ALEX Resources

Title: Narratives & Grammar: There's More to the Story
Description: For this lesson, a mystery, a type of narrative realistic fiction, will be composed. Since strong adjectives and adverbs will support a mystery, they will be incorporated into the writing. What should a good narrative contain? This is a College- and Career-Ready Standards showcase lesson plan.
Standard(s):
[ELA2015] (8) 41: Acquire and use accurately grade-appropriate general academic and domain-specific words and phrases; gather vocabulary knowledge when considering a word or phrase important to comprehension or expression. [L.8.6]

Title: Now Adjectives! Now Pronouns! Now Nouns and Figurative Language! In Carols and songs, On Prepositional Phrases!  A Lesson in Parts of Speech and Figurative Language.
Description: Students will review parts of speech, and figurative language using selected Christmas songs.  This is a College- and Career-Ready Standards showcase lesson plan.
Standard(s):
[ELA2015] (6) 41: Demonstrate understanding of figurative language, word relationships, and nuances in word meanings. [L.6.5]

Title: Do You See What I See? Asian or American 
Description: Interactive unit that encourages students to evaluate the effect of the inclusion of figurative language in Amy Tan’s nonfiction narrative essay Fish Cheeks paired with the poem Face It by Janet Wong. This lesson will assist students in understanding the power of language. Students will be compelled to write by the conclusion of this lesson.  This is a College- and Career-Ready Standards showcase lesson plan.
Standard(s):
[ELA2015] (7) 23: Produce clear and coherent writing in which the development, organization, and style are appropriate to task, purpose, and audience. (Grade-specific expectations for writing types are defined in standards 20-22 above.) [W.7.4]

Title: Weaving the Threads: Integrating Poetry Annotation and Web Technology
Description: Students read a poem by a Native American, explore Native American culture and then create a Website that explains words and phrases from the poem.
Standard(s):
[ELA2015] (8) 41: Acquire and use accurately grade-appropriate general academic and domain-specific words and phrases; gather vocabulary knowledge when considering a word or phrase important to comprehension or expression. [L.8.6]

Title: Imagine That! Playing with Genre through Newspapers and Short Stories
Description: Students identify genre characteristics for short stories and newspaper articles then practice both genres by turning a short story into a news article and an article into a short story.
Standard(s):
[ELA2015] (8) 41: Acquire and use accurately grade-appropriate general academic and domain-specific words and phrases; gather vocabulary knowledge when considering a word or phrase important to comprehension or expression. [L.8.6]

Title: What Am I? Teaching Poetry through Riddles
Description: Students explore figurative language in poetry by reading and writing riddle poems.
Standard(s):
[ELA2015] (8) 40: Demonstrate understanding of figurative language, word relationships, and nuances in word meanings. [L.8.5]

Title: Finding Figurative Language in The Phantom Tollbooth
Description: Students examine figurative language in The Phantom Tollbooth and create a chart representing the literal and figurative meanings of words and phrases.
Standard(s):
[ELA2015] (8) 40: Demonstrate understanding of figurative language, word relationships, and nuances in word meanings. [L.8.5]

Title: Proverbs: An Introduction
Description: Students are introduced to proverbs and explore how proverbs are often tied to a cultures values and everyday experience, although their meanings are not always readily apparent to us today.
Standard(s):
[ELA2015] (8) 40: Demonstrate understanding of figurative language, word relationships, and nuances in word meanings. [L.8.5]

Title: Alliteration in Headline Poems
Description: Students will be introduced to the term alliteration and create a headline poem consisting of 25 words that contain at least three examples of alliteration.
Standard(s):
[ELA2015] (8) 40: Demonstrate understanding of figurative language, word relationships, and nuances in word meanings. [L.8.5]

Title: Avalanche, Aztek, or Bravada? A Connotation Minilesson
Description: Students examine familiar car names for underlying connotations then proceed through a series of steps, increasing their control over language, until they select words with powerful connotations in their own writing.
Standard(s):
[ELA2015] (8) 40: Demonstrate understanding of figurative language, word relationships, and nuances in word meanings. [L.8.5]

