Setting the Tone with Figurative Language –
Grade Eight
Ohio Standards Connection
Acquisition of Vocabulary
Benchmark C
Recognize the importance
and function of figurative
language.
Indicator 4
Infer the literal and figurative
meaning of words and
phrases and discuss the
function of figurative
language, including
metaphors, similes and
idioms.
Literary Text
Benchmark F
Identify and analyze how an
author uses figurative
language, sound devices and
literary techniques to shape
plot, set meaning and develop
tone.
Indicator 8
Explain ways in which the
author conveys mood and
tone through word choice,
figurative language and
syntax.
Lesson Summary:
Students review the terms metaphor, simile, onomatopoeia,
alliteration and personification. They recognize them in text,
use them in their writing and explain their importance for
establishing the author’s tone, shaping the plot and appealing
to the senses.
Estimated Duration: Two hours and 20 minutes.
Commentary:
This series of activities gives students the opportunity to
review terms previously encountered in language arts class.
By applying the terminology in a variety of large group, small
group and pair sessions, they have the opportunity to benefit
from interaction with their peers. As they move from the
writing activities to application, students locate and identify
examples in children’s picture books and explain their
connection to the development of plot, identification of tone
and sensory appeal. The culminating activity is a
collaborative written assignment.
“Students will see relevance when discussing sports. Plus, all
of the pre-assessment is positive; groups, engaging
[activities], [relying on] prior knowledge…”
Pre-Assessment:
Group Brainstorm on Figures of Speech
• Introduce the figurative language terms simile, metaphor,
onomatopoeia, alliteration and personification through a
carousel activity.
• Mount five large pieces of chart paper on the wall. Label
each with a category and an example as follows:
Emotions/Feelings
Figurative language example of happy- “Happy as a pig in
mud.”
Movement
Figurative language example of slow- “As slow as
molasses in January.”
Appearance/Parts of the Body
Figurative language example of facial description- “Her
sparkling eyes spoke volumes.”
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 Setting the Tone with Figurative Language –
Grade Eight
Weather/Temperature
Figurative language example of rain- “Swoosh! During the downpour it was raining
buckets.”
Advice
Figurative language example of advice- “A bird in the hand is worth two
in the bush.”

• Divide students into five groups and give each group a piece of oversized chart paper and a
marker. Explain that each group has two minutes to brainstorm and write down as many
examples of figurative language in each category as possible. When the two minutes end, the
groups rotate in a clockwise fashion to the next sheet of paper and repeat the process with the
new category. They only add new examples to the lists as they rotate through each category.
Throughout, serve as a facilitator to the process and discussion. At the end of the rotations,
one student from each group reads aloud to the class the examples for each category so
students see what other groups added to their descriptions and evaluate the accuracy of each.
• Introduce the term “idiom.” As appropriate, have students identify examples from the
brainstorm lists.
• Using the graphic organizer, each student identifies and records an example of each figure of
speech: simile, metaphor, personification, alliteration and onomatopoeia. See Attachment A,
Graphic Organizer for Pre-Assessment Activity.

Scoring Guidelines:
See Attachment B, Scoring Guidelines.

Post-Assessment:
When given another narrative poem, students highlight and label examples of simile, metaphor,
alliteration, personification and onomatopoeia, as well as identify and analyze how an author
uses figurative language, sound devices and literary techniques to shape plot, set meaning and
develop tone in an extended response.

Scoring Guidelines:
See Attachment D, Post-Assessment Holistic Rubric.

Instructional Procedures:
Day One
1. Prepare sets of four cards listing the same sport. Make enough sets so that two pairs of
students in the class unknowingly share the same sport/activity on their sets of cards.
(Sports/activities may include basketball, swimming, weightlifting, soccer, dodge ball,
wrestling, kickball, golf, baseball, football, skiing, hockey, skateboarding, jumping rope
and/or gymnastics.)
2. Review the terms simile, alliteration and onomatopoeia and write them on the board.
3. Ask each student pair to create an example for each figure of speech as it pertains to the
activity listed on their cards.
4. Each student writes an example of each term on his/her card.

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 Setting the Tone with Figurative Language –
Grade Eight
5. Student pairs share their examples and evaluate them according to the definition.
6. The two pairs sharing the same activity read aloud to the class their best examples for each
figure of speech.

