Lesson 2
Sensory Experience
Objectives
- Identify sensory image present in a literary piece
- Define sensory experience
- Extract the sensory words in a poem
- Integrate sensory experience through writing a
short introduction of a story
Activity
Task:
Using as many descriptive words as possible,
describe your dream destination like you would
describe it to a person who has never been in that
place.
Activity
Questions:
1. How did you describe your dream destination?
2. What descriptive words did you use to convince
someone to also like your dream destination?
Listen...
Close your eyes and listen quietly to the audio that will be
played. Once the audio stops, write down the senses you
felt while listening to that specific audio. You will be
listening to three different audios.
Sensory include sight, sound, touch, smell,
and taste. Writers employ the five
senses to engage a reader's
interest. If you want your writing to
Details jump off the page, then bring your
reader into the world you are
creating. When describing a past
event, try and remember what you
saw, heard, touched, smelled, and
tasted, then incorporate that into
your writing.
The tiny red ant The sweet aroma of
climbed up the broken freshly baked apple
wing. pie filled the air.
One bite of the sour
lemon caused my lips
to pucker.
The car squeaked The sharp edge of the
every time I hit a bump paper cut my finger
on the road. and made it sting.
Activity
SIGHT TOUCH HEARING SMELL TASTE
Create a chart with five
columns headed by the five
senses. You will read a poem
and find the sensory words
the poet chose to include.
Nature's Way
Heidi Campbell
July 2007
Hear the buzzing of the bees,
Climb the tallest willow trees.
Upon a nice mid-spring day,
Look across the meadow way,
Let's take a look at Nature's way.
And you shall see a young deer play.
Breathe the scent of nice fresh air,
Feel the breeze within your hair.
Pick the daisies as they grow,
Watch a gentle cold stream flow.
The grass will poke between your toes,
Know the sounds of water splash,
Smell the flowers with your nose.
Catch its glimmer in a flash.
Clouds form shapes within the skies,
And light will glisten from your eyes.
When altogether all seems sound,
Lay yourself upon the ground.
Take a moment to inhale,
And listen to Nature tell her tale..
What is Sensory
Experience?
The apprehension of an object,
thought, or emotion through the
senses; active participation in
events or activities leading to the
accumulation of knowledge or skill.
The writer's ability to create a
gripping and memorable story
has much to do with engaging
our five senses.
Sensory experience in writing
is using sensory words to
describe an experience and to
hook the reader's interest.
Additional Information:
Teilhard de Chardin (2010) enumerates the following senses
which according to him are needed in order for a person to have
clarity of vision.
ØSENSE OF SPACE – relative greatness and smallness of things.
ØSENSE OF DEPTH – events which people tend to compress into
a thin layer they simply call past.
ØSENSE OF QUANTITY – to appreciate the abundance of
elements.
ØSENSE OF QUALITY – certain stages of perfection and growth.
ØSENSE OF PROPORTION – separates the microscopic from the
astronomical.
ØSENSE OF MOVEMENT – rhythm beneath apparent inertia.
ØSENSE OF ORGANIC – the world’s underlying oneness.
Compare
" U p o n e n t e r i n g t h e g r o c e r y s t o r e , I h e a d ed
directly for the flower department, where I
s p o t t e d y e l l o w t u l i p s . A s I t e n d e r l y r e s t ed
the tulips in my rusty shopping cart, l
caught a whiff of minty dried eucalyptus,
"I went to the so l added the fragrant forest green
store and bought bouquet of eucalyptus to my cart While
heading for the meat department, I
some flowers.
smelled the stench of seafood, which
Then I headed to made my appetite disappear. I absently
the meat grabbed a bloody red hunk of NY Strip and
tossed it into my cart. Pushing my creaky
department. Later s h o p p i n g c a r t t o t h e c h e c k o u t l i n e , I h e ar d
I realized I forgot an employee announce over the PA that
to buy bread." there was a special on shrimp. On the ride
home, I realized I had forgotten to buy the
crusty wheat bread I like so much.
"Upon e nte ri ng the groc e ry s tore, I head ed d irec tly for
the f l ow e r de partme nt, w he re I s p otted yellow tulip s .
As I t e nde rl y res te d the tulips in my rus ty s hop p ing
ca rt, l c a ught a w hif f of minty d ried euc alyp tus , s o l
a dde d the fra gra nt f ore s t gre e n b ouq uet of euc alyp tus
to my c a rt Whi le he a ding f or t he meat d ep artment, I
s me l l e d the ste nc h of s e a f ood, w hic h mad e my
a ppe t i t e di sa pp e a r. I a bs e ntly grab b ed a b lood y red
hunk of N Y S tri p a nd tos s e d it into my c art. P us hing my
crea k y shoppi ng c a rt to the c hec k out line, I heard an
emp l oye e a nnounc e ov e r the PA that there w as a
s peci a l on shri m p. O n the ride home, I realized I had
f org ot t e n to buy the c rus ty w heat b read I lik e s o muc h.
Activity
Write a short paragraph using the five (5) basic senses.
Make sure to use descriptive words that appeal to the
different senses.
(5-10 sentences long.)
Guide
Questions:
1. Can you incorporate all the senses discussed
in one literary work?
2. How important is the sensory experience in a
literary work?
See
you
next
lesson
