Zoila M. Brown
Topic: Figurative Language
Objective:
Students will demonstrate a critical stance by analyzing the poet's use of metaphors and similes.
Prior Knowledge:
Students are able to distinguish between metaphors and similes.
Materials:
Overhead projector, transparency with X. J. Kennedy's "Ten Little Likenesses", copies of "Dreams" by Langston Hughes, and highlighter.
Procedure:
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1. Project the poem, "Ten Little Likenesses". Share reading aloud, alternating stanzas with students. Briefly review the difference between a simile and a metaphor. Volunteers highlight examples of metaphors and similes on the projected overhead transparency.
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2. Discuss the second stanza, in which Kennedy uses a simile to make the comparison
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that the six black appleseeds are sleek as the beetles' backs. What sensory details
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does the poet use?
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3. Continue the discussion using examples of metaphors. For example, the last stanza states, "the river flows down to its delta and sets sail on the sea." Ask students to tell what things are being compared. Explain that the poet uses this metaphor to give us a mental image of the river. Students tell what they visualize, hear, or feel.
Follow-up Activity:
Students read Langston Hughes' "Dreams" with a partner. Each student begins a dialogical response (a two-column chart showing two students' reactions to the same quote) by quoting the two comparisons in the poem, then reacting to each quote.
Assessment:
Informally assess, checking students' understanding through interpretation of the quotes. Pay special attention to the English language learners.