ERC Updates

A sensory writing experience

There were disgusted grimaces, disappointed sighs and wide smiles when Year 10 students dipped into a box of food items. Some were left savouring a spoon of ice-cream or a Cadbury chocolate square, while others were left with a bland water cracker or a slice of bitter lemon.

The challenge to describe the taste and texture of a food item is part of a series of workshops for Year 10 students focused on imaginative writing. The workshops, which are part of the transition experiences being run for Year 10, aim to provide students with interactive and practical ways to improve their descriptive writing. The skill of being able to find and build upon their vocabulary to vividly create imagery is a core component of English, especially moving into Stage 6.

Throughout the workshop, students focus on using their senses (sight, sound, smell, taste and touch) to develop strong imagery around settings and characters, as well as food and objects.

Here are some examples of their spontaneous writing:

Watermelon: “It tastes like summer”
Olive: “Smells like disappointment”
Fairy Floss: “Wispy lightly spun pink sugary candy that tastes like a bustling carnival.”
Chip: “It looks like a moon in the sky and smells like a dry’s summer’s day”
Tomato sauce: “It’s at home on a sausage”
Chocolate: “Fills my mouth with joy”
Ice Cream- “A frosted cloud of refreshing icy flavours”
Cubed sour lolly – “Gold like the sands of vast Egyptian plains with a hard outer shell and a gooey centre that takes me back to grandma’s lolly jar.”

Mrs Guest
Assistant Head of English