Austin Walker

8th Grade English

6-25-07

Figurative Language 2

Objective:

1.    The student will recollect four types of figurative language and illustrate their appropriate usage

a.    English 8. 1.e

2.    The student will evaluate the effectiveness of the figurative language in supporting an author’s purpose

a.    English 8. 1.e

Materials: whiteboard, markers, pencils, pens, handouts

Set:

1.    Write the Do Now on the board:

a.    Hey Diddle Diddle, the cat and the fiddle,

b.    The cow jumped over the moon

c.    The little dog laughed to see such sport

d.    And the dish ran away with the spoon.

e.    –What examples of figurative language are there in this nursery rhyme?

2.    Discuss the uses of figurative language and ask the students WHY they think the language was used.

3.    Ask the students for other examples of nursery rhymes or advice they received as children.  Was figurative language used?  For what purpose?  What about on tv or in advertisements?

4.    Explain to the students that figurative language can help an author to more effectively fulfill his purpose, especially in persuasive and entertaining writing

5.    State today’s objectives, and tell the students that we must first review figurative language before we evaluate its effectiveness

Procedures:

1.    Ask students for the definitions of simile and metaphor:

a.    A figure of speech comparing two unlike things that is often introduced by like or as

i.    The sun is like a yellow ball of fire in the sky.

b.    Comparing two things by using one kind of object or using in place of another to suggest the likeness between them.

i.    Her hair was silk

2.    Have the students come to the board one by one (5 altogether) and write a simile on a topic of their choice

3.    Have another student come to the board and change the simile into a metaphor

4.    Repeat but now with metaphor into simile

5.    –That was fun, students, wasn’t it?  I think it was the most fun I’ve ever had in my life!  It was as fun as the super bowl and the nba finals and the bet awards all at the same time!—what literary device am I using now?—

a.    Big exaggeration, usually with humor

6.    alert students that hyperbole is a lot like “Your momma” jokes.

a.    Ask students to supply a couple of APPROPRIATE your momma jokes

7.    Have students get out a piece of paper and prompt them to write as many hyperboles as they can think of for these three topics:

a.    My dog is so ugly that…

b.    My teachers are so smart that…

c.    English is so much fun that…

8.    Have students read examples

9.    Move to personification. – if your dog would have heard that, he would have cried—now what am I using?

a.    Personification is the technique of giving a non-human thing human qualities such as hearing, feeling, talking, or making decisions.  Writers use personification to emphasize something or make it stand out.  Personification makes the material more interesting and creates a new way to look at every day things

10.    Give the personification handout

11.    Review the personification handout aloud

12.    Talk to the students a little about how figurative language can be used especially in entertaining and persuasive writing

a.    Talking about dogs and cats and spoons acting like humans can be funny; as you saw, hyperbole can be funny and entertaining, and metaphors and similes are used in entertaining writing all the time

b.    In persuasive writing, similes and metaphors let you compare the thing you are talking about to something either positive or negative; and hyperbole lets you make your point powerfully

i.    Ask the students for some examples:

1.    Don’t vote for Richard Nixon, he is as dishonest as a weasel.

2.    Buy my product, it will make you an Einstein.

3.    This car will go a million miles an hour!

ii.    Mention that the language must be accurate in order to be effective:

1.    Don’t vote for Dick, he is as dishonest as a polar bear.

2.    Buy my product, it will make you as smart as a beaver.

3.    This car will drive to the bottom of the ocean!

iii.    Have students give examples of both.

13.    Give the short handout on effectiveness of language for author’s purpose.

Closure:

1.    restate the day’s objective

2.    ask the students to define all four of the literary terms

3.    ask the students which of the author’s purposes fig. lang. works best for

4.    Ask for a good example of each of the four types of fig. lang. for entertainment and persuasion

5.    Preview the next day’s lesson: reading and responding to passages.  An understanding of fig. lang. and its purposes will help us to effectively read passages.

Informal Evaluation:

1.    The teacher will listen and watch the students (M)  as they take part in the group exercises (c).

2.    The teacher will collect the handout (M) on effectiveness of language for author’s purpose (C) and record the grades in the gradebook (d).

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