.
Talia

Ms. Kimball

5/10/2015 04:28:03 am

Dear Talia,

What an unusual experience to describe! I am wondering what the context of the plot surrounding this scene is. Why is this happening?

Sincerely,
Ms. Kimball

Talia

5/10/2015 06:28:44 am

Ms.Kimball,
The sisters had just been on a plane for a long time. Fern had been waiting to go for a while.
Talia

Olivia D.

5/11/2015 10:05:13 am

Dear Talia,

This seems like a really interesting story. It looks like Fern was having some bad luck. What does the title represent in this story?

Sincerely,
Olivia D.

Sofia

5/6/2015 01:14:33 pm

Dear class,
The description I chose is from Snapshot. It is:
"They drove around a bend to discover a glimmering blue lake. A sandy beach dotted with kayaks, canoes, and small sailboats anchored the camp. A log cabin-style lodge' was nestled on one side, and a sidewalk traced the edge of the lake on the other. Small cabins peppered the lakefront fr as far as she could see."

This description is effective because of using words like dotted and peppered. It lets the readers know they weren't spread out, but aren't so close together they look like cobblestone.

The author also gave multiple examples of what was around them. "kayaks, canoes, and small sailboats"

The choice of words also made the camp seem cozy. The author chose words like "nestled", it gives off a warm feeling.
Sofia

Layla

5/7/2015 12:45:53 pm

Dear Sofia,
I think that it's cool that you didn't just see the description in your mind, but felt the words that you pictured.
Also, I seemed like you thought a lot about how the description what you visualized. For example, how you said "nestled" gives off a warm feeling. I think that you have an unique visualization, especially when you really think about the description! If I hadn't taken the time to think about the description I wouldn't have done that!
From,
Layla

Ms. Kimball

5/10/2015 04:36:58 am

Dear Sofia,

I especially like your description choice as well because of all the interesting vocabulary words, such as "peppered," "glimmering," and "nestled." Like you described, those words create very clear mental pictures in my head. For example, when I think of "peppered," I think of pepper flakes sprinkled on mashed potatoes, lightly decorating food in a haphazard way. I guess small cabins built randomly along a shoreline can do that to a landscape, too!

I'm curious, why does "nestled" give off a warm feeling to you? Can you explain why you get that image?

Sincerely,
Ms. Kimball

Sofia

5/11/2015 01:39:02 pm

Ms. Kimball,
Usually when I think nestled, I think cozy. Usually because when I hear nestled, it is in relation to a small, cozy town being nestled in a mountain. Or a chick nestling under it's mothers' wing. Usually pretty cozy.
Sofia

Mikey

5/12/2015 01:29:51 am

Dear Sofia,
I like how you formulated every part of the description to create an image in your mind. Great job!
Mikey

Amy

5/12/2015 01:31:51 am

Dear Sofia,
I liked how you wrote why you think the description is effective and how you included what you found from the text. Great response! I agree when the author included "nestled", it gave me a warm feeling too!
Sincerely,
Amy

Amy

5/7/2015 06:47:36 am

Dear Class,
I just finished the book, The lions of little Rock. The description I found is,
"Liz started to climb I stared at her white lace socks and saddle shoes, and I watched where her right hand went (she had a bit of dirt under her thumb) and where her left hand went (there was a bit of old red nail polish on her ring finger,) and I repeated times tables in my head until I was able to follow her. Pretty soon, we were high enough that i could feel the tree swaying back and forth in the wind."

I really like this description because the author includes details that she didn't need to include but the main character is a person who notices the small details. You can tell that the main character is scared to follow her friend Liz up the tree.

Sincerely,
Amy

Sam

5/7/2015 12:29:06 pm

Dear Amy,
I really like how you explained why you like this description, and how it helps you visualize the character. Seems like a cool book.

Sincerely,
Sam

Ms. Kimball

5/10/2015 04:39:36 am

Dear Amy,

Congrats on finishing your book! I hope you enjoyed the ending as much as you loved the beginning.

Why do you think the details about the red nail polish and dirt under the nails were included in the narrator's description? You said she noticed small details, but is there more to her personality than that?

Also, how does this description show she is scared to climb the tree?

Sincerely,
Ms. Kimball

Amy

5/11/2015 01:53:48 pm

Dear Ms. Kimball,
Marlee is a very shy person, and i find that shy people have more time on there hands to notice small details in people because they aren't talking as much. The description showed she was scared because it said she started to do times tables in her head,which she does when she is nervous.
Sinceely,
Amy

Kaela

5/7/2015 11:17:10 am

Dear class,
I read from the book wonder. "The things we do are like monuments that people build to honer heroes after they died." read the text. This was what August said about the saying on the tomb stone "your deeds our your monuments. This made me picture a monument of a heroic person and I think that's important so you know what August is talking about.Thank you for reading.
Sincerely,
Kaela

Ms. Kimball

5/10/2015 04:42:06 am

Dear Kaela,

Can you say more about this? Your response is very short. Reread the prompt and answer all parts of it.

You said, "I think that's important so you know what August is talking about." What is he talking about? You didn't explain it.