Day Two
7. Select a large scenic or action poster and display so all students can see it.
8. Review the terms: simile, metaphor, alliteration, personification, onomatopoeia and
personification.
9. As a group, brainstorm examples for each figure of speech as it applies to the picture.
10. Break students into groups of three or four. Each group receives a vivid picture from an old
calendar or a magazine. Collaboratively, group members use the pictures to create text
examples for each literary term as it applies to the picture. Students attach the pictures to
pieces of chart paper and write their examples underneath labeling the terms used in each.
One representative from each group presents the examples to the class and mounts the paper
on the wall.

Day Three
11. Select 30 to 35 multicultural picture books with descriptive text.
(This number allows each student to have a picture book. If there aren’t enough books,
students may work in pairs using the same book. Acquire an appropriate number of books.)

Instructional Tip:
Be sure to choose books that have substantial amounts of text and detailed descriptions.
(Allow students who may need more time to read and process the information to complete this as
a homework assignment.)

12. Review the literary terms: mood, tone and plot development.
13. Give each student a children’s picture book. They locate and bookmark examples of
alliteration, simile, metaphor, personification and onomatopoeia with self-adhesive notes.
14. In pairs, students exchange books and identify the examples. Together, they review the
examples and discuss how each contributes to the mood, author’s tone and plot development
of the story. Each pair also writes a response, explaining the author’s use of the figures of
speech to hold the reader’s interest. (Use Attachment C, Children’s Picture Books Paired
Activity.)

Day Four
15. Choose and copy a narrative poem. Distribute copies to each class member.
16. Read the poem aloud.
17. Model how to write a paragraph (using the poem) which responds to the prompt,

“Identify and analyze how an author uses figurative language, sound devices and literary
techniques to shape plot, set meaning and develop tone.”

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Grade Eight
18. Assign the post-assessment prompt and distribute the rubric. Review both the prompt and the
rubric, and allow time for students to work with their poems, identifying examples of
figurative language.
19. Allow students to finish the response for homework.

Instructional Tip:
Poems may include “Annabel Lee,” by Edgar Allan Poe, “The Highwayman,” by Alfred Noyes,
“And Still I Rise,” by Maya Angelou, “Paul Revere’s Ride,” by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow,
“And Then Came. . .Freedom to Dream,” by Miguel Pinero and “Persimmons,” by Lee Young
Li.

Differentiated Instructional Support:

Instruction is differentiated according to learner needs to help all learners either meet the intent
of the specified indicator(s) or, if the indicator is already met, to advance beyond the specified
indicator(s).
Examples:
• The carousel activity may be limited to similes, metaphors and personification (or even fewer
types) to simplify the process.
• Give the students cards with examples of figurative language already on them. Students
match the correct example to the activities listed on a handout and copy them on the paper.
• For the poster activity, make laminated cards with the figures of speech terms defined so
each pair of students has a handy reference.
• Assign students one term at a time instead of all four.
• Students use reference cards from previous activity.
• Select and assign poems matching students’ ability levels.
• Students design a graphic organizer to sort examples instead of writing the extended
response.
• Students who can handle more challenging work could be assigned more complex poems, or
be asked to seek out additional figures of speech or idiomatic expressions.
• Students who have mastered the objectives may identify a number of figures of speech worth
teaching to their classmates and plan a mini-lesson or lessons to do so.
• Some students may wish to make an illustrative definition of each figure of speech to display
in the classroom.

Extensions:
• Students bring in sports articles from newspapers and/or magazines with highlighted and
labeled examples of the terms. Post the best examples on the bulletin board.
• Students locate cartoons in magazines or newspapers that illustrate figurative language.
• Students create their own drawings/cartoons to illustrate the figures of speech.
• Students bring in pictures, song lyrics and videotaped TV commercials and write descriptions
using figures of speech.

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 Setting the Tone with Figurative Language –
Grade Eight
• Students write expository essays citing examples of figurative language, sound devices and
literary techniques, analyzing how authors use them to shape plot, set meaning, convey mood
and develop tone.

Homework Options and Home Connections:

• Students survey adults for examples of figurative language that their families taught them,
(e.g., “slower than molasses in January”).
• Students write paragraphs about exciting sports events they viewed/participated in using the
figures of speech in their descriptions.
• Students retell fairy tales or folk tales integrating examples of the terms they have learned.

