Jessica Roth

UED 496 Field Experience E-Portfolio

April 13, 2024

Data Collection Project

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Part One

My assessment project was completed at Woodstock Elementary School in Virginia

Beach during my first placement. The data collected and shown within this project is taken from

my morning class which typically consisted of 22 students. However, only the data from sixteen

students will be described and discussed. This is due to the fact that multiple students from each

class were consistently absent during the time frame in which this data was collected. The pre

and post assessments were designed to assess a student’s ability to identify examples of

figurative language and the author’s purpose of utilizing figurative language in a text. The

Virginia Standards of Learning for English 5.4 d) state that, “The student will expand vocabulary

when reading: Identify an author’s use of figurative language.”

The students were required to be familiar with the following types of figurative language:

simile, alliteration, metaphor, onomatopoeia, idiom, and personification. On the assessment, a

definition and example of each type of figurative language was given. Students were given a

word bank to utilize as they worked on the assessment. In order for students to develop the skill

of understanding the author’s use of figurative language, it was important for them to have the

ability to identify and describe each type of figurative language.

Based on the assessment data from this assessment, it was determined that a majority of

the students were not familiar with any kind of figurative language. Four students correctly

answered three to four of the six questions. Another group of four students correctly answered

two questions. The final eight students answered either one or zero questions correctly. During a

follow up conversation, the group of eight students discussed that they did not remember any

previous lessons on figurative language. Some admitted that they were surprised to have gotten

even one answer right, since they had guessed on every answer. The middle group of students
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said that they were very confident with a couple examples of figurative language, but the rest

were new concepts to them. Finally, the highest group had preexisting knowledge as well as

familiarity with figurative language due to active reading. From the data collected, I determined

that a tiered differentiated task along with small group and whole group instruction would greatly

benefit the students.

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Figurative Language Pre-Test Data:

Rodes Homeroom

AB DJ CS DM NT RG DN AC JL TB KB NJ AS AG AA KW

?#

1 X X X X X X X X X X X

2 X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X

3 X X X X X X X X X X X X

4 X X X X X X X

5 X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X

6 X X X X X X X X X
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Group 1: Correctly answered 3-4 questions

Group 2: Correctly answered 2 questions

Group 3: Correctly answered 1 question

Group 4: Correctly answered 0 questions

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Figurative Language Assessment

Word Bank

Simile Metaphor Alliteration

Personification Onomatopoeia Idiom

1. _________________ is when objects are given human qualities.

The sun played peek-a-boo with the clouds.

2. _________________ is a phrase that has a meaning different from the individual words

themselves.

It’s raining cats and dogs.

3. _________________ is the repetition of words with the same beginning sound.

Polly planted plenty of pretty pansies.

4. _________________ is a word that sounds like the object or action they refer to.

Buzz! Buzz! A pesky mosquito flew around me.

5. _________________ is comparing things by stating that one thing is or was another.

The clouds are cotton balls in the sky.

6. _________________ is comparing things by using like or as.

The surface of the water looked as smooth as glass.

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Part 2

To begin our instruction on the author’s use of figurative language, I divided the students

into groups based on their readiness level. As shown in the graph above, each small group was

color coded by green, yellow, and red. Because the red group had eight students, I further

divided that group into two separate groups. Altogether, there were four groups. For the small

group lesson, I taught the same lesson to each group. Using the data from the assessment, I knew

which figurative language examples to focus more on with each group.

I started each small group’s lesson by discussing the assessment and allowing students to

voice their opinions on how well they did and what they thought of the topic. As I explained

each type of figurative language to them, I provided multiple examples of how and why an

author would use figurative language in a text. Group 1 mostly struggled with personification,

idiom, and metaphor. I dedicated more time with that group to thoroughly cover those three

terms. Group 2 had a good understanding of onomatopoeia and simile. I reviewed those two and

continued to thoroughly explain the remaining four. Groups 3 and 4 both required more

explanation and practice. I gave those groups a very detailed explanation and examples of the six

types of figurative language. To assure that those students would gain a better understanding, I

provided each group with extra instructional time for their small group lesson.

