A definitive resource for your figurative language unit includes several worksheets and activities to reinforce writing skills. It addresses poetic elements such as simile and metaphor, personification, hyperbole, and idioms, and...

If you need a lesson for your poetry unit, use two poems by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow ("Rain in Summer" and "The Slave in the Dismal Swamp") and a resource on Elements of Poetry. The lesson plan guides you through activities on...

Emphasize the difference between literal and figurative language, as well as how each adds to the plot, with a lesson plan on Zora Neale Hurston's Their Eyes Were Watching God. Readers study the images of the pear tree, the street lamp,...

Amy Tan uses vivid figurative language to deepen and enrich her writing. Use the fifth of ten lessons on The Joy Luck Club to demonstrate the impact of figurative language, particularly similes and metaphors, on plot and character. Young...

Figurative language is the focus of the fifth instructional activity in a unit study of To Kill A Mockingbird. Groups review different chapters read so far and locate examples of images, similes, and metaphors, and then consider what...

Extend your instruction on similes and metaphors with a lesson on Emily Dickinson's "Hope is the thing with feathers" and "There is no Frigate like a Book." After a discussion on the images of each poem and their meanings, kids write an...

The sewage field, the meatpacking plant, the tongue necklace — symbols abound in The Things They Carried. After generating a list of some of the many symbols in O'Brien's stories, have your class members consider how the symbols help the...

". . .facts were formed by sensation, not the other way around, and when you listened to one of his (Rat Kiley's) stories, you'd find yourself performing rapid calculations in your head, subtracting superlatives, figuring the square root...

Explore the religious symbolism in A Lesson Before Dying by Ernest J. Gaines. Once your class has read through Chapter 21, lead them in a discussion about the way religious symbols make their way through the novel, and their impact on...

Good grief? Elizabeth Barrett Browning's "Grief" and Emily Dickinson's "After great pain, a formal feeling comes" are the focus of a series of close reading activities that ask groups to compare the point of view and tone of these two...

Whether or not Zora Neale Hurston's classic novel is a part of your course, this packet deserves a place in your curriculum library. Designed as a close reading exercise, the series of activities begins with the instructor modeling, with...

Gentle sleep eludes poor King Henry IV. Uneasy under the weight of his responsibilities, Henry contemplates the darkness of the night and in his soul. To develop their skill reading difficult text, class members engage in a close reading...

Miley Cyrus' "Driveway" provides young lyricists with an opportunity to identify figurative language in songs. After a guided practice exercise, individuals use the provided worksheets to find examples in the song and to add images to...

Examine figurative language through the words of Ursula K. Le Guin in her novel A Wizard of Earthsea. The fifth lesson in a series of ten, the steps listed here ask pupils to go back into the text and find a striking sentence to analyze...

Provide a space for individuals to brainstorm ideas for a poem. The template focuses on sensory details and figurative language. In order to fill out all the boxes, pupils should have a grasp of figurative language and literary devices.

Young writers hunt for examples of figurative language in their reading. The hunt requires pupils to cite  their sources, record a quoted example for each type of figurative language, and an explanation of what they think the examples...

Ask your pupils to explore the sounds, forms, and language of poetry by putting together a portfolio of their own work. In a binder, learners collect the poems listed on the second page of the assignment sheet. Each individual creates a...

Play a figurative language game! Starting with a review of terms, this presentation quickly launches into a quiz game with hyper-linked answers. Simply click an answer to find out if it's wrong or right. The option to try again is always...

Wrap up your poetry unit with a portfolio. This resource includes specific requirements for the presentation and content of a portfolio. Writers include examples of literary devices, write six original poems, and conduct a study of a...

Kill two birds with one stone with a fun language arts lesson on idioms. Not only will students learn about this interesting form of figurative language by listening to a Walking Classroom podcast, they will also get some exercise by...

Wouldn't it be great if we could slow down the earth and make the days longer? That's exactly what happens in Maui and the Sun, as retold by June Mesler. Beginning with an independent reading of this interesting creation myth, learners...

Robert Frost's "Nothing Gold Can Stay" serves as a model for a poetry analysis activity. The whole class critiques the sample and then groups select a poem and prepare a PowerPoint presentation in which they illustrate how their poet...

Created for the first 12 chapter's of Carl Hiaasen's Hoot, the presentation is designed to be shown over several days. Great for starters or for whatever purpose you see fit, the slides include exercises and information grouped by...

While music lyrics are often used to teach literary elements, the richness of this resource comes from the wealth of exercises, activities, and support materials provided in the packet.  Although designed for gifted learners, the...