Interdisciplinary Connections:
Social Studies
Students use a dictionary of idioms to write descriptions of people and events from a time period
studied in social studies.
History Standard
Benchmark: D. Describe the effects of interactions among civilizations during the 14th through
the 18th centuries.
Indicator: 2. Describe the political, religious and economic aspects of North American
colonization.

Science
Students describe scientific tools using figurative language.
Earth and Space Sciences Standard
Benchmark: B. Explain that the universe is composed of vast amounts of matter, most of which
is at incomprehensible distances and held together by gravitational force. Describe how the
universe is studied by the use of equipment such as telescopes, probes, satellites and spacecraft.
Indicator: 8. Name and describe tools used to study the universe (e.g., telescopes, probes,
satellites and spacecraft).

Art
Have students describe a poster-size version of a famous artist’s work.
Historical, Cultural and Social Contexts Standard
Benchmark: B. Create a work of art which incorporates the style or characteristics of art from a
culture other than their own.
Indicator: 3. Identify artworks that make a social or political comment and explain the messages
they convey.

Materials and Resources:

The inclusion of a specific resource in any lesson formulated by the Ohio Department of
Education should not be interpreted as an endorsement of that particular resource, or any of its
contents, by the Ohio Department of Education. The Ohio Department of Education does not
endorse any particular resource. The Web addresses listed are for a given site’s main page,

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 Setting the Tone with Figurative Language –
Grade Eight
therefore, it may be necessary to search within that site to find the specific information required
for a given lesson. Please note that information published on the Internet changes
over time, therefore the links provided may no longer contain the specific information related to
a given lesson. Teachers are advised to preview all sites before using them with students.

For the teacher: chart paper, felt-tipped markers, index cards, tape, large scenic poster, six
vivid pictures/illustrations per class from calendars or magazines, a variety of
children’s picture books for a class and self-adhesive notes
For the students: newspapers, sports magazines, dictionary, thesaurus

Vocabulary:
• alliteration
• metaphor
• onomatopoeia
• personification
• simile

Technology Connections:
• Use graphics to illustrate terminology.
• Use Internet to research word etymologies.

Research Connections:
Blachowicz, Camille and Peter J. Fisher. Teaching Vocabulary in All Classrooms, 2nd ed.
Upper Saddle River, N.J.: Merrill Prentice Hall, 2001.
One of the important characteristics of good literature is a high incidence of figurative language.
It is a part of our daily lives, and the average adult is estimated to use more than 500,000 figures
of speech a year (Petrosky, 1980).

Marzano, Robert J., Jane E. Pollock and Debra Pickering. Classroom Instruction that Works:
Research-Based Strategies for Increasing Student Achievement, Alexandria, Va: Association for
Supervision and Curriculum Development, 2001.

Nonlinguistic representations or imagery helps students think about and recall knowledge.
This includes the following:
• Creating graphic representations (organizers),
• Making physical models,
• Generating mental pictures,
• Drawing pictures and pictographs,
• Engaging in kinesthetic activity.

Cooperative-learning grouping has a powerful effect on student learning. This grouping

includes the following elements:
• Positive interdependence,
• Face-to-face interaction,

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• Individual and group accountability,
• Interpersonal and small group skills,
• Group processing.

Pask, Gordon. Conversation, Cognition and Learning. New York: Elsevier, 1975.
The fundamental idea is that learning occurs through conversations about a subject matter
which serve to make the knowledge explicit. Conversations can be conducted at a number of
different levels: natural language (general discussion), object language (for discussing
subject matter) and metalanguage for talking about learning/language.
To encourage learning, Pask argued that subject matter should be represented in the form of
entailment structures that show what is to be learned. Entailment structures exist in a variety
of different levels depending upon the extent of relationships displayed.

Petrosky, A.R. “The Infernos We Make: Children and Literature.” Language Arts, 57, 149-156.
Petrosky estimates that adults use more than 500,000 figures of speech a year. He views
figurative language as natural and necessary.

Robb, Laura, Ron Klemp and Wendell Schwartz. Reader’s Handbook: A Student Guide for
Reading and Learning. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company, 2002.
Figures of speech help provide clues about the mood, author’s tone and plot of the story or
poem.
They often appeal to the five senses to help readers personally connect to the text.
They require careful reading as opposed to skimming or speed reading.

