"Ferocious torrents of rain": Using adjectives to describe the storms
"I watched the ferocious torrents of rain shower onto the road as strong winds blew the remaining leaves off the long rows of skeletal trees on either side of the road. The thick grey clouds rolled with thunder as the sun tried feebly to peek through the sky," writes 5th grader Maya about the January rainstorms that rolled across Northern California.
“The gigantic clouds approached ominously from the north, a mass of dangerous, wet, powerful weather. Huge trees cracked and skirted across flooded driveways as the wind blew ferociously over the hills, now a bright green,” writes Ava, another 5th grader.
“Standing outside my house with my clear umbrella in my cold wet hands, suddenly gusts of powerful strong wind hits me and nearly knocks me off my feet. I hurriedly go inside my house and sit by the warm fire observing the ferocious storm from a cozy couch, in a warm sweater and thick socks,” remembers Zenen.
From falling trees to lashing winds, the storms provided sensory inspiration for the 5th grade students in their study of adjectives and descriptive language. Seeing an opportunity, 5th grade teacher Ms. Pironti asked her students to practice using adjectives in short essays about the storms. Click on the images to read a couple of samples of their wonderful descriptive essays, written in their own hand. Bravo, 5th graders.
