Figurative Language: Metaphor

This lesson is a part of a unit on poetry and figurative language. It is designed to teach students the characteristics of metaphor within the context of poetry.

A lesson plan for grade 6 English Language Arts

By Nancy Meyers

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Learning outcomes

Students will demonstrate an understanding of metaphor by creating an original metaphor poem.

Teacher planning

Time required for lesson

1 Hours

Materials/resources

Copies of a poem which is a clear example of the use of metaphor. I use the poem, “Mother to Son,” by Langston Hughes. It is available in various anthologies.

Paper, pencil, chalkboard, or overhead.

Technology resources

None.

Pre-activities

• Review what is a metaphor. Be sure students know the difference between a simile and a metaphor.
• Discuss how to recognize a metaphor.

Activities

1. Read aloud “Mother to Son” by Langston Hughes. Discuss the comparison of life and a stairway. Make sure all of the students see the comparisons.
2. Then I ask the students to think about other things one could compare to life. I put “Life is…” on the chalkboard and the students come up with possible comparisons. List 5 to 8 items, if at all possible. Among those we developed were “Life is a rollercoaster,” “Life is a race,” etc.
3. The students selected one from the list and together we expanded it by listing details. One class chose “Life is a Rollercoaster” and we listed those things which could be considered as shared elements of both. For example, both have ups and downs; sometimes it is scary; there are slow times and fast times. We then took these various commonalities and created a five line poem on the board.
4. Students then broke up into small groups and each student selected one of the “Life is…” comparisons from our master list, or came up with one of his/her own. The students brainstormed in the small groups so that each had a list of commonalities for his/her comparison.
5. Once these lists were compiled, students then took the items and created a metaphor poem of 4 to 6 lines. Each student was able to create a poem by the end of the class period. The classes included students of limited English proficiency, and even these students produced a completed poem.

Assessment

The completed poem was used to evaluate whether a student understood the literary term metaphor. The completed poem could not contain any comparison which had “like” or “as” in it.

At a later time, we read other poems and students were asked to identify the comparisons and decide if they were metaphors or similes. This was a way to see if students had retained the idea of a metaphor and could recognize one in another context.

Supplemental information

Language arts textbook -
Lierature and Language. Gold level. MacDougal, Littell and Company. 1994.

Related websites

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Comments

This lesson was just one part of a series of lessons on poetry and figurative language.