Instructors: either gather photos yourself or ask the students to bring in a photo. You want photos without people in them.

Part 1: Literal Description

1. Each students choose a postcard or photo without seeing what is on it.
2. The students then write a detailed, literal description of their postcard. They are not telling a story, they are just describing what is front of them.
3. Collect the postcards.
4. You then ask some students to read their description aloud and see if other students can choose the postcard they are describing. This also gives the class chances to talk about what is effective about this description or what the others cannot see.

 

Part 2: Figurative Description

(This can be done the same day, the next class, or for homework.)

1. Have the students think about a character that would buy this postcard. Why? When? Who with? Did they go there or do they want to? Who are they sending it to? Why?
2. Have students generally this character. (You can share these descriptions.)
3. Then, students should describe the scene from part 1 again, but from their characters pov. The character is the narrator. This time, they should focus on sensory details and descriptions, to make the audience feel the scene. They should also think about the kind of narrator their character would be. They can describe the scene on the postcard or a scene inspired by the postcard.
4. Repeat steps 4-5 from part 1.

*A resource for this is Post Secret. These postcards are evocative and can help students imagine a narrator. PostSecret.com

(See Bishop “chapter 5”)