Title: She Did What? Revising for Connotation
Description: Did she walk, skip, amble, dance? In this minilesson, students explore connotation by acting out and revising the simple sentence '' She walked into the room.''
Standard(s):
[ELA2015] (8) 40: Demonstrate understanding of figurative language, word relationships, and nuances in word meanings. [L.8.5]

Title: Internalization of Vocabulary Through the Use of a Word Map
Description: Students practice with words and develop both definitional and contextual knowledge through two agents purposeful sequencing of steps and collaboration with peers.
Standard(s):
[ELA2015] (8) 41: Acquire and use accurately grade-appropriate general academic and domain-specific words and phrases; gather vocabulary knowledge when considering a word or phrase important to comprehension or expression. [L.8.6]

Title: Proverbs: At Home and around the World
Description: In this lesson, students work with proverbs from home and from around the world, exploring how these maxims are tied to a cultures values and everyday experience.
Standard(s):
[ELA2015] (8) 40: Demonstrate understanding of figurative language, word relationships, and nuances in word meanings. [L.8.5]

Title: Proverbs: Contemporary Proverbs
Description: This lesson challenges students to craft more apparent meanings for traditional maxims by updating proverbs from around the world and writing proverbs of their own.
Standard(s):
[ELA2015] (8) 40: Demonstrate understanding of figurative language, word relationships, and nuances in word meanings. [L.8.5]

Title: Promoting Diversity in the Classroom and School Library through Social Action
Description: Students explore the effects of stereotypes by analyzing children's books. Then they create bookmarks that encourage readers to question the assumptions of stereotyped books and to seek out matching, balanced texts.
Standard(s):
[ELA2015] (8) 41: Acquire and use accurately grade-appropriate general academic and domain-specific words and phrases; gather vocabulary knowledge when considering a word or phrase important to comprehension or expression. [L.8.6]

Title: The Poet's Voice: Langston Hughes and You
Description: This unit of seven lessons, from EDSITEment, introduces students to a poet's voice. Students develop a general definition of voice in poetry, and analyze and appreciate the poetic voice of Langston Hughes in particular. Included are writing and discussion activities, in which students either write a poem expressing their own voice (as developed in a journal), or write about one of the qualities of Langston Hughes's poetic voice (as explored in class discussion).
Standard(s):
[SS2010] USS6 (6) 4: Identify cultural and economic developments in the United States from 1900 through the 1930s.

Title: Figuratively Speaking
Digital Tool: Go Animate
Web Address URL: http://goanimate.com/
Standard(s):
[ELA2015] (6) 41: Demonstrate understanding of figurative language, word relationships, and nuances in word meanings. [L.6.5]
Digital Tool Description: Go Animate allows users to create 30 second video clips with different characters and backgrounds that are very engaging to students. Users can then share their presentations through different medias.

Title: Rap to the Sounds of Figurative Language1
Digital Tool: YouTube Video
Web Address URL: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3K9pd6h9JT0#
Standard(s):
[ELA2015] (7) 40: Demonstrate understanding of figurative language, word relationships, and nuances in word meanings. [L.7.5]
Digital Tool Description: YouTube Videos are readily availble on almost anything you can imagine. This video will spark ideas for the students and get them interested in the task of identifying the different kinds of figurative language

Title: Celebrate blues legend Robert Johnson's birthday.
Description: Students learn about blues music and brainstorm subjects that might give them '' the blues.'' Finally, they write their own blues lyrics and have the option to perform.
Standard(s):
[ELA2015] (8) 40: Demonstrate understanding of figurative language, word relationships, and nuances in word meanings. [L.8.5]

Title: Today is World Poetry Day.
Description: Students read and respond to Billy Collins' poem '' Introduction to Poetry.'' Students then write about a favorite poem and imagine the perfect way to read it.
Standard(s):
[ELA2015] (12) 28: Write routinely over extended time frames, including time for research, reflection, and revision, and shorter time frames such as a single sitting or a day or two for a range of tasks, purposes, and audiences. [W.11-12.10]