7 Writing Activities That Engage Your Students’ Senses

I still remember the first time I took my class outside for a descriptive writing lesson. It was a crisp fall morning, and I handed each student a pine cone, asking them to describe it as if the reader had never seen one. I thought the outdoor setting would be a fun change of pace, but I wasn’t expecting how vividly their writing would come to life.

“A pine cone smells like the forest,” one student wrote. “It’s sharp like a dragon’s tail,” said another. That day, I realized how powerful sensory observation can be in helping even reluctant writers find their voice.

Since then, I’ve developed hands-on activities that help students engage their senses to notice details and write with greater clarity and confidence. Below are some of my favorites, many inspired by Montessori principles and rooted in real-world exploration.

7 Descriptive Writing Activities That Use All Five Senses

1. Sensory walk. When my students are stuck—blank pages, furrowed brows, zero ideas—I’ve found the best cure is to get them outside. A quick sensory walk, whether it’s around the schoolyard or just to a shady spot under a tree, helps reset their minds and spark creativity.

Clipboards in hand, they pause to notice the world around them: the sound of birds, the roughness of bark, the warmth of sun on their arms. I prompt them with questions like What do you hear? What textures stand out? Back in class, their observations become the seeds for a descriptive paragraph or poem.

Real-world experiences give students something concrete to write about. When their senses are activated, their words come alive.

2. Use nature trays or sensory boxes. To gently ease my students into descriptive writing, I begin with Montessori-inspired nature trays. I gather items like pine cones, feathers, dried citrus, or soft fabric swatches and set them out in trays or boxes. Sometimes I even add cinnamon sticks or jars of herbs for students to smell.

Before they start writing, I give them a few quiet minutes to explore the items using all five senses (except taste, unless the item is edible!). No pressure, just curiosity. I keep sensory word banks nearby with words like rough, brittle, velvety, and earthy to help them stretch their vocabulary.

When students can feel, smell, and study something, their writing becomes naturally richer and more confident.

3. Guess the Object partner game. This is one of my students’ favorite writing games, and honestly, one of mine too. I start by placing mystery objects in paper bags and handing one to each student. Without naming the item, they write a vivid description using at least three senses. Then they swap papers and try to guess what’s inside each other’s bags.

I’ve used everything from rubber chickens to measuring spoons to magnifying glasses. The sillier the object, the more the giggles—and the better the writing. When guesses are way off, it becomes a great teachable moment. We talk about what detail might have made the description clearer, and students revise with that in mind.

It turns writing into a challenge that’s both collaborative and fun. Students quickly see how sensory language makes their writing more precise and more powerful.

4. Prompt writing with real-world materials. When starting a themed writing activity—like fall poetry or food reviews—I like to bring in a few items to help students connect with the topic. For a fall prompt, I might set out mini-pumpkins, crunchy leaves, cinnamon sticks, or apple slices. Students explore the materials with their senses before we begin writing.

Another time, I handed out mystery snacks in paper bags and asked students to write food reviews. You’d be surprised how poetic a simple cheese puff becomes when they focus on texture and flavor.

Using real materials makes writing prompts feel authentic and multisensory, helping students stay engaged and write with richer, more detailed descriptions.

5. Food for thought challenge. Inspired by the TV show Hell’s Kitchen, this activity was always a hit with my upper elementary students and a fantastic way to turn tasting into a descriptive writing challenge. I’d split the class into two teams and bring one student from each up for a blind taste test—complete with headphones and blindfolds. They’d sample a mystery food and try to guess what it was using only their remaining senses. Teachers need to be mindful of any allergies in their classrooms and ensure that students who are comfortable with being blindfolded are the ones participating.

Afterward, the real challenge began: writing about it. I’d ask them to describe the texture, the flavor, the smell, and even how it made them feel—was it sour, squishy, comforting, or just plain weird?

The blindfold made it exciting, but it was the sensory focus that built strong writers. They started noticing and naming details they’d usually skip.

6. Use zoom-in writing. Sometimes I tell students we’re turning into scientists and hand them something small: a raisin, a button, a piece of a leaf. I ask them to imagine looking at it under a magnifying glass and describe what they see in extreme detail.

We play with metaphors too: What does it remind you of? What might it say if it could talk? Suddenly, a raisin becomes a wrinkled balloon, a tiny brain, or a traveler dried by the sun.

It builds observation muscles and encourages creative thinking. Plus, students love writing with that zoomed-in perspective because it feels like a game.

7. Make a soundtrack for writing. When heading outside isn’t an option and no field trips are planned, I bring the world to my students through sound. I’ll play a clip—birds chirping, the crowd at a concert, waves crashing—and ask students to close their eyes and listen. Afterward, they write about the scene they imagined, drawing on what they heard to describe the setting and mood.

Sometimes we pair sounds with photos, sometimes not. I love how quiet the room gets when they’re listening, imagining, and writing all at once.

It’s immersive and low-pressure. Sounds spark the imagination and help students connect sensory input to descriptive writing, even if we never leave our seats.