<

Using All Five Senses to Write About Strong Feelings

Prepare your students for poetry with this exercise on sensory writing and feelings.

If your class needs to transition from essay writing to a poetry unit, your students may have a hard time shifting gears to match the new genre. For fifth-grade teacher Julie Ballew, the exercise below was a great way for her young writers to practice expressive writing by exploring their feelings and using their five senses.

Start With a List of Feelings

To begin this exercise, give each student a list of feeling words. You can create your own list, or use the sample list below which was created by the UCSB Children’s Center.

Invite your students to highlight the feelings that they have previously experienced or the feelings with which they feel a strong connection. They should copy those words into their writer’s notebook for reference and can jot down details from their memories of times they’ve experienced those emotions.

Have Your Students Use Their Senses to Describe These Feelings

Remind your students that writers sometimes use sensory language (or each of their senses) to describe something. To get them in the mindset, read a poem or two that exemplifies sensory writing. 

Have each student choose one of their highlighted words from the feelings list and give them time to think about that feeling through each of their senses. 

Finally, have your students create a flipbook for their chosen feeling, with one flap for each of their senses. Students should write about how their chosen feeling might smell, taste, look, hear, or feel. Students may use comparisons to things they already know, like describing “plain white rice” as the taste of loneliness.  

RELATED READING: 5 Tips for Teaching Poetry to Your Students

Invite Your Students to Respond

Talk to your students about their experience with this exercise. Here are two example questions that elicited thoughtful responses from Ballew’s young writers.

That’s a pretty long list of feeling words—what made you choose this word?

Student: Well, I knew we were about to write poetry. I’ve written poetry before, so I know that my best poems usually come from my miserable side.

How do you think this activity will help you as a writer?

Student: Well, I never thought about describing my feelings like this before. I can paint a good picture with descriptions like this that use my senses.

RELATED READING: 7 Ways Love That Dog Helps Students See Poetry in a New Light

To inspire your students, shop books about emotions below! You can find all books and activities at The Teacher Store.

Paperback Book

The Very Bear: The Very Cranky Bear

Grades Pre-K - K
$4.46$5.95
save to wishlist

The bear roars loudly and says that he is trying to sleep. Not understanding why the bear is so cranky, the other animals come up with ways to cheer up the bear.

Paperback Book

You Get What You Get

Grades Pre-K - 1
$3.71$4.95
save to wishlist

At school the rule is "You get what you get if you don't throw a fit." Melvin learns to control his behavior at school pretty quickly and when he spills the beans at home, his parents take on a new philosophy as well.

Paperback Book

Grumpy Bird

Grades K
$4.46$5.95
save to wishlist

A little exercise and companionship help Bird shake his bad mood. This winsome, refreshingly original picture book is sure to help kids (and grown-ups) giggle away theirs, too!

Paperback Book

Wemberly Worried

Grades Pre-K - 1
$5.21$6.95
save to wishlist

When she meets a fellow worrywart in her class, Wemberly realizes that school is too much fun to waste time worrying!

Hardcover Book

The Worrysaurus

Grades Pre-K - 1
$12.74$16.99
save to wishlist

A modern Wemberly Worried—featuring dinosaurs!—for today's young readers, with reassuring, lighthearted text and charming illustrations sure to calm the anxious butterflies in any child's tummy.

Paperback Book

It's Okay to Make Mistakes

Grades Pre-K - 1
$4.46$5.95
save to wishlist

This follow-up to It's Okay to Be Different embraces life's happy accidents, the mistakes, and mess-ups that can lead to self discovery.

Paperback Book

Ruby Finds a Worry

Grades K - 2
$5.96$7.95
save to wishlist

This tender picture book introduces children to the benefits of expressing their anxieties.

Paperback Book

Happy in Our Skin

Grades Pre-K - K
$5.96$7.95
save to wishlist

A breezy and irresistible picture of the human family, and how wonderful it is to be just who you are.

$3.71$4.95
save to wishlist

This rhyming guide to social skills is a good introduction for young children to the power of kindness.

Paperback Book

I'm Happy-Sad Today

Grades Pre-K - 1
$5.21$6.95
save to wishlist

The complexity of mixed feelings are addressed in this brightly colored, empathetic picture book with a section for caregivers.

Hardcover Book

Happy Dreamer

Grades Pre-K - 2
$13.49$17.99
save to wishlist

In his Scholastic debut, picture book and creativity guru Peter Reynolds brings us a universally poignant celebration of the colorful spectrum of what it means to dream and the many ways to find happy!

Paperback Book

What Does It Mean to be Kind?

Grades Pre-K - 2
$6.71$8.95
save to wishlist

A girl in a red hat finds the courage to be kind to the new student in class. 

Paperback Book

Llama Llama Mad at Mama

Grades Pre-K - K
$5.21$6.95
save to wishlist

This fun-to-read follow-up to the popular Llama Llama Red Pajama finds Llama Llama and Mama heading to Shop-O-Rama, where shopping soon becomes a drama. Illustrations.

Want more great content? Subscribe to our Teacher Newsletter below and get teaching ideas delivered right to your inbox.