National Endowment for the Humanities
Introducing Metaphors Through Poetry
Metaphors are word pictures, creating images in our brains that draw readers to consider how two seemingly unrelated items are alike. Poems by Langston Hughes, Margaret Atwood, and Naomi Shihad Nye provide learners with an opportunity to...
Poetry4kids
Simile and Metaphor Lesson Plan
Similes and metaphors are the focus of a poetry lesson complete with two exercises. Scholars read poetry excerpts, underline comparative phrases, then identify whether it contains a simile or metaphor. They then write five similes and...
Residential College in the Arts and Humanities
Poetry Lesson Plans
Need some ideas for poetry lessons? Check out this packet loaded with suggestions for elementary, middle, and high school writers.
Curated OER
Simile and Metaphor- Poetry Toolbox
Illustrate the connection between using figurative language (specifically similes and metaphors) and creating poetry. First this worksheet reviews the definition for each, and then writers create the endings to two examples provided....
Curated OER
Similes and Metaphors
Pupils examine poetry to identify the use of metaphors and similes after the teacher defines what they are. They decide how they can use similes and metaphors to describe different pieces of fruit. Finally, they write poetry about the...
National Park Service
The Poet's Toolbox
If you need a lesson plan for your poetry unit, use two poems by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow ("Rain in Summer" and "The Slave in the Dismal Swamp") and a resource on Elements of Poetry. The lesson plan guides you through activities on...
Curated OER
Similes, Metaphors, and Figurative Language
There are creative ways to make similie and metaphor lessons and activities motivating for students.
Curated OER
Express Yourself Pre Assessment Lesson 1 & 2
Find out how much your class knows about literary elements with a quick pre-assessment. Pupils work first individually to identify the instances of personification, metaphor, simile, and more, and then with group members to determine the...
Curated OER
Metaphorical Poetry
Twelfth graders read and discuss poems by Jewel., Sylvia Plath, and Langston Hughes They examine poems for examples of metaphors and similes. After discussing Jewel's poem Lost, they write their own poems. They hold a poetry reading in...
Curated OER
Fairness Metaphor
Young scholars write a metaphor. In this descriptive writing lesson, students define metaphor. Young scholars come up with a creative metaphor to describe their feelings about fair practices related to music downloads.
Curated OER
Reading Lesson Plan
Tenth graders read the poem "Still I Rise" and discuss the different ways it can be told and read and brought to life. In this poetry lesson plan, 10th graders read aloud and silently, and compare different works of poetry.
Academy of American Poets
Teach This Poem: "Spring is like a perhaps hand" by E. E. Cummings
E. E. Cummings' "Spring is like a perhaps hand" offers young scholars an opportunity to try their hands at analyzing a simile. After a warm-up activity and a close reading of the poem, class members discuss what they think the poem is...
Curated OER
The Outsiders
Tenth graders complete a variety of activities related to the first two chapters of the book The Outsiders. They define metaphor, simile, idiom, and hyperbole, and take a vocabulary pre-quiz. In small groups, they write a character...
Curated OER
Mixing Metaphors with Politics
Learners discuss different literary devices and use them to write summaries of New York Times articles dealing with international news. They reflect on the effectiveness and appropriateness of sports metaphors in the political arena.
Curated OER
Poetic Elements Are Fun!
Engage your class in the elements of poetry with a series of lessons and activities. The plans cover simile, metaphor, personification, onomatopoeia, alliteration, and imagery. Learners come up their their own metaphors, identify poetic...
Read Works
Figurative Language
Here's a richly detailed unit, designed for second graders, that focuses on decoding figurative language, including similes, metaphors, personification and idioms.
Curated OER
Metaphors, Personifications, Similes, and Hyperboles
Fourth graders discuss prior knowledge of the terms simile, hyperbole, metaphor, and personification. They then listen to the definitions of each and write a hyperbole, personification, simile, and metaphor to describe a Mr. Potato Head...
Curated OER
Similes, Metaphors, and Personification
Eighth graders explore figurative language, specifically focusing on similes, metaphors and personification. They work on the web to identify poems that demonstrate simile, metaphor, and personification, then analyze how it enhances...
Curated OER
Coming Home:From the Life of Langston Hughes
Third graders listen to the non-fiction book: COMING HOME: FROM THE LIFE OF LANGSTON HUGHES. They identify examples of metaphors and similies within the book and understand how this figure of speech is used in writing. They then create...
Curated OER
Focus On Figurative Language in Prose
Students examine the use of literary prose in the story, "Dark They Were, and Golden-Eyed." In this literary prose lesson plan, students investigate the use of imagery, metaphor, and simile in the story. They tell how author's purpose is...
Curated OER
The Gift of the Magi Lesson Plan Two
Ninth graders read, "The Gift of the Magi," discuss the multiple themes of the story and situational irony. Individually, 9th graders review questions from the study guide, explore the simile, metaphor, and allusion. Students prepare...
Curated OER
Can You Figure Language?
Eighth graders study similes and metaphors and how to explain and create them. After a lecture/demo, 8th graders access websites and worksheets imbedded in this plan to create their own writing.
Curated OER
Describe a Journey
Learners describe the sensory experience of a character's journey in an essay. In this precise details writing instructional activity, students explain the effects on the senses of weather, time of day, landscape, and other...
Curated OER
Use of the Simile
Fourth graders identify and write their own similes. In this literary devices lesson, 4th graders define and identify similes. The teacher scaffolds the lesson so that all students can write their own similes.