Using sensory language and figurative language to create an atmospheric setting
Lesson details
Learning outcome
I can craft my own atmospheric setting using precise imagery.
Key learning points
- The atmosphere in literature is the way an author uses setting, objects, or thoughts of characters to create mood.
- The atmosphere can be influenced by sensory and figurative language.
- Sensory language is language where some or all of the five senses are evoked.
- Figurative language is non-literal wording that adds creativity to your writing.
Keywords
Setting - the time, place and environment in which something occurs
Sensory - relating to sensation or the physical senses.
Atmospheric - the way an author uses setting, objects, or internal thoughts of characters to create emotion.
Mood - the emotional response that a writer wants to give the reader.
Figurative language - non-literal wording that adds creativity or rhetorical meaning to your writing.
Common misconception
That descriptive writing is all about telling the reader what's in the image.
Descriptive writing is about showing the reader what's in the image through sensory and figurative language.
Teacher tip
As part of the peer-assessment, you could ask pupils to choose one sentence from each other's work to rewrite to show them how different people respond differently to images and prompts.
Licence
Lesson video
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Prior knowledge starter quiz
6 Questions
Q1.The five senses are: taste, touch, smell, hearing, and .
Q2.The mood of a literary text is .
Q3.The setting of a text is .
Q4.Personification is .
Q5.Which emotion does 'the pansies swayed leisurely in the wind' create?
Q6.Which of the five senses does 'the damp air clung to me' evoke?
Assessment exit quiz
6 Questions
Q1.What does sensory mean?
Q2.Which of the five senses does 'the birds twittered softly' evoke?
Q3.What is figurative language?
Q4.Which emotion does 'the clawed branches swiped at me' suggest?
Q5.What does atmosphere mean?
Q6.Why is creating an atmospheric setting important for the reader?
To help you plan your 7 English lesson on: Using sensory language and figurative language to create an atmospheric setting, download all teaching resources for free and adapt to suit your pupils' needs...
To help you plan your 7 English lesson on: Using sensory language and figurative language to create an atmospheric setting, download all teaching resources for free and adapt to suit your pupils' needs.
The starter quiz will activate and check your pupils' prior knowledge, with versions available both with and without answers in PDF format.
We use learning cycles to break down learning into key concepts or ideas linked to the learning outcome. Each learning cycle features explanations with checks for understanding and practice tasks with feedback. All of this is found in our slide decks, ready for you to download and edit. The practice tasks are also available as printable worksheets and some lessons have additional materials with extra material you might need for teaching the lesson.
The assessment exit quiz will test your pupils' understanding of the key learning points.
Our video is a tool for planning, showing how other teachers might teach the lesson, offering helpful tips, modelled explanations and inspiration for your own delivery in the classroom. Plus, you can set it as homework or revision for pupils and keep their learning on track by sharing an online pupil version of this lesson.
Explore more key stage 3 English lessons from the Step into the unknown: fiction reading and creative writing unit, dive into the full secondary English curriculum, or learn more about lesson planning.