Descriptive Lede Writing Lesson Plan Download

Some people breeze through the body paragraphs of your article, but nearly everyone will look at your headline, subheadline, lede, photos, and captions. For some types of stories, especially in the news category, writers can get by with a simple 5W lede. However, for other types of articles, descriptive ledes elevate writing quality.

This lesson plan helps you teach your writers how they can encapsulate the heart of the story with high-quality ledes that use sensory language.

Step-by-Step Lede Writing

• Ask the question “What is the most interesting part of your story, without looking at your article again?”

• Vivid descriptors:

  • Sensory language: Use all five senses to describe the scene

  • Name the dog: The more specific descriptors you provide, the more the reader will visualize it

• Nut graf: Concise “highlight reel” of the story

• Answer 5W’s: Who, What, Where, Why, When

• Can be read in one breath

HSPC Lede Writing Lesson Plan

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