Kasey Wagner
November 12, 2009
Figurative Language in Language Arts Class for Sixth Graders
Estimated time: 50 minutes

School of Music Standards for Listening - listening to, analyzing, and describing music
   Students analyze the uses of elements of music in aural examples representing diverse genres and cultures

School of Music Standards for Singing
- Singing, alone and with others, a varied repertoire of music
   Students sing with expression and technical accuracy a varied repertoire of vocal literature with a level of difficulty of 3, on a scale of 1 to 6, including some songs performed from memory.

Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction Language Standards
   Students develop their vocabulary and ability to use words, phrases, idioms, and various grammatical structures as a means of improving communication.
   Students explain how writers and speakers choose words and use figurative language such as similes, metaphors, personification, hyperbole, and allusion to achieve specific effects

Objectives
1.  Students will receive lyrics to sing along with the “Figurative Language” song by Rhythm, Rhyme, Results in order to enhance their figurative language lessons and help with their final unit exam.
2.  Given lyrics and a song to listen to, students will sing and memorize the lyrics to a figurative language song in order to help retain the knowledge of the different figurative language types.
3.  Everyone will participate by reading tongue twisters and creating tongue twisters of their own as successful examples of alliteration.

Materials:
   computer to play music
   speakers for music

Lesson Context:
Students are at the beginning of a mini unit on figurative language in their Language Arts class. Each day will be dedicated to a different type of figurative language and then the students will have a unit test at the end.  In order to help with understanding these types of figurative language, the students will be learning a hip-hop song about figurative language and practicing it at the beginning and end of each lesson.

Procedure:
   At the beginning of class I would talk about how we are starting a unit on figurative language. Whenever you describe something by comparing it with something else, you are using figurative language. Any language that goes beyond the literal meaning of words in order to furnish new effects or fresh insights into an idea or a subject. The most common are figures of speech: simile, metaphor, and alliteration.
   Basically, we use figurative language to have fun with words! In order to help students remember the different types of figurative language, there is a rap they will learn and sing each day that we study figurative language before the test day.
   Each student will get a copy of the lyrics to keep in their L.A. Binder and the song will be played so they can read along and sing along if they start picking up on the tune.
   Taking the first portion of the song, the first day will be spent on alliteration. A common place to find alliteration is in tongue twisters.
   Students will begin by looking at and trying to recite tongue twisters to other students at their table. Each of these tongue twisters will be an example of alliteration: when words begin with the same sound. An example would be: “sixty six sick sticks”.
   Next, students will be challenged to create their own examples of tongue twister alliteration and recite their finished works to the rest of the class.

Assessment:
Students will be assessed on their participation in the reading of tongue twisters and writing their own successful examples of alliteration. Students are encouraged but do not have to read their tongue twisters aloud.
 
Adaptations/Extension:
Students are able to use dictionaries in order to help with their tongue twisters and can work in groups to create tongue twisters together if they have trouble getting started.

Next Steps:
Each new day would include practicing the figurative language song and learning, discussing and practicing a new figurative language example such as metaphor, simile, assonance, onomatopoeia, hyperbole, etc.

 

Justification:

Many students are well equipped for memorizing lyrics to catchy tunes.  When these lyrics are packed full of academic information that can help students more fully understand a concept, they are best used in a classroom setting!  Along with having lessons specifically using the different types of figurative language, students will be rehearsing a figurative language song that they can refer to mentally each day, in preparation and for use on their final unit test.

Figurative Language - Rhythm Rhyme Results

Chorus:
Sometimes what you mean is not exactly what you say
That’s figurative language, using words in different ways
Personification, alliteration, assonance, hyperbole
Onomatopoeia, metaphor, and simile

Verse I:

When Sally seems to sit somewhere separate from Sonia,
Or Caleb calls Chris ‘cause he’s coming to California
It’s called alliteration: that’s what occurs
When you got the same sound at the start of every word
But when you’ve got a vowel sound that keeps sounding the same
That’s a figure called assonance, yeah, that’s its name
It’s what I’m trying to define by providing this example
But I cannot deny that assonance can be a handful

Chorus

Verse II:
A simile is something that you use to compare
Two unrelated things with an element that’s shared
My mind is like an ocean; it’s as smooth as jazz
But it’s only a simile if it uses “like” or “as”
A metaphor is similar, but watch out!
Be careful ’cause you’ve got to leave “like” and “as” out
My mind is an ocean; my words are a river,
So keep your ears open as I continue to deliver

Chorus

Verse III:
Now if the sun’s smiling down, or the boat hugged the shore
That’s personification, nothing less, nothing more
But with a buzz or a ding or a hiss or a roar
That’s onomatopoeia that we’re using for sure
Hyperbole: man, that’s like a million times harder!
Take something true, then exaggerate it way farther
Now you’ve heard this song from beginning to the finish
Now you’ve got some tools to draw your literary image