Search
Description Writing with AI Image Generators
Details
Activity Description
In this activity, students write descriptions of an image using adjectives, apply adjective order rules, learn about AI image prompting, generate images using AI image generation tools, and evaluate and improve their descriptive writing skills.
Preparation
- Check the websites to ensure they are not blocked at your site.
- Read through the lesson plan.
- Print and make copies of any handouts.
- Practice using Google Arts & Culture's Say What You See image prompting practice before using with students.
- Select the AI image generator that is easiest for your students to access. Some options are Craiyon, Fotor, Imagine, Leonardo AI, Night Cafe, and Stable Diffusion. Practice the steps of AI image generation with the generator you select so that you can demonstrate for students.
- Select images and decide how you will distribute them to students. Google Arts & Culture and The New York Times Learning Network's What's Going On in This Picture are good sources for artwork and interesting photos. If you want students to work collaboratively online, one option is to create a Google Slideshow, provide groups with three slides: one with an image, one with a space for them to write their description, and one where they can copy in the AI-generated image. Another option is Padlet. Use what students will feel most ease using and that they have used before.
These are sample instructions you could add to a shared slideshow for groups to work on collaboratively: Find your group’s slide. Each group has one picture to choose from.
- Work together to write a description of the picture assigned to your team. Include colors, textures, sizes, brightness/darkness, locations. Be as detailed as possible.
- Work together to write a minimum of five sentences with at least one adjective and in each sentence about the picture on the slide assigned to your group.
- Then use an AI image generator. Copy and paste in your team’s description.
- Download or take a snip of the image that is closest to the real picture on your team’s third slide.
- Talk to your team about any differences between the original picture and the image generated by AI. What would you change to your description?
Program Areas
- ABE: Adult Basic Education
- ESL: English as a Second Language
Levels
- Intermediate
- High
- Intermediate High
- Advanced
Lesson Plan
1. Display an image and ask students to describe it orally using adjectives. Write their contributions in complete sentences, either making corrections as you go, or writing with student errors and asking students for corrections.
2. Encourage them to use as many descriptive words as possible.
3. Discuss as a class what makes a good description.
1. Explain to students that they will be practicing descriptive writing using adjectives.
2. Introduce the concept of adjective order (number, opinion, size, age, shape, color, origin, material, purpose). Teach student the mnemonic device for adjective order when adjectives come in front of nouns: NO SAS COMP.
3. Discuss the importance of clear and vivid descriptions in communication.
1. Return to the image displayed in the warm-up. Ask students to categorize the adjectives they included as number, opinion, size, age, shape, color, origin, material, purpose. Where there are adjectives missing from any category, have students add to the original description. Point out that when there are two adjectives in the same category, use a comma. Provide an example of this. Help students add more sensory information: What else do they see? What would they hear if the image were real? Are there any odors they might smell? What are the textures?
2. Show a new image to the class. Elicit ideas while modeling writing a descriptive paragraph for the image, focusing on using adjectives effectively and applying adjective order.
3. Explain how to use and point out the use of vivid language to create a mental image for the reader.
4. Elicit from students a good topic sentence and conclusion or provide a few and have them discuss which would be the best and why.
Practice 1: Adjective Order Activity
- Distribute the worksheet with sentences containing adjectives in random order.
- Instruct students to rewrite the sentences, putting the adjectives in the correct order.
- Circulate to provide assistance and feedback as needed.
Practice 2: Descriptive Writing
- Divide the class into pairs or small groups.
- Provide each group with a different image.
- Instruct students to write a descriptive paragraph individually or collaboratively, using adjectives and applying adjective order.
- Encourage them to be creative and detailed in their descriptions.
Practice 3:
Teach students about AI image generators, as needed. Explain about prompting. Use Google Lab’s Say What You See to practice prompting. Elicit from students how to describe the images displayed and how to improve the prompts.
- Have each group use one paragraph per group written in Practice 2 to prompt an AI image generator. Have students download or take a screenshot of the AI-generated image.
- Display the original image alongside an image generated by an AI image generator based on their description.
- In pairs or as a whole class, students compare the AI-generated image with the original and discuss how accurately the AI captured their description.
- Encourage reflection on the effectiveness of their descriptive writing and areas for improvement.
- Instruct students to individually write a revised version of their descriptive paragraph, incorporating any feedback or insights gained from the evaluation activity.
- Encourage them to focus on clarity, specificity, and vivid language.
- Collect the revised paragraphs for assessment or peer review in the next class.
Use this lesson in preparation for an assignment in which students describe a special place. See assignment prompt.
Documents
- Description of a Significant Place Assignment Prompt.docx - Application Assignment
- Adjective Word Order Worksheet.docx - Adjective Word Order Worksheet
Subjects
- Reasoning Through Language Arts
- Mechanics (Capitalization, Punctuation, Spelling)
- Writing
- Basic Sentences
- Mechanics (Capitalization, Punctuation, Spelling)
- Paragraph Skills
- Parts of Speech