The second lesson of a pair about Paul Laurence Dunbar, this plan focuses in particular on his poem, "We Wear the Masks." After a short historical introduction, class members conduct a series or readings, marking up the text and...

Groups of older elementary learners begin their study of figurative language by visiting a website and completing the exercises detailed there. They then apply what they have learned by finding examples in several poems. Finally, they...

Use art museum paintings as inspiration for your class's creative writing works. Observing the paintings closely, middle and high schoolers list details and write descriptions. Their completed stories are displayed on bulletin boards...

Bring writing to life with this lesson in which elementary and middle schoolers create a display of the imagery they identify in a series of Gary Paulsen books. They read the suggested materials, identify imagery and descriptive...

High schoolers identify the distinction between literal and figurative language with a focus on metaphors. They complete a metaphor analysis chart, then practice expanding metaphors by composing their own comparisons of elements of the...

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. 

The AP Literature and Composition exam is all about close reading. Test takers are presented with a passage and asked to analyze how an author uses literary devices to create a desired effect. Prepare your students for the exam with a...

Close your eyes and picture a time where you decided to tell the truth to someone. What were you wearing? How did you feel? Such prompts begin a guided imagery activity for Zach's Lie. Directions for creating an environment conducive to...

Seriously, 93 slides of literary terms? Yes, and well worth the time, although perhaps not all at once. The beauty here is in the concise, easy-to-understand definitions for such well-known terms as imagery and personification, as well...

Why does Steinbeck use animal imagery to describe Lennie in Of Mice and Men? Readers examine a series of descriptions and comment on the effect Steinbeck creates with his word choice. 

It’s poetry T.I.M.E! Individuals use the T.I.M.E. format (T = Title, thought, and theme;  I = Imagery and figurative language; M = music and sound; E = emotion) to study a poet, collect poems that have a similar theme, and create a...

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...

The best poetry writing lesson of all time is here for you! Learn all about the art of exaggeration with a lesson on exaggeration poems, which instructs students to use wild imagery to convey their message.

Experiment with light and dark in a series of interactive activities that lead up to reading and writing poetry. Class members have the opportunity to observe their feelings while sitting in the light and dark and to play with shadow...

A reading of Theodore Roethke’s dark "Root Cellar" and Sylvia Plath’s more abstract "Mirror" launches a discussion of imagery and personification in poetry.  After finding examples of personification in the poems, class members...

Reward your class with tasty treats while teaching them about simile and metaphor. After a teacher demo and explanation of simile and metaphor, pupils read books, looking for examples of these literary devices and copying them down....

To appreciate the oratory of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s "I Have a Dream" speech, scholars examine the rhetorical devices and influences that make the speech so famous. They examine background information, conduct a close reading of the...

In this reading worksheet, students read and learn about writers' use of figurative language to create vivid pictures with words. Students are directed to specific pages in The Night of the Twisters by Ivy Ruckman and answer 20 questions...

Students examine the use of literary prose in the story, "Dark They Were, and Golden-Eyed." In this literary prose lesson, students investigate the use of imagery, metaphor, and simile in the story. They tell how author's purpose is...

Writing can become one-dimensional if authors don't involve all their senses. First, scholars observe a strange object which, ideally, they can touch and even smell. Without using certain words (you can create a list or have the class...

Read a sample of creative descriptive writing to your science class. Discuss how writing can be used to record and communicate observations that scientists make. Reading selections and thought-provoking questions are suggested. Also...

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.

Twelfth graders analyze Ray Bradbury's use of techniques and elements of fiction as well as nonfiction in the novel Dandelion Wine. In this novel analysis lesson, 12th graders analyze the sensory techniques in Dandelion Wine. Students...

Maya Angelou's poem, "Still I Rise", offers young scholars an opportunity to consider how poets use literary devices to create powerful messages. After a close reading and discussion of the poem, class members reflect on how they can...