Robert Frost's "Choose Something Like a Star" and John Keats' "Bright Star" provide the text for a two-part instructional activity in which class members analyze the effects of style on meaning in poetry. Randall Thompson's song cycle...

A shirt can't really swallow you—right? Readers find examples of symbolism and personification in S.E. Hinton's The Outsiders with two straightforward lessons.

Song lyrics, like poems, are meant to be heard. After examining the literary devices in several poems, scholars examine the lyrics of popular songs and identify the sound devices and the figurative language writers use to create the...

Ravenous or hungry, happy or ecstatic—why does word choice matter? Scholars continue to analyze working conditions in the mill and how the conditions affect the protagonist of Katherine Paterson's novel, Lyddie. They engage in a close...

Following a brief mini-lesson on using dialogue in fiction, young writers continue day two of their writing workshop. They work on the second half of their Children's Book Storyboards, and then they turn and talk with partners to reflect...

Anchors away! Scholars take a look at the Group Work anchor chart to prepare for the excerpt four, The Fight with Covey, analysis. The Excerpt 4 Analysis note catcher guides the group as they carry out their analyses. The class...

Writing is a craft. Scholars take a mid-unit assessment where they answer questions about the author's purpose and craft in Douglass's narrative. After completing the assessment, pupils look continue with their independent reading text.

Three heads are better than one. Scholars gather back in their triads for another read of their monologues. They answer text-dependent questions and review their work. Learners then present their jigsaw monologues to the rest of the...

Students view a classic western movie and discuss what icons are. They then watch another movie and focus on different parts of the film. They create a presentation to show their findings.

Students 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...

Students read excerpts from memoirs written by Gary Paulsen as examples of how to write a narrative piece. They identify figurative language used and then they write a memoir of their own that contains imagery and figurative language.

Students act out lines from Romeo and Juliet in a charade-like game.

Third graders examine the use of idioms. In this vocabulary and reading lesson plan, 3rd graders explore what idioms are and make their own idiom cards to help them understand the use idioms in language.

Here is an outline of a lesson in which learners examine the use of similes, metaphors, and symbols in poetry. They define similes, metaphors, and symbols, complete a handout, and create a poem using types of figurative language.

Flowering learners explore the concept of figurative language as it relates to poems, songs, or creative written expression. In this creative writing instructional activity, they complete several phrases using similes, metaphors, and...

Eighth graders focus on the Shakespearian sonnet as a form and analyze the sonnet in terms of structure, the particular rhyme scheme of the quatrains and the rhyming couplet, the rhythm of iambic pentameter, as well as any figurative...

Students explore the attributes of fables. In this literature instructional activity, students read several fables and identify the moral instructional activity, characterization, and figurative language in each. Students then retell...

Students identify similes and create their own self descriptions using them as examples. After identifying characteristics associated with pictures of the sun, fish, and other items, they discover how those traits can be used as...

Students review personification and alliteration. In this literary devices lesson, students use personification and alliteration in a sentence. Students draw a picture reflecting personification.

Fifth graders read the Native American tale, "The Frog and the Crane," focusing on the use of onomatopoeia in it. In groups, they brainstorm list of words that are examples of the device. Finally, 5th graders write their own stories...

Poems by O. Henry, Marion Dane Bauer, Monty Roberts, and Langston Hughes provide the text for a study of symbolism, hyperbole, and imagery. Employing the “think-pair-share” strategy learners generate definitions of these terms and locate...

Kids create cool clauses selecting a single starting sound. Ah, alliteration.

Beyond Paul Bunyan and his blue ox, tall tales can be a great way to teach young writers about word choice and voice in their writing. Using Jerry Spinelli's Maniac Magee  and the Six-Trait Writing process, they begin to write...

After investigating various forms of print, oral, and electronic media as sources of information, class members research a historical figure and produce a résumé for this person. While templates are provided for an initial sorting...