General Tips:
Old calendars are a tremendous resource to teach descriptive writing and to create bulletin
boards. After December holidays, many bookstores reduce their calendars to as little as $1.

Attachments:
Attachment A, Graphic Organizer for Pre-Assessment Activity
Attachment B, Scoring Guidelines
Attachment C, Children’s Picture Books Paired Activity
Attachment D, Post-Assessment Holistic Rubric

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 Setting the Tone with Figurative Language –
Grade Eight
Attachment A
Graphic Organizer for Pre-Assessment Activity
Check one
__ simile __metaphor __onomatopoeia __alliteration __personification

Definition:

Example:

The example appeals to which senses?

__sight __hearing __taste __touch __smell

Check one
__ simile __metaphor __onomatopoeia __alliteration __personification

Definition:

Example:

The example appeals to which senses?

__sight __hearing __taste __touch __smell

Check one
__ simile __metaphor __onomatopoeia __alliteration __personification

Definition:

Example:

The example appeals to which senses?

__sight __hearing __taste __touch __smell

Check one
__ simile __metaphor __onomatopoeia __alliteration __personification

Definition:

Example:

Which senses does the example appeal to?

__sight __hearing __taste __touch __smell

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Grade Eight

Attachment B
Scoring Guidelines

Advanced Identifies all examples appropriately, provides definitions and clarifies

sensory appeal (no errors in any category).
Proficient Identifies most examples appropriately, provides most definitions and
clarifies most sensory appeals (no more than one error in each category).

Limited Identifies some examples appropriately, provides some definitions and

clarifies some of the sensory appeals (no more than two errors in each
category).

Basic Identifies few examples appropriately, provides few definitions and

clarifies few of the sensory appeals (more than two errors per category).

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Grade Eight

Attachment C
Children’s Picture Books Paired Activity

Title 1: Title 2:

Author: Author:

Reader: Reader:
************************************************************************
Title 1 or 2 Page: Simile
Example:

Title 1 or 2 Page: Metaphor

Example:

Title 1 or 2 Page: Idiom

Example:

Title 1 or 2 Page: Alliteration

Example:

Title 1 or 2 Page: Personification

Example:

Title 1 or 2 Page: Hyperbole

Example:

Title 1 or 2 Page: Onomatopoeia

Example:

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Grade Eight
Attachment C (Continued)
*(If no examples can be found in either book, write one that might be appropriate.)

Together, take turns writing the answers to the following questions in complete sentences and
using specific examples from the books.

1. What clues do the examples give as to the time the story takes place? Does it change during
the story? Explain.

2. Find examples of the author’s word choices that tip off the reader to the place of the story’s
plot. List each time the location changes.

3. How does the author’s choice of language convey the mood or feeling of the story? Does it
change? Explain.

4. How does the author’s use of figures of speech relate to the plot? In other words, how does
the language help hold the reader’s interest in the story?

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 Setting the Tone with Figurative Language –
Grade Eight
Attachment D
Identifying and analyzing how an author uses figurative language, sound devices and literary
techniques to shape plot, set meaning and develop mood and tone.

Post-Assessment Holistic Rubric

4 The answer is clearly focused on the prompt. Development of the topic is rich as evidence of
clear thinking and a natural flow of ideas. Evidence from the poem is interwoven into the
response to the prompt. Vocabulary and sentence structure work together and demonstrate a
strong command of the English language. There may be some minor mechanical errors but
they do not interfere with communication.
3 The answer is clearly related to the prompt. Organization is evident, but some drifting may
occur. Evidence from the poem is insufficient or inappropriate. Vocabulary and sentence
structure may not demonstrate sophistication and variety. There may be some minor
mechanical errors but they do not interfere with communication.
2 The answer is somewhat related to the prompt. There is little development and/or evidence
in the poem provided. There is no clear organizational plan. Limited or inappropriate
vocabulary inhibits the student’s understanding and communication. There may be some
errors but they do not interfere with the overall communication.
1 The answer is slightly connected to the prompt. There is no development and the evidence
cited does not support the response. There is no logical or clear organizational structure.
Sentence structure and vocabulary are simplistic and repetitive. Lack of some conventions
impairs understanding.

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