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Reading the Play
Do figures of speech enhance a play or story? In small groups, learners locate and describe figures of speech they find while reading a reader's theater play. After making predictions, they describe how the figures of speech make the...
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Poetry in Depth
Scholars use technology to explore poetry and its related elements, such as theme, figures of speech, and other literary devices. They complete four poetry projects including a poem analysis with a concept web, an interactive poem...
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Idioms: Get the Ball Rolling
Based on books written by Fred Gwynne, particularly A Little Pigeon Toad, this resource connects the language of idioms and figures of speech with visuals that make explicit the often humorous connections between the literal and...
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I Have A Dream - Pastel Drawings
Discuss the meaning of Martin Luther King Jr.'s "I Have A Dream" speech, explore figurative language, and read about Harriet Tubman and her courage. After the discussion, learners analyze painter/author Jacob Lawrence's use of...
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Creating Civic Awareness Through Artistic and Literary Forms
Interpret current events using editorial cartoons and other print media. Middle schoolers explore the meanings of literary and artistic terms such as satire, irony, and caricature. They visit internet sites to develop an understanding of...
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What Makes Jokes Funny?
Explore how language is used for comic effect. Middle schoolers determine which of the three formulas for jokes (double meanings, unexpected outcome, humorous mental image) make each of 18 classic, corny examples funny. They complete a...
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Irony in "The Gift of the Magi"
Use O. Henry's ubiquitous tale of love and poverty to explore irony. After reading the story, middle schoolers identify examples of all three kinds of irony in the story. With partners, they brainstorm original examples of irony. Then...
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Martin Luther King Jr's "I Have A Dream" Speech
Invite your class to investigate racism and civil rights by analyzing the great Dr. Martin Luther King's speech. Your learners will read the words from the "I Have a Dream" speech and analyze the political and racial overtones. They will...
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Visual Puns - Paper Mache Sculpture
Explore the pop art movement and create a sculpture in the pop art style based on a visual pun, or play on words. The scholar's work may use humor, allegory, metaphor, or be in the form of a parody. Visual examples are provided, and some...
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Problem-Solving Processes and Figurative Language
Nonfiction texts about people on the move provide young readers with an opportunity to examine not only the problem-solving strategies employed by immigrants, but to also find examples of figurative language these writers use to tell...
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It's Raining Cats and Dogs! Literary Devices and Figurative Language
Third and fourth graders study literary devices and figurative language. They view a PowerPoint presentation (which you must create) to review hyperbole, idiom, simile, and metaphor. They read and discuss the book There's A Frog in My...
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Idioms in Everyday Language
Students describe idioms and their use in everyday language. They describe the difference between literal and idiomatic meanings. In groups, students use iPhoto to create books that explain and illustrate a variety of idioms describing...
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Persuasion as Text: Organizational, Grammatical, and Lexical Moves in Barbara Jordan’s "All Together Now"
A thorough activity on persuasive writing takes middle schoolers through several activities, including group discussion, collaborative posters, and independent writing. They compare historical speeches and analyze the persuasive...
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Crazy Critters Teach Parts of Speech
Students create pieces of writing about a creature they have created. They examine the parts of speech and how they are used in their writing to see how they can write more specifically.
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Figuratively Writing...It's for the Birds!
Learners identify and use literary devices such as personification, idioms, hyperbole, and metaphors. They identify one literary device and illustrate the meaning. They write a letter using correct letter format and incorporates literary...
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Idioms/Figures Of Speech
Young scholars are given a list of idioms by their teacher. Each student creates a Kid Pix document, chooses one of the idioms then uses the tools and stamps to portray their idiom. All of the student's creations go into a slide show.
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Idioms in Everyday Language
Students create an iPhoto book exhibiting a variety of idioms that describe feelings. They take photos using a digital camera that show students exhibiting the feelings explained by the idioms.
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Choosing and evaluating a range of subject matter, symbols, and ideas
Art is a great way to convey or express an idea. Learners choose an idiom, draw it, and use transfer paper to create photograms. They discuss how why they chose the phrase they did, and how they expressed that idea through their drawings.
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Let Freedom Ring: The Life & Legacy of Martin Luther King, Jr.
Students use text and photos to visualize the delivery of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.'s historic "I Have A Dream" speech. They analyze Dr. King's speech for examples of imagery and allusion and create original poetry and illustrations...
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Vivid Verbs
Spice up your writing! Your amateur writers will benefit from concentrating on understanding and improving verb use in writing. An introductory activity addresses weak verbs. A second exercise helps them see the importance of strong...
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Horse Character: Ceramics Lesson
Animals oftentimes elicit various characteristics which make them symbolic or representative of human feeling, action, or emotion. The class creates horse characters out of clay to show character action and symbolism. This is a great...
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History Personified
Students explore historical events by writing a research paper using personification.
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Sense Poetry
Access your young poets' senses and emotions with this activity, which guides them through the process of writing a "sense poem." After working on a sense poem as a class and modeling the procedure, individuals work on their own poems...
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Valentine Cinquain
Pupils review parts of speech by using Inspiration. They brainstorm vocabulary that fit a Valentines theme. Students watch as the teacher demonstrates the parts of a cinquain poem. Pupils write their own poem and create a KidPix slide of...