Arm your writers with an arsenal of literary terms. With definitions of everything from plot structure and figurative language to point-of-view and types of irony, learners will gain an understanding of elements in stories and be able to...

Review the elements of tall tales with your class. Take a look at their genesis and purpose. Different types of figurative language found in tall tales are included such as hyperbole, simile, and metaphor. Before reading an American tall...

After creating a booklet illustrating and explaining a variety of figures of speech, your class will use examples of simile, alliteration, hyperbole, personification, onomatopoeia, and symbolism to develop a slide show in small groups.

"The Road Not Taken," is the focus of an exercise that asks readers to identify the figurative meaning of Robert Frost's poem.

Work with wonderful words within a well-written instructional activity! Kids match alliterative verbs to fifteen names in order to get alliterative phrases.  

Practice alliteration with a fun game! Kids match names to a best friend's name, and add something they both like. 

Support first graders with developing their basic language skills using this Common Core checklist. With each standard rewritten as a positive I can statement, students are encouraged to work hard toward reaching these clear...

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...

Eighth graders analyze and interpret figurative language. They listen to some examples of poetry which use figurative language. Then, they divide into groups and attempt to find more examples. Finally, 8th graders write what the poet is...

Young scholars read and analyze figurative language used in William Shakespeare's "Julius Caesar." They participate in a choral reading of a soliloquy, analyze the soliloquy for figurative language in small groups, and discuss how the...

Students need to use their papers from Part One of this lesson. They then write a paragraph for each term. This exercise help them to use these terms in their writing. Using figurative language makes writing more descriptive and alive.

Second and third graders explore similes and metaphors. They complete six sentences by choosing the correct word to complete the sentence.

Elephants eat and cheetahs chase in this zany zoo! Kids survey a list of ten animals before adding in an adjective and verb for each to form an alliterative phrase or sentence.

Ah, food idioms! Now that sounds tasty. Class members read and discuss various food-related idioms, create an illustration of a food-related idiom, and develop a class book or bulletin board to celebrate figurative language and National...

What do the words pizza, broccoli, and ciao have in common? Why they are all English words that originally came from Italian. Ask your middle schoolers to guess the origins of a list of words by matching the word with the language from...

How can you tell if a sentence has alliteration? Use a short learning exercise to help kids identify examples of alliteration, complete sentences to create alliteration, and use nouns to write their own alliterative sentences.

Track the poetic elements in any text with a guided reading worksheet. Kids note examples of consonance, alliteration, onomatopoeia, repetition, rhyme, and rhythm when reading a poem or story, and provide a short explanation as...

Practice descriptive language in this lesson, which prompts elementary and middle schoolers to write detailed descriptive sentences describing a seashell. They write a description of a shell, create an illustration, and other students...

Learners explore the basis of Iago's persuasive power by analyzing his astonishing command of rhetoric and figurative language. The diverse set of activities below include short group performances, writing exercises and the guided use of...

The class defines similes after creating a KWL chart about them. Groups rotate through a series of stations in which they creatively complete similes. They create a picture booklet that contains similes. However, the booklet topic and...

How do you describe the American Dream? What motivates others to immigrate to the United States, and why do some groups have trouble attaining the American Dream? Your learners will consider these questions as they explore figurative...

Access your senses with a worksheet on sensory language. Based on Owl Moon by Jane Yolen, the worksheet prompts kids to find examples of each of the five senses, as well as phrases for inner emotion. 

Fourth graders identify examples of figurative language in the book, "One Day in the Woods," by Jean Craighead George. They illustrate a figure of speech and identify it as a simile or metaphor. Each student then records their...

Eighth graders explore figurative language, specifically focusing on similes, metaphors and personification. They work on the web to identify poems that demonstrate simile, metaphor, and personification, then analyze how it enhances...