180 Days of Inspired Teaching: Finding Figurative Language

In the past I would give the students definitions of similes, metaphors, onomatopoeia, and personification.  We would do the typical worksheet, some homework, and take a test. However, none of this was really done in context so there was no meaning for the students.  They could tell you what a simile was, but could not explain why authors used them in their writing.  The importance was lost on them. 

And then I had the AHHHH moment.

We were reading Milkweed, a beautifully written historical fiction novel, aloud and I kept coming across similes, metaphors, imagery, etc.  We would stop, talk about it and discuss why Spinelli used this type of language when he wrote.  The students even started showing me the figurative language they found while reading.  It was a warm your heart, magical, happy teaching moment. 

So this year I decided to make an interactive bulletin board to continue with the "found figurative language" concept.

Anytime a student finds an example of simile, metaphor, personification, etc they jot it down on something and stick it to the board.  

**You can get a similar poster set here**

So far it's going well...they seem genuinely excited when they find an example! It's something I call awesome!

Happy teaching,