"Figurative Language Frenzy"

       

          This week is "Figurative Language Frenzy!"  I decided to dedicate all of my classroom lessons toward figurative language and literary devices because my students definitely needed a refresher.  I know that some of these topics, like simile and onomatopoeia, have probably been covered since the 4th grade, but it seems that the sun and fun of summer do a job on my student's memory bank, totally wiping out some important ELA topics that I know were once there (Hyperbole!).  Choosing 2-3 literary devices to cover per day, I tried my best to create fun, hands-on lessons, where students weren't just picking out examples of the figurative language, but explaining what they meant and providing evidence to justify why these examples were metaphors or similes or allusions.  And if they could do that, then they can use these literary devices in their writing, right?  Hmmm, let's hope so!  In today's post you'll find some of my best practices for the week, from the really easy but effective lessons that can be put together in 10 minutes flat to the techie teacher lesson that needs much preparation but is well worth it.

          My favorite way to teach a literary device is to use a picture book as a mentor text.  Yes, picture books are for middle-schoolers too, and they are chock full of figurative language and upper level vocabulary.  I looked for picture books that each matched with certain literary devices, and I did this for a number of reasons.  1. I wanted a short text that could be read several times quickly, 2. I wanted my students to be able to easily pick out examples of the selected literary
devices,  3. And I wanted accessible examples that my students will be able to explain, describe, and emulate in their writing.    A few of the picture books that I chose to use this year are: The Book With No Pictures by B.J. Novak for Onomatopoeia, Fly Away Home by Eve Bunting for Imagery, 7 Ate 9 by Tara Lazar for Idiom, Nothing Rhymes with Orange by Adam Rex for Alliteration, The True Story of the 3 Little Pigs by A. Wolf  as told to Jon Scieszka for Hyperbole, Henry's Freedom Box by Ellen Levine for Theme, and Mr. Peabody's Apples by Madonna for Symbolism.  Some of these books are hilariously educational, while others cover life lessons in a way that are beautifully articulated.  Yet all of them have one thing in common: they provide explicit  examples of figurative language in a way that is easily understood. 

          Covering figurative language using a picture book can be done in a few ways.  I prefer to read the picture book first and discuss what they noticed about how the book was written.  Some of these

literary devices are glaringly obvious, while you really need to dig for others.  After I read the book with my students the first time, and we discussed how the author chose to write it , then we reviewed an anchor chart on a specific literary device.  For example, we read the book Nothing Rhymes with Orange, and discussed how the author used a rhyme scheme, personification, and was able to develop the character "Orange" using dialogue throughout the story. Then I introduced "Alliteration" using an anchor chart.   I often have my students put some notes in their notebooks at this point, and that they did.  A close read, focusing just on Alliteration, was then done of the book.  I love using

Two Column Notes, aka Cornell Notes, when we do a close read.  I asked my students to jot down examples of Alliteration during the close read in one column and examples of other types of figurative language that we've covered in the other column.  (They did this while I was reading aloud the 2nd time). We then discussed their examples; this book is laugh-out-loud funny so even discussing it had us in stitches (Idiom!).  Some examples that they picked out were: "...the kiwi maybe be peewee, but it packs a pucker punch," "They're happy, healthy, colorful, and cute!" *And here's a little hint for you...if you don't want to buy these books because, let's be honest, one hardcover picture book is between $15-$17, you can find most of these read aloud on youtube.com!  So just project it, watch it on your screen/board, have them watch it on their chromebooks, drop the video into Google Classroom, or whatever form of technology you have.  It will work just the same or maybe even better! 