Sincerely,
Ms. Kimball

kaela

5/12/2015 06:28:49 am

Dear Ms.Kimball
sorry that I did not go very long but I will say as much as I can now. It is important to know that August is talking about his thoughts and his feelings not another persons. He is thinking about what his teacher told him to Wright "about and he put it to hart. He looked at the phrase "Your deeds are your monuments" and August had a brilliant thought that that’s like the monuments we build to honer hero’s after they died. I think that he is talking about how your good deeds are the "sculptures". They are the things people remember about you after you have died. Thank you for the suggestions and thank you for reading my response.
Sincerely,
Kaela
P.S. Thank you for reading this response too.

Forrest

5/7/2015 11:50:40 am

Dear Class,

I am reading the Bridge to Terabithia. I found a really cool description. "Leslie's favorite place besides the castle stronghold was the pine forest. There trees grew so thick at the top that the sunshine was veiled. No low bush or grass could grow in that dim light, so the ground was carpeted with golden needles." To me when I picture this I see a hallway of golden needles and the trees protecting her as she makes her way into the forest. I imagine that the veil lets in dots of sunlight to guide her. This is important to know because it connects to her other favorite place the castle strong hold. The caste strong hold is a safe magical place for her and her friends to be.
From,

Forrest
P.S. I suggest this book to anyone why needs a book. I rate it a 9 and a half out of 10.

Ms. Kimball

5/10/2015 04:46:18 am

Dear Forrest,

Thank you for the recommendation! I agree, this is an amazing story.

I like how you used the word "protecting" to describe how you pictured the trees around Leslie's special place. Did you look up the word "veiled"? I think that is an interesting word choice. I like how you pictured, "dots of sunlight." I saw that too, only my imagination made them look more like moving speckles, since tree leaves usually blow in the wind.

Now, since this place is a real spot in the woods, did you find it confusing how Leslie imagined it as a castle? It wasn't really a castle, right?

Sincerely,
Ms. Kimball

Forrest

5/11/2015 10:21:24 am

Dear Ms Kimball,

I agree with you prediction that the dots are moving. Also the meaning of that word is "not openly or directly expressed; masked; disguised; hidden; obscure:". That is one of the definitions.
Thanks for the response.

From,

Forrest

Arim link

5/7/2015 12:06:22 pm

Dear class,

I'm going to quote something that Fireheart said, "how do they get on the island when the water's not frozen, do they swim?" This makes me visualize a island in the middle of a river completely frozen, then snow on everywhere because it sounds like it's winter. Then I visualize to cat's talking to each other in front of a river.

From Arim

Ms. Kimball

5/10/2015 04:47:51 am

Dear Arim,

Can you say more about this? Your response is very short. Reread the prompt and answer all parts of it.

I think your choice of a description needs more detail in order to make visualizing more meaningful. Can you quote more of the text that describes this scene and then analyze it?

Sincerely,
Ms. Kimball

Arim link

5/12/2015 01:47:48 am

Dear Ms. Kimball,

This is important for a reader to visualize because it makes them ask questions like "how do they get to the other side of the river," or "why would river clan want to live on an island in the middle of the river, I thought cat's hate water."

From Arim

Talia

5/10/2015 06:26:26 am

Arim,
Is Fireheart a character, or the name of a book? If it is a character, what book is it in? If it is a book's name, what character said it, and what does that character do in the story?
Talia

Arim link

5/12/2015 01:41:24 am

Dear Talia,

Fireheart is a character in my book. Though I should have been more clear. He's in the series Warriors by Erin Hunter.

From Arim

Sam

5/7/2015 12:25:56 pm

Dear Ms. Kimball,
I am almost finished with the first Harry Potter book. A description that has stuck with me through out the first book, is the one they first used to describe Harry. "Harry had a thin face, knobbly knees, black hair, and bright green eyes. He wore glasses held together with a lot of Scotch tape because Dudley had punched him on the nose." The description helped me visualize the character cause J.K. Rowling really described a lot of the characters traits and what they do. Can't wait to finish.

Sincerely,
Sam

Ms. Kimball

5/10/2015 04:49:44 am

Dear Sam,

I love the description you chose. It has some great word choices and precise description. Your analysis of it is very short. Reread the prompt to make sure you answered all parts of it.

Can you say more about how this description helped you visualize Harry's character traits?

Sincerely,
Ms. Kimball

Sam

5/12/2015 01:35:20 am

Dear Ms. kimball,
When I read this description I visualise Harry's traits from the way J.K. Rowling describes his skinny body and his glasses. What I visualise is harry as a smart, geeky, awkward person to talk with .
I don't exactly know why but these things just come straight to my head.

Sincerely,
Sam

Marc

5/10/2015 02:29:47 pm

Sam,
This is a great description you chose. Does your description influence the way you pictured him? (without the movies). Does this influence the way you think about Harry?

Sincerely,
Marc

Danny

5/12/2015 01:32:16 am

Dear Ms.Kimball
could you relate Harry to yourself

Danny

5/13/2015 01:31:48 am

That was for Sam.

Olivia D.

