Descriptive Language Reading Comprehension

Name:

Date:

Children reading books with descriptive words floating around them

🎯 WALT & Success Criteria

WALT: We Are Learning To identify and analyse descriptive language in texts to understand how authors create vivid pictures in our minds.

Success Criteria:

• I can find describing words (adjectives) in a text

• I can explain how descriptive words help me picture the story

• I can use evidence from the text to support my answers

• I can make inferences about characters and settings using descriptive clues

📖 Reading Passage

The Mysterious Garden

Emma pushed open the rusty, creaking gate and stepped into the forgotten garden. Towering sunflowers swayed gently in the warm breeze, their golden faces following the bright afternoon sun. Twisted vines with emerald leaves climbed up the crumbling brick walls, whilst delicate purple butterflies danced between the fragrant roses. In the centre stood an ancient oak tree with gnarled branches that stretched like welcoming arms towards the cloudless blue sky. The soft grass beneath her feet was dotted with tiny white daisies that seemed to sparkle like stars. Emma could hear the gentle trickling of water from a moss-covered fountain hidden behind curtains of drooping willow branches.

✏️ Analysis Questions

1. Find three describing words that help you picture the garden gate. Explain why the author chose these particular words.

2. The author writes that the oak tree's branches "stretched like welcoming arms". What does this comparison tell us about how Emma feels in the garden?

3. Choose your favourite descriptive phrase from the passage. Copy it here and explain why it creates a strong picture in your mind.

4. Using evidence from the text, explain whether you think this garden is well-looked-after or abandoned. Give at least two reasons for your answer.

5. Challenge: If you were Emma, what would you do next in this garden? Use descriptive language in your answer to paint a picture with your words.