. Senior High School .

CREATIVE NONFICTION
Quarter 1- Module 5
 Using Elements as Techniques to
Develop Themes (Atmosphere)
What I need to know
This learning material was designed to provide meaningful
independent learning experience while the challenges of
classroom face to face instruction exists. Handle this module with
extra care and fulfil the activities the best that you can.

What is in
This Module consists the awareness of the atmosphere or
ambience as element in order to write or read nonfiction
selections effectively.

What is it
In science, human body has five basic senses. These senses
are receptors of information form the environment and things which

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are transmitted to the mind. In literature, the information received by
brain is called atmosphere or ambience. Atmosphere or ambience is
important in sensationalizing the set up or setting.

Trivia: what do you call the senses as indicated?

Sense of Sight Visual
Sense of Hearing ____________
Sense of Smell ____________
Sense of Taste ____________
Sense of Touch ____________

Senses: Visual, Auditory, Olfactory Gustatory, Somatic sensation

There is a creative way of presenting a setting trough the

senses such as sensationalizing the aroma of the food being
prepared in the kitchen, visualizing the blue sky with bright sun to
gloomy sky, dark clouds and cold day; and the like.

A simple poem can help you with basic sensations used;

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 I Miss You Friend
Raniel Erwin C. Pizaña

Many people use these words

From this place and all the worlds
I’m not supposed to use this through
But why should not when it is true

I miss you friend! I miss you friend.

Deep in my heart I miss you friend.
I write these words only to say
I miss you friend I wish you stay

I miss the place we used to go

Even the things we used to do
Tasteless the food we used to eat
Beside me is a vacant seat

I miss the tap, your caring hand

A little help so I can stand
Bits of though you willing shared
In heavy hour you really cared

Oh where, Oh where, your tender smiles

How far away across the miles
Oh where, Oh where, mild and sweet voice
I want to hear, do I have choice?

How I desire for your presence

I wish you know how it makes sense
My soul rejoices when I’m with you
But when you’re gone it’s all in blue

I write these words to you I send

For you to know, I miss you friend
I miss you friend! I miss you friend!
Deep in my heart I miss you friend!

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Activity #1: Unlocking of the text:
A. List down words or phrase that could appeal to the sense and write
the senses they represent as (visual, auditory, etc.)
Word or phrase sense of
__________________________ _____________
__________________________ _____________

B. How do you think the senses can help reader feel and give
meaning to the poem?
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What’s more
Activity #2. Jargon Boxes.
Write about ten words relevant to each of the following senses.

Sense of sight Sense of hearing Sense of smell

e.g. bright e.g. music e.g. aroma

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Activity # 3. House Tour
Stay in indicated places (garden/fields, kitchen and bedroom) for
at least three minutes each and create as many observation as possible
using your senses. You can do anything in those places. Be creative in
writing your observations. Make sure you have entry in all senses.

Place Observation
Garden e.g. butterfly displays its colorful wings

Kitchen

Bedroom

Tips to use your five senses when writing.

Sight
The most often used sense when writing is sight. It’s what we use
most and what comes naturally to us-write about what you see. But
here’s a tip: Look beyond what others see-blue sky, green grass-to
the details of color, shape, size, to indicate something new. For
example, “The shamrock green of the open expanse curved around
a small grove of trees then down toward the river.”
Hearing
Loud, soft, yell, whisper, angry, and all kinds of other adjectives are
used for sound. But have you thought about using something more
personal? “She spoke with a lover’s voice, not a cat’s, making me
want to listen closely to every syllable.” Or, “He sounded like
freedom. Not just his words, but the way they tumbled gently from
his lips.” Or use a little synesthesia: “It was a bright red noise,
repeating stop, stop, stop continually, until I couldn’t go on any
longer.”

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 Smell
Smell is another one of those senses that’s different for each of us.
What I think is a bad smell, someone else might not be bothered by
it. So, works like stink and pungent are great to use, but you can
easily go deeper into explanation. For example, “The alley smelled
of urine and Cracker-Jacks, an assault to the nose and eyes alike.”
Or how about this: “The wind changed to something foul, dead,
wafting up from the darkened pit.”
Touch
The way things feel is more than just texture and temperature. Like
the other senses, it can be personal: “His handshake was my
father’s handshake, not to meet you, but the rough callousness of
someone showing you who’s boss.” Or try something like this: “It felt
like the memory of something long forgotten, thin, almost invisible.”
Taste
Taste is something that is different to each of us and is difficult to get
across in a book. Yes, we all know what bacon tastes like if we just
say it tastes like bacon, but what about doing something unique with
that idea? If you think about it, taste is more than just something
your brain interprets from your taste-buds. It’s texture and smell and
sight and even process, all mixed together. Try this: “The
undercooked bacon felt like a wet sponge placed on my tongue, only
grease leaked into my mouth instead of water.” Or this: “I could
smell the mold even before I put the cheese into my mouth.” Of
course, you can always use a metaphor or simile, like, “Like hot
cocoa on a winter morning, the dinner calmed and relaxed me.”
Of course, you can always use the senses in your writing just
to “explain,” in which perhaps you want to be straightforward and
use familiar language, but when you have all these other tools, you’ll
want to select how you approach the five senses. As mentioned and
illustrated in the example, the senses overlap to a point where we
often pitch them together as a way of explaining just one of them.
That might be the best way to approach this subject after all, since
writing is personal and we each have our way to do it.

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Activity #4. I’m the writer. Create a short poem, essay or story using the
descriptions or observations you have written.

___________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________
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___________________________________________________________
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References:
Books
Carroll, J.A. et.al. (2004) Writing and Grammar Communication in Action.
Pearson Education South Asia Pte. Ltd. Singapore

Lapid, G.M and Serrano J. B. (2004) English Communication Arts and

Skills Through Filipino Literature. Phoenix Publishing House.
Quezon City.
Rees Cheney ,T. A. (2001), Writing Creative Nonfiction Fiction
Techniques for Crafting Great Nonfiction .Ten Speed Press.
Berkeley / Toronto

Online Source
https://www.fuseliterary.com/2017/03/17/tips-to-use-your-five-senses-
when-writing/

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 Self Learning Module for
Creative Nonfiction
Writer: RANIEL ERWIN C. PIZAÑA
ABORLAN NATIONAL HIGH SCHOOL
October 2020