Imagery is an important type of figurative language, as it brings ideas and memories to life in a very tactile way for our senses.
Having students create storyboards that show different kinds of imagery in a memory strengthens analytical thinking about imagery, and their understanding of the way memory works. Have your students choose an important memory from their lives and depict the sensory imagery using the Storyboard Creator. In the storyboard, an example of each sensory image from the memory should be visually represented (either through pictures students create, or what they can find in our Photos For Class search), along with an explanation of the scene, and how it fits the particular category of imagery.
Please refer to the following example and template as you prepare this assignment for your students.
Cell 1: Sight
In the memory, I can see the road flares as my brother stuck them in the snow on the hill.
Cell 2: Smell
I can smell the coldness of the air; more snow is on the way!
Cell 3: Taste
I taste the hot chocolate we brought with us in a thermos to keep us warm.
Cell 4: Touch
I feel the hard nylon snow tube underneath me as I sit down and prepare to fly.
Cell 5: Sound
I hear the dead stillness in the woods, and the screams of laughter as we sail over the jumps.
Cell 6: Emotional Impression
This is one of the happiest memories from my childhood. Night sledding was a totally new thing to my friends and I, and to light up the hill with road flares created a cool and surreal look and feel to the hillside.
(These instructions are completely customizable. After clicking "Copy Activity", update the instructions on the Edit Tab of the assignment.)
Student Instructions
Create a storyboard that highlights the sensory imagery from an important memory in your life. Try to choose one that accesses all of the five senses. In the final cell, give your overall emotional impression of that memory. .
Engage students in small groups to collaboratively identify and illustrate sensory imagery in a shared memory or story. This method builds teamwork and helps students learn from each other's perspectives while deepening their understanding of imagery.
Designate specific roles like illustrator, writer, presenter, and researcher within each group. Clear roles keep everyone involved and ensure that each student can contribute to analyzing and representing sensory imagery.
Help groups agree on a common memory, school event, or familiar story to use as the basis for their imagery storyboard. Choosing relatable topics encourages deeper engagement and richer sensory details.
Offer graphic organizers or digital storyboard templates to help groups organize their ideas and assign senses to different cells. Structure makes the process manageable and helps students focus on each sensory element.
Have groups present their storyboards to the class and invite constructive feedback on their use of sensory imagery. This sharing step reinforces learning and sparks new ideas for using imagery in students' own writing.
Sensory imagery in The Glass Menagerie refers to descriptive language that appeals to the five senses—sight, sound, smell, taste, and touch—to help readers experience memories and emotions more vividly.
Students can make a storyboard by choosing a personal memory, then illustrating scenes that represent each sense—labeling cells for sight, smell, taste, touch, sound, and emotional impression—using drawings or photos, with brief descriptions for each.
Examples include: Sight: road flares in snow; Smell: cold air; Taste: hot chocolate; Touch: hard nylon snow tube; Sound: laughter and stillness in the woods.
Sensory imagery helps students connect emotionally and analytically with texts, deepening their understanding of character experiences and making literary moments more memorable and relatable.
The best approach is to encourage students to focus on vivid moments, ask themselves what they saw, heard, felt, tasted, and smelled, and use these details to build storyboard cells with labeled senses and short, clear descriptions.