Students investigate the quality of writing while focusing on the use of sensory words to convey meaning and ideas. The power of similes and metaphors is emphasized while they create and edit works of writing. The skill of descriptive...

Students listen to Granny Is, a poem by Valerie Bloom and discuss the metaphors in the poem.  In this poetry lesson, students read poetry written by Valerie Bloom and discuss the techniques she uses. Students write grandmother poems.

Eighth graders empathize with how colonists felt when they were taxed without representation. They use a metaphor of students and a school principal to describe the strained relationship that developed between the colonies and Britain.

Students explore the environment by learning about nature. In this art lesson, students go on a walk and find objects to help in creating a picture, or collage representing whatever season is being discussed. Students write similes...

Learners, through two pieces of writing, identify poetic/language devices through the speakers, personification , imagery, metaphor, etc. They assess the patterns those devices are used in and analyze the theme of each. Each student...

This lesson about writing can be taught in small groups or large group settings. They examine basic writing techniques and practice using them to improve their writing.

When is a staple remover a fanged monster? In your ELA classroom when you're teaching this fun figurative language lesson, of course! Get your young writers using figurative language by making a game of it. Give groups a paper bag full...

Looks like? Sounds like? Smells like? Feels like? Tastes like? Sometimes a white, blank, soulless piece of paper can intimidate writers. Provide potential poets with this template that can serve as a parking lot for words and phrases to...

Follow poetry instruction with a four-category rubric designed to guide budding poets' writing of free verse poetry. 

Looking to introduce some text-based questions into your ELA lessons? Practice the kinds of skills the Common Core demands with the seven text-based questions and the essay prompt provided here. Designed to be a three-day lesson, day one...

A comprehensive presentation on narrative writing, this should be shown to a class before the writing process begins. There are not activities listed, so pupils can take notes on the elements of narrative writing and figurative language....

Students explore poetry using American Life Histories: Manuscripts from the Federal Writers' Project. They compose their own unque "found poetry" based on the stories found in the collection.

Make oral presentations electric and magnetic! As the conclusion of the study of electricity and magnetism, class members are assigned to bring to life items or people associated with these topics. Speaking as the person or object,...

Eighth graders study poems to see how punctuation, line length, rhythm and word choice can be used to create a memorable moment. They read and discuss poems by Shel Silverstein.

Eighth graders study personification in published works of poetry, then create their own through the use of diamante or cinquain poetry. They read and discuss poetry by Shel Silverstein, William Jay Smith, and Elinor Wylie.

Eighth graders study poetic devices included in conversation poems and explore their eloquent messages. They read and discuss poems by Langston Hughes and Don Marquis.

Eighth graders gather ideas generated from other poems and their own inspiration, to create original poetry. A celebration is included as students bind and submit poems for publication.

Students explore the basic elements of poetry through Appalachian life poetry. In this poetry lesson, students read seven poems from Jim Wayne Miller's the Brier Poems and complete poetry analysis activities for each poem.

Students empathize with the colonists. In this lesson on the Declaration of Independence, students collaborate to problem solve a school dilemma that enables them to understand the issues and difficulties that occurred in the creation of...

Fifth graders write poetry using imagery and practice poetry presentation. In this poetry activity, 5th graders listen as the teacher reads a humorous poem using different voice modulations and presentation techniques. They discuss the...

Students review figurative languages terms and examples. They read the first entry in the book, Out of the Dust, and discuss the images created by the author. Then they create an autobiographical poem using figurative language.

Eighth graders read the novel, "Out of the Dust," and create a free-verse poem about a treasure of their own. They use the attached checklist to evaluate their own poem.

Students read several poems related to the life and culture of the Appalachia region. They are introduced to the poetic forms of simile, alliteration and onomatopoeia and respond to the poems through journal entries and poetry of their own.