Students read aloud the book "Courage" by Bernard Waber and discuss the examples that compromise the defintion of courage. They describe another word such as joy and work with a partner or group to brainstorm and write sentences of...

Pupils read the poem The Worker by Richard W. Thomas as an example of the effective use of imagery. Then they complete a 5-senses chart describing some part of nature, e.g. sea, clouds, etc. Then they write their own poem using the words...

Fourth graders identify the usage of idiom, hyperbole, and oxymoron in literary passages. They apply this knowledge of figurative language through a composition exercise. The writing of teacher generated examples is also helpful.

Learners create model societies. In this social identity instructional activity, students conduct research so that they can plan and present model societies to their classmates. The societies must include information regarding how their...

Seventh graders examine the characteristics of philanthropists.  In this cross- curricular lesson, 7th graders evaluate the character traits of people from a film. Students write a metaphor about responsibility to community.

Young scholars study personification and alliteration in various fiction texts. In this literary devices lesson, students use various texts to identify the literary devices of personification and alliteration. Young scholars use examples...

Students identify figurative language in a proverb and write an interpretation of the proverb prior to reading The Witch of Goingsnake. In this The Witch of Goingsnake lesson, students read a native American proverb and determine whether...

Hook kids into a study on poetry elements by asking them to bring in the lyrics to their favorite song. Discuss the elements in one or two songs (preferably that demonstrate rhyme, figurative language, or a repeating phrase). Groups do...

Love, deception, witty bante—that's much ado about a lot!  As learners navigate the resource, they view an interactive character map and read character biographies from Shakespeare's Much Ado About Nothing. Pupils also...

Why do characters do what they do? Scholars use the resource to explore character motivation in Shakespeare's tragedy Macbeth. Additionally, they discover pictures, interviews, and videos from the Deutsche Bank production of the play. 

In this figurative language worksheet, students read and study examples of simile and metaphor. There are 20 questions to be used with Smartboard and 10 questions in which students identify similes or metaphors.

Students explore writing using literary terms. In this Christmas poetry lesson, students write a poem about a Christmas tree or a snowman using at least one example of each: metaphor, simile, and personification.  

Students demonstrate a higher level of thinking in writing a poem that delivers a message of wisdom and is metaphorical in meaning. They study the use of metaphors in poetry as well as the meaning and use of concrete and abstract words...

Eighth graders explore figurative language through the study of picture books. In this figurative language lesson plan, 8th graders listen to books and chart the figurative language that they hear.  Students discuss examples in groups.

Students complete literary analysis activities for the Maya Angelou's I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings. In this novel analysis activity, students read chapters 29 and 30 of the novel and complete chapter quizzes. Students write...

Tenth graders use Microsoft Word to create an original short story. The setting must be Black Bayou Lake National Wildlife Refuge. The characters must be animals found at Black Bayou Lake National Wildlife Refuge. The story must contain...

Students recognize the value of giving to the community by looking at examples of sacrifices and traditions of Native Americans. In this Native American activity, students given examples of philanthropic deeds of Native American people....

Students think broadly about the tsunami disaster and its aftermath through studying cartoons. Students critically think about the literary devices the authors/artists use, such as satire, metaphor and personification.

Students interpret symbols and metaphors from Harry Potter that refer to real-life political and social issues.

Students engage in a writing assignment to produce a thirteenth century Italian Courtly Poem. They imitate the literary patterns of writing to produce a unique poem using a model for example. Students review the basic terminology for...

Students examine the origins of proverbs and examine several examples. Then they create their own collection of existing proverbs. Later they write their own original ones and share with the class.

Fourth graders investigate the concept of fractions. A pizza is used as a metaphor and example of practice for students. They use the appropriate methods of dividing numbers from a whole and into the fractional parts. Then students...

Students participate in a varity of activities surrounding "gold." They explore the science, myths, and legends about gold and conduct a debate over the environmental problems created by gold mining in a small small mining town.

Why do writers choose the language they do? Here's a resource that has the poet himself answer that very question. Joseph Coelho explains why he chose the words and images he used in his poem, "If All the World Were Paper."