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Rosa Jay/Shutterstock.com (bat); Ann Froschauer/USFWS (bats flying)
You Write It Descriptive Writing,

Night of the Bats

This descriptive writing activity is about how every night, millions of bats fly out of a cave in Texas.

From the May 2017 Issue

Learning Objective: to edit a short text so that it is more descriptive

Featured Skill: Descriptive Writing,
Topic: Animals,
Common Core Standards
  • Anchor Standards
    R1, W5, L3
  • Grade 6
    RI.6.1, W.6.5, L.6.3
  • Grade 7
    RI.7.1, W.7.5, L.7.3
  • Grade 8
    RI.8.1, W.8.5, L.8.3
TEKS Standards
  • Grade 6
    6.10; 6.14
  • Grade 7
    7.10; 7.14
  • Grade 8
    8.10; 8.14

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Dig Deeper!
Video

Watch millions of bats emerge from Bracken Cave in this amazing video by Slate.

Step-by-Step Lesson Plan

Close Reading, Critical Thinking, Skill Building

1. MODELING

  • Model the activity with the “You Write It” Model Text.
  • Additionally, watch the video below for the paired-text feature “Killer Smog,” from the April 2016 issue of Scope, which is full of vivid descriptive writing. In the behind-the-scenes video, author Lauren Tarshis shares her techniques for creating mood, writing with sensory details, and building pictures in her readers’ minds. Have students read the article and watch the video before completing this issue’s You Write It. Students can use the activity as a starting point to try out the techniques Lauren mentions in the video.

2. READING THE PASSAGE

  • Read the issue’s passage as a class or independently.
  • Notice the words in bold. They are vague—meaning they are not very descriptive.

3. WRITING

  • Follow the prompts in the circles to make the writing more vivid.  
Text-to-Speech