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Personification
Second graders recognize personification in texts. In this personification lesson, 2nd graders discuss figurative language and how characters can be given human-like qualities. Students read a story and write down examples they...
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Grades 6-8 Lesson Plan - Cities as Transportation Centers
Middle schoolers examine maps of the 1800's and 1900's. In this geography skills lesson, students collaborate to read core maps and identify transportation centers and travel networks.
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Similes and Metaphors
Use the Civil War and important figures from that period to help your class write poetry. You'll need to create a list of similes and metaphors, but you could also consider having your learners create this the day prior. They will use...
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Lesson Plan 8: Setting and Mood
What mood does this story evoke? How are setting and mood linked? Young novelists explore the different emotions brought about by writing, starting by journaling things that inspire their own feelings. Examine the word mood, looking into...
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Using Personification
Young readers listen to the story The Three Little Pigs, and discuss what abnormal characteristics the pigs and the wolf have. They relate these characteristics to personification, and practice writing sentences using personification.
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Making Inferences While Identifying Similes and Metaphors
Use this lesson to study similes and metaphors and the inferred meaning. In this language arts lesson, 5th graders write their own similes and metaphors. A worksheet is provided for extension work or to check understanding as homework.
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Focus on Figurative Language
Using the poems "First Snow" by Ted Kooser and "Eating Alone" by Yi-Young Lee (or other suggested poems by Robert Frost or Sara Teasdale), middle schoolers search for examples of figurative language. Guide your learners by discussing...
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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...
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Context Clues
Work on context clues with your ninth graders in this lesson, which focuses on identifying and analyzing clues to define unfamiliar words. They identify context clues in a passage to recognize words they haven't seen before, and then...
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Writing Technique Foreshadowing/ Home Child
Examine foreshadowing with your emerging writers. First, define the technique, and then search the first three chapters of Barbara Haworth-Attard's Home Child for examples.
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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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Beanie Baby Biographies
Learners write a biography for their favorite Beanie Babies and then share their biography out loud. A simple, yet effective idea! Everyone loves their Beanie Baby!
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Citizenship
Students investigate patterns of immigration in the US while comparing and contrasting the ideas of citizenship and non-citizenship. They decide how education plays a role in citizenship.
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Symbols and the Choices we Make
Upper elementary and middle schoolers recognize symbols that influence the choices that we make consciously or unconsciously in everyday life. They look at the symbols and choices that others make. They identify and apply knowledge of...
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Image as Metaphor
A Dorothea Lange photograph launches this study of metaphors. Using the questions provided, the class examines the image and the title to consider how Lange uses her photo as a metaphor. Class members then select an object they can use...
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Imagine That! Analyzing Imagery
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...
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"Knot" the Whole Truth: Writing a Modern-Day Story with a Tall Tale's Voice
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...
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Similes and Metaphors: An Interactive Review
Get your pupils' attention with this lesson on similes and metaphors, which features two poems by Tupac Shakur. A SMART board presentation guides them through the lesson, which includes a BrainPop activity (linked). After they have...
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Strategy Script #4
This instructional activity is designed for college pupils who are having anxiety regarding public speaking. In it, the speech givers go through a process of using imagery in order to reduce anxiety. The instructor guides the pupils in...
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Using Imagery
Show, don't tell! Pairs work together to change a list of telling sentences into showing sentences using picture words that create vivid pictures in the readers’ minds.
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Miss Alaineus Lesson Plan
Students gain an understanding of various literary devices and strengthen their vocabulary. In this Miss Alaineus lesson plan, students read the vocabulary tale, discuss the use of literary devices and choose from 4 possible culminating...
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Up Close and Personal with Black Bayou Lake
Students get up close and personal with Black Bayou Lake. Visiting web sites and taking virtual tours, they write multi-paragraph essays using descriptive words and literary devices.
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Vocabulary Comic Strips
Who says comic strips aren’t educational? Prove these naysayers wrong by asking your class members to create a comic strip for a selected vocabulary word. Using online technological tools that provide access to an array of options for...
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The Final Word
Although this instructional activity is based on “Final Word,” Craig Wilson’s USA Today column, the strategies could be adapted to any local columnist. After reading three articles independently, groups share observations about content...