| Objectives | Students will be able to: (1) define simile and metaphor; (2) distinguish between the two; (3) analyze their impact on a text. |
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| Materials | Poems or descriptive paragraphs rich in figurative language, highlighters. |
| Key vocabulary | figurative language, literal, simile, metaphor, comparison, like, as |
| Engage (starter) | (10 min) Say: "He is a cheetah on the track." Ask: Is he actually a cat? What does it mean? This is non-literal language. |
| Develop (main) | (35 min) 1. Define Simile (comparison using like/as) and Metaphor (direct comparison saying something IS something else). 2. Read the poems. Highlight similes in yellow and metaphors in green. 3. Discuss *why* the author used them (to create a vivid image). 4. Students practice writing 2 original similes and 2 metaphors. |
| Plenary (close) | (10 min) Share the original figures of speech. Have the class identify if it is a simile or metaphor. |
| Assessment | Accurate identification and creation of similes and metaphors. |
| Teacher notes | Ensure they understand that the comparison must be between two unlike things. |
| Objectives | Students will be able to: (1) define active and passive voice; (2) identify the voice in a sentence; (3) rewrite passive sentences into active voice. |
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| Materials | Sentence strips, whiteboard. |
| Key vocabulary | active voice, passive voice, subject, verb, object |
| Engage (starter) | (10 min) "The dog bit the man." vs "The man was bitten by the dog." Which is stronger? Who is doing the action in the first? The second? |
| Develop (main) | (35 min) 1. Define Active Voice (Subject performs action) and Passive Voice (Subject receives action, often uses "by"). 2. Explain that active voice is usually better for writing because it is direct. 3. Identify sentences as active or passive. 4. Worksheet: rewrite 5 passive sentences to make them active. |
| Plenary (close) | (10 min) Review the rewrites. Note how the object in the passive sentence becomes the subject in the active. |
| Assessment | Correct conversion of passive voice to active voice. |
| Teacher notes | Look for the "to be" verb + past participle as a clue for passive voice. |
| Objectives | Students will be able to: (1) define denotation and connotation; (2) identify positive, negative, and neutral connotations; (3) choose the best word for a specific tone. |
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| Materials | Word sort cards (e.g., cheap vs inexpensive, confident vs arrogant). |
| Key vocabulary | denotation, connotation, literal, feeling, positive, negative, neutral |
| Engage (starter) | (10 min) "Would you rather be called 'curious' or 'nosy'?" Why? They have the same dictionary meaning, but different feelings. |
| Develop (main) | (35 min) 1. Define Denotation (dictionary definition) and Connotation (emotional feeling attached). 2. Hand out word cards in groups of three (e.g., thin, slender, scrawny). 3. Have groups sort them into Positive, Neutral, and Negative connotations. 4. Rewrite sentences replacing a neutral word with a strongly connotated word to change the tone. |
| Plenary (close) | (10 min) Share the changed sentences and discuss the new tone. |
| Assessment | Correct sorting of words based on their emotional weight. |
| Teacher notes | This greatly improves their descriptive and persuasive writing skills. |
| Objectives | Students will be able to: (1) write an engaging hook; (2) provide background information; (3) place a clear thesis statement at the end of the introduction. |
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| Materials | Examples of different types of hooks (question, quote, statistic, anecdote). |
| Key vocabulary | introduction, hook, background, thesis statement |
| Engage (starter) | (10 min) Read two essay openings. One boring ("I am going to tell you about..."), one exciting ("Imagine a world where..."). Which makes you want to read more? |
| Develop (main) | (35 min) 1. Explain the funnel structure of an introduction: Hook (broad) -> Background (narrowing) -> Thesis (specific). 2. Teach 4 types of hooks. 3. Provide a prompt (e.g., "Should cellphones be allowed in class?"). 4. Students draft an introduction, starting with a hook, giving context, and ending with their thesis. |
| Plenary (close) | (10 min) Peer review introductions. Is the hook engaging? Is the thesis clear? |
| Assessment | Introduction paragraph contains all three elements in the correct order. |
| Teacher notes | Remind them that the thesis was covered previously; now they are building around it. |
| Objectives | Students will be able to: (1) identify similes/metaphors; (2) change passive to active voice; (3) identify connotations. |
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| Materials | Review stations, timers. |
| Key vocabulary | review |
| Engage (starter) | (10 min) "Active or Passive?" rapid-fire identification game. |
| Develop (main) | (35 min) 1. Station 1: Read a poem, find and explain 2 metaphors. 2. Station 2: Grammar worksheet converting passive to active voice. 3. Station 3: Vocabulary sort (positive vs negative connotation). Rotate every 10 mins. |
| Plenary (close) | (10 min) Review the active voice conversions together. |
| Assessment | Accuracy at the grammar and vocabulary stations. |
| Teacher notes | Assess if students are relying too heavily on "by" to identify passive voice. |