This unit is designed to enhance the Language Arts curriculum. This unit will educate students on the importance of being descriptive by using imagery and similes to convey details to the reader, so the reader can form a powerful visual image while reading. The unit will also educate students on the use of personification to convey a character’s feelings or perspective to the reader. This unit is divided into five parts. Each part is followed by a lesson plan. The introduction to the unit consists of general review of the previously taught concepts; that is personification, similes, and imagery. The first part of the unit will focus on the portrayal of animal characters with realistic emotions. The second part of the unit will focus on making personification literal. The third part of the unit will focus on the use of similes to create comparisons in the reader’s mind. The fourth part of the unit will focus on the use of imagery in descriptive writing. During the above four parts of the unit the students will be asked to keep and maintain a writer’s log. This writer’s log will serve as a note-taking journal and a means for reflection on learning. The fifth part of the unit is the overall goal of the unit. The goal of the unit is for students to work cooperatively in groups of three to write and illustrate a children’s book using figurative language to convey character feelings, character physical descriptions, and create powerful visual descriptions.
(Developed for Language Arts, grade 5; recommended for Language Arts, grade 5)