All of the small groups had the same guided practice. Every student received a paper with

twenty different phrases or sentences containing figurative language. Working with students, we

examined each one and had a group discussion on which type of figurative language it could be

and why. For the independent practice piece of the lesson, I used a differentiated tiered task.

Group 1 had to create their own sentences and examples of figurative language. Group 2 was

given a fragmented sentence and were tasked with completing the sentence using an example of
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figurative language. They were also instructed to make sure their examples made sense with the

context of the original sentence. Finally, Groups 3 and 4 were given multiple different sentences.

For each sentence, the students had to underline the figurative language used within the sentence

and identify the type. I used their independent practice to informally assess their initial

understanding of figurative language.

The following day, I taught a whole group lesson on figurative language. Students began

their anticipatory set by cutting out and sorting the names of each type of figurative language and

multiple examples. They created headings and sorted the examples underneath of each heading.

Students were then given one minute to compare their card sort with a shoulder partner. I began

my instructional input and displayed a Freyer model for each figurative language. Students were

able to reference the Freyer models throughout the lesson. To transition to guided practice, I

instructed students to look back at their card sort. Each table group was responsible for a

different figurative language section, with the exception of onomatopoeia. At this point in our

studies, the whole class excelled with identifying and using onomatopoeia. Every student was

tasked with providing a different example from their table group’s heading.

Moving into independent practice, I read aloud the story Saturdays and Teacakes.

Students used a graphic organizer to tally each time they heard a different type of figurative

language. Periodically, I would stop and ask students if they could tell me an example. Once I

finished reading the book, the class and I talked about the reasons for the author to use figurative

language and how it improved the story. I reinforced the point that using figurative language can

greatly improve the quality of a text and also make their writing more detailed.

Over the course of the next few days, our lessons transitioned into poetry. To keep

students engaged and actively practicing figurative language, I planned two more activities
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before the final assessment. First, students played a competitive game on their Chromebooks.

Using Gimkit, I sent a link to the class where they could participate in the game “Gone Fishing”.

Within this game, students answer questions about figurative language. For each question they

answer correctly, they earn one piece of bait. After earning bait, their character can go fishing.

When a student catches a fish, they lose a piece of bait. They then have to get more questions

right to gather more bait. The goal is to have caught the most fish by the end of the 15 minutes.

The final activity I gave was “Figurative Language Poetry Search”. I allowed students to

research and choose two poems. They were required to write the title and author of the poem.

Secondly, students had to identify at least one example of figurative language used in the poem.

After writing down the example and type, they drew an illustration. I assigned this activity as

homework for students to work on throughout the week.

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Figurative Language Search

Title and Author of Figurative Language Quoted Example Draw a Picture

Poem
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Part 3

For the post assessment, I used the same quiz as the pre assessment. However, the

assessment was graded this time. Because it was the same as the pre assessment, it was still

aligned with the Virginia SOLS. Students needed to be able to read an example of figurative

language in a sentence along with the definition and provide the name of the figurative language.

Each student showed a significant amount of improvement.

Pre assessment Post assessment

AB D NT RG AC TB

M AB D NT RG AC TB

?# M

1 X X X X ?#

2 X X X X X X 1 X

3 X X X X X 2 X X

4 X X 3 X

5 X X X X X X 4

6 X X X 5 X X

6 X
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Overall, I was pleased with the amount of student growth. In the above chart, the data of

six students are shown. Their column color in both tables correspond to the data from the pre

assessment color chart in Part One. Every student in the class showed a lot of growth. Two

students from the above chart still incorrectly answered questions two and five. Those questions

were related to idioms and metaphors. Before starting this topic, I thought that most students

would struggle with metaphor and idiom, considering how similar the two are. I spent a lot of

time during the whole group lesson emphasizing the difference between those two. I had not

considered that metaphor and idiom could be easily mistaken for each other.

If I had more time to work with this topic, I would have done remediation, possibly in

small groups, to continue discussing the differences between metaphors and idioms. If I were to

teach this topic again, I would be sure to provide extra support and guidance for students who are

struggling to recognize and differentiate between the two. Another thing I would have liked to

add is another activity related to figurative language that is based on student writing. I think it

could have benefited students to implement figurative language in their own writing. This could

have given students a better understanding of an author’s perspective of when to include

figurative language.