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What is a Metaphor?
The use of metaphors really paints a picture in the reader's mind. Get your class using metaphors in their writing by studying them first. This activity has four simple metaphors, and the reader must identify which two things are being...
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Metaphor Meanings
Help your young writers decipher the literal meanings of metaphors. After reading several metaphors, learners write the real meanings that the phrases are describing. Use this resource in a figurative language lesson, or when preparing...
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"Shooting An Elephant": George Orwell's Essay on His Life in Burma
High school readers examine George Orwell's essay "Shooting an Elephant" for examples of symbolism, metaphor, connotation, and irony. They analyze how these literary tools convey the writer's main point and contribute to the persuasive...
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Figures of Speech Slide Show
This slide show on figures of speech includes definitions, images, and examples from real texts for several common terms: metaphor, simile, personification, alliteration, irony, hyperbole, onomatopoeia, and imagery. The presentation is...
Education Oasis
Creative Writing Unit: Analyzing, Interpreting, Discussing and Writing Various Genres of African-American Literature
A six-week unit takes high schoolers through various works of African-American literature, including poems, plays, and short stories. The lesson plan format includes a week-by-week description of activities, goals, materials, and...
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A Theme Is...
Colorful contemporary images contained in a PowerPoint presentation will capture the attention of class members and model for them the how to distinguish between the subject and the theme of a work. A great want to introduce this...
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Animal Self-portrait Mosaics: A Visual Arts Elective
Out-lined here is a two-week procedure that has the class creating ceramic animal tiles that are metaphorical representations of their own personalities. They discuss animal images found throughout history, what they mean, metaphor, and...
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Figurative Language #2
Identify figurative language in sentences that have been pulled out of a text. Looking at the sentence independently, can you tell which technique is being used? How do you know? Ninth graders look at 10 sentences that show simile,...
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Metaphors
Metaphors open doors to descriptive language for your poets. They read the poem "What is the Sun" and record all the metaphors they find. Then, scholars change one of them to a simile. After answering two more comprehension questions,...
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Poetry Terms
Give your emerging poets a topic (or have them choose one themselves), and have them play with different poetic devices. They work on alliteration, rhyme, metaphor, personification, simile and onomatopoeia. Consider having them choose...
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Reading a Classic Novel
Charles Dickens offers an excellent example of sensory writing in this reading comprehension worksheet. Learners read excerpts from the novel Hard Times in which he describes the New England industrial city of Coketown. They consider why...
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Elements of Poetry
Prepare your learners to identify figurative language in poetry. Tips for reading poetry and what to look for are listed on these slides. Rhetorical devices are defined and plenty of examples are given.
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A Lucky Break
Explore idioms with a chicken theme! Consider doing these activities prior to Thanksgiving, as there's a section about wishbones! First your youngsters will match a short list of idioms with their meanings. Then, give each learner the...
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Figurative Language iMovie
In order to understand figurative language, learners read 5 poems, each exemplifying a different literary device. They discuss and write responses to each poem. They then choose one literary device which they will use as the basis for a...
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"Big Three" Bailouts
What does your class think about big business bailouts by the U.S. Government? Find out with this activity, where learners analyze a political cartoon comparing the "Big Three" automakers with the Greek Myth of Sisyphus. Background...
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Borrowing from the Greek Debt
Use political cartoons to help your class understand the European Debt Crisis and visual symbolism. This analysis handout includes two cartoons depicting the crisis and prompts learners to consider possible symbols and allusions to best...
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Figurative Language
What is figurative language, and why do we use it? Introduce your high schoolers to some examples and discuss the importance of including this element in your writing. After studying a text and searching for examples, writers will...
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Poetry Vocabulary
Consisting of a thorough and straightforward list of poetry terminology, the first part of this presentation would be a good introduction to a poetry unit, or a review for an upcoming poetry project. The list of terms is quite extensive,...
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Political Cartoons: Literacy
Readers decode and deconstruct political cartoons to heighten critical thinking, extra-textual literacy, and making meaning from symbolism and metaphor. A compatible activity to use in English class when your 8th or 11th graders are...
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Figurative Language & Poetic Devices Activity: Firework by Katy Perry
Sure to engage your class in poetry, this resource requires them to identify, label, and explain poetic devices and figurative language used in Katy Perry's hit song "Firework". A well-organized page that chunks the lyrics so learners...
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The Function of Music
Explore concepts of audience, purpose and symbols in this lesson from Media Smarts that asks young scholars to consider all the functions of music. Through a series of discussions and activities, your class will brainstorm possible...
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Spinelli's Maniac Magee (excerpt): Reading and Critical Thinking Practice
A brief, dialogue-rich passage from Jerry Spinelli's novel Maniac Magee is accompanied by a well-written literacy assessment tool. Thematic content lends itself to age-appropriate discussions about race relations and social justice....
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Cartoons for the Classroom: Grinding to a Halt- The U.S. Economy
Using gears as a visual metaphor, this political cartoon analysis worksheet gives a clear picture of one artist's perspective on the U.S. economy. Background information helps give pupils access to the cartoon's context, and 3 talking...
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Cartoons for the Classroom: Spinning off of Eyjafjallajökull
The name itself may have your scholars' heads spinning: Eyjafjallajökull. Its recent volcanic eruption spurred many political cartoons on unrelated topics- using an analysis handout scholars examine the use of metaphor in 2 cartoons...