This Lesson's Title:

The J. Peterman Experience

experimenting with voice using a very unique clothing catalogue

This original lesson was created by Northern Nevada teacher Dena Harrison.

The ideal "mentor text" that can be used when teaching this on-line lesson is the J. Peterman Clothing Catalogue. Before writing, students should listen to and discuss the writing style of this unique catalogue.

Click here to visit J. Peterman on-line, and to be able to print catalogue entries to share with your students. If you visit the "Classics" page, you'll find some particularly great entries.

Three-Sentence Overview of this Lesson:

The J. Peterman Clothing Catalogue is famous for its well-written descriptions of the clothes and accessories they sell.  Each item is given its own unique history through crafted writing descriptions, often involving stories and memories that are associated with what's for sale.  After studying this famous catalogue’s wonderful descriptions and story-telling for its clothing items or accessories, students will impersonate the voice of the catalogue for an item they would like to sell.

6-Trait Overview for this Lesson:

The focus trait for this lesson is the use of voice to convey the feelings that wearing this item will bring the purchaser.  They are not just selling an item, they are selling a lifestyle.  The support trait is word choice since the writer will need to choose just the right words to convince someone to buy this item, whatever the cost.