           One teaching material that some might have discontinued or deemed obsolete, but I still think is complete genius, is the "SENTENCE STRIP!" I love those agile, swirly suckers.  They are so much more than a place to start a sentence; they can be anything you want them to be at any point in a day. I love using my versatile friends for figurative language.  Students, or myself, can write sentences containing figurative language on them, they can be cut into examples of "with" or "without figurative language," and students can easily "pair and share" or "pair and switch." For my lesson on imagery this year, I used sentence strips, and it

literally took me 5 minutes to prepare.  It probably took me longer to find a decent-working black Sharpie marker, than it did to configure this Imagery lesson using sentence strips.  After reviewing Imagery and what it is and going over an example from the picture book Fly Away Home, I wanted my students to be able to write using Imagery.  So using a sentence strip, I wrote a bland, ho-hum sentence, and then on another sentence strip, I changed that same sentence, adding descriptive language so that it contains Imagery. In this way I was able to model

how adding Imagery changes ones writing for the better.  Using more sentence strips, I wrote four additional basic sentences, one for each group in my classroom. I asked that my students change these sentences in their notebooks, adding Imagery, to make them more detailed, emphasizing the 5 senses.  We rotated these examples between the groups, so each person converted four mundane sentences, adding Imagery to make them appealing to the five senses. Who would've thought a run-of-the-mill strip of paper could serve as the main component of my lesson?  Sentence Strips! I can't live without them!
           If you're a techie teacher like me and you don't know about Flippity, the Google Sheets Add-on, you need to get on it! It has a ton of templates like a Quiz Game Show and Hang-Man, but my favorite and the template I used for "Figurative Language Frenzy" was the Flashcards.  Student's can flip through the flashcards and test each other, they can test themselves by filling-in the correct answer, and they can play a matching game.  Flippity is my educational dream come true (Idiom!), and all you have to do is enter your information into a Google Sheets document.  The way I set it up for figurative language was I used one column for  the examples of figurative language and the next column for the type it   

represents.  For example: Column 1 says, "Laughter is the best medicine," and column two says "Metaphor."  Flippity will automatically format it for you to make it look like flashcards, and it will give you a url, which can easily be dropped in Google Classroom for an unlimited amount of play and study time.  (*One important note: before giving your students access to your Flippity game, you must go to 'File' and 'Publish to Web,' in order for them to view it as the template of your choosing.  If you do not 'Publish to Web,' they will view it as your Google Sheets document and not as the template you chose.)  Using Flippity did not take long to put together because you are simply inputting the information into two columns in a Sheets document, publishing to the web, and then dropping the url into a Google Classroom announcement, but it might take you some time to

figure it out on your first go-around.  Once you get the hang of it, the benefits are immense.  My students had a great time playing the games and quizzing each other, and when I gave my quiz on figurative language, it was already in Google Classroom to help my students review.  Flippity is definitely going to be in my arsenal of "Techie Teaching Tools" (Alliteration!).
         

          I wanted my culminating activity for "Figurative Language Frenzy" to be tied into the novel we are reading, Esperanza Rising by Pam Munoz Ryan. I wanted my students to see how figurative language is used in writing and how it can elevate a text, changing it into a masterpiece.  This final activity was extremely simple and didn't take any time to prepare.  I think it's important that we as teachers put some of the work in the hands of the students.  We need to

be doing less, and they need to be doing more, and that's exactly what this lesson does.  The only materials I needed for this lesson was a roll of banner paper and some markers.  I rolled the banner paper down the length of their desks and asked them to find examples of each type of figurative language (at least two of each) from our book.  In a collage fashion, students wrote the examples that they found, the page number, and the type of figurative language it is.  These banners came out great, and they look even better lining the hallway outside of my classroom.
           "Figurative Language Frenzy" was a success! The kids enjoyed learning about the different types of figurative language and searching for these bits of treasure within their books (metaphor!).  They especially liked reading the picture books because the last time they read a good picture book was probably when they were in 2nd or 3rd grade.  Picture books have come a long way and can be enjoyed even by adults.  Flippity was also a hit in my classroom because, in today's day and time, kids like anything utilizing technology.  I think the greatest take away from my week's lessons is that you don't have to spend a lot of money or time to prepare one day's lesson.  Something as simple as a sentence strip or a piece of banner paper can get your point across and teach a memorable lesson.