Description planning sheets

These flexible descriptive writing planning sheets help students organise ideas before producing a piece of descriptive writing. The example images provided focus on beach settings, but the structure can be easily adapted to any image or writing purpose, making this a versatile tool for KS3 or KS4 classrooms.

The sheets guide pupils to:

Generate ambitious vocabulary choices, ideally using a thesaurus

Consider adjectives, descriptive verbs, and precise nouns

Use the five senses to build rich, detailed imagery

Apply basic language devices (simile, metaphor, personification, etc.)

Experiment with trial sentences as preparation for modelled or independent slow writes

Perfect for supporting pupils who struggle to begin extended description, and equally useful for stretching more confident writers to refine and elevate their vocabulary choices.

These sheets work well as a planning scaffold, a pre-writing activity, a homework task, or a resource for targeted writing intervention.