5/7/2015 01:08:06 pm

Dear Ms. Kimball,

A great description in a story called, the red pencil, is "It's golden braids are woven with promise of a hearty harvest. Ya wheat! Our greatest crop. Our gleaming pride, stretching tall, glinting between the sun's smile."
You can tell this description was well thought out because the author used a bunch of description but still left room for the reader to add in there own imagination.
This description helped me visualize because if it just said, wheat is our best crop, then I wouldn't have much to picture but a field of wheat, so when the author uses more creative language it gives me a different outlook on things.
I think it is important for readers to visualize this because this is the first line of the story and so It let's you know that the story is about a family living on a farm. I also think it's important to start off your story telling your readers what the setting of this book is, so that's why I think it's important.

Ms. Kimball

5/10/2015 04:52:50 am

Dear Olivia,

Wow! What a beautiful choice of a description and a strong analysis of it. I like how you said that the author described a lot, but still left room for readers to use their imaginations. I wonder why the author chose "golden braids" to describe the wheat fields. What do you think? When I visualize golden braids, I think of a shiny, weaved hair. Do you think wheat looks like that?

Sincerely,
Ms. Kimball

Olivia D.

5/11/2015 09:59:10 am

Dear Ms. Kimball,

I imagine golden braids sort of like bright golden hair braided together. I think The author chhose to use this description because the character is always admiring things so they wanted to show how she admires the wheat. I always imagined wheat to be like woven strands.

SIncerely,
Olivia D.

Rheona

5/12/2015 10:34:49 am

HI Olivia,
I loved how you described how you would have seen the setting without just one line. This made me think harder about my blog response. Also when you said, "You can tell this description was well thought out because the author used a bunch of description but still left room for the reader to add in there own imagination", not many people can recognize that.

Great job!
From,
RHEONA

Sage W.

5/7/2015 02:55:26 pm

Dear Class,

The description I chose was a description from the book Frozen by Erin Bowman, "Tents as bright as grass speckle the snow, and a fire sends a thin line of smoke through the tree branches. I picture bright green tents, a few feet of snow, and tree branches all over the campsite. I really like this description because it really shows the living conditions that Gray and his crew were in. I also like it because although the author is being descriptive she keeps some of her knowledge about the situation.

From,
Sage W.

Ms. Kimball

5/10/2015 04:55:49 am

Dear Sage,

You forgot to include end quotes, so I was confused where the quoted text ended and your analysis started. I think I figured it out though.

I like your choice of a description. Why do you think it's important to visualize this scene though? You said, "it really shows the living conditions that Gray and his crew were in." Why do readers need to picture that?

Also, what do you mean when you say that the author "keeps some of her knowledge about the situation"?

Sincerely,
Ms. Kimball

Sage W.

5/11/2015 09:44:15 am

Dear Ms.Kimball,

The author doesn't share all that she knows about the living situation, but she soon does in other descriptions. Also the reason you need to know how they were living is because they were like that for weeks and some complain although some don't. That also shows who is resilient and who isn't which I think is pretty cool. I'm sorry about the confusion about the ending quotes I'll need to watch out for that.

Talia

5/10/2015 06:23:44 am

Sage,
What situation does the author keep her knowlege about?
Talia

Mikey

5/10/2015 01:39:35 pm

Dear Ms. Kimball,
I found a description from a book called the Last Leopard by Lauren St. John. It was "Dawn was casting spun-gold threads across a rosy sky over Martine's house". I pictured a red sky with orange and yellow lines like a string scattered along the skyline. This description was very important to visualize because that was the beginning of the most important day in the book.
Mikey

Nathan

5/12/2015 09:23:23 am

Dear Mikey,

Nice post, but what do you imagine "Martine's house" to look like? That might help you with the surroundings and the setting.

From,
Nathan

Mikey

5/13/2015 08:06:38 am

Dear Nathan,
Thanks for the response! I just imagined Martines house as a black figure in the morning in front of the sky.
Mikey

Nathan

5/12/2015 01:55:05 am

Dear class,

I have chosen a description from Warriors, Rising Storm. In this description, Cloudpaw (an apprentice that does not understand the Warrior Code very well) is taken away by a Twoleg monster, A Twoleg is a human, and a monster is a car. Here it is:

“A gigantic monster, almost as big as a Twoleg nest, stood on Thunderpath. The deafening growl was coming from the belly of the monster. Both cats flinched as another door to the nest clattered shut just around the corner of them. Fireheart saw a Twoleg walking toward the monster with something swinging from its hand. It looked like a den woven from brittle dead stems. Through the hard mesh at one end of the den, Fireheart could see a soft white pelt. He peered closer, and felt his heart lurch, as he recognized the face behind the mesh, its eyes stretched with terror.
It was Cloudpaw!”

I can imagine a big truck with dark, dark smoke coming out of it. It is making a growling noise. I see Sandstorm, and Fireheart (the two cats witnessing it) with worried faces. Then I imagine a door swinging opening whilst a human comes out with a red colored crate, it is barbed with a shiny rails.

From yours truly,
Nathan

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Student Work
for
Ms. Kimball's Grade 5 At Underwood, 2014-2015

Relive the greatness of this unforgettable group of students, my fabulous fifth grade class from Underwood Elementary School in Newton.