Putting a Little "POP" into Figurative Language

If you've been following my blog at all, you have probably noticed that my class has been learning about figurative language!  We are about to start literature circles in a couple of weeks and one of the task is "Figurative Language Finder".  Not only that, but part of the CCSS for 4th grade (and others) is to be able to understand and recognize basic figurative language like similes and idioms.

When we first started, my students didn't really understand what figurative language is.  I was a little surprised, but really excited to introduce it to them!  I love working with language, and sharing it with my students makes my heart happy!

We started out the unit with alliteration and onomatopoeia.  If you missed my posts on these two lessons, you can click the links to see some of the fun and creative activities my students participated in.

The next two lessons were on similes and metaphors.  Most students catch on to similes really quickly, but metaphors can be a bit tricky!

As an art integration component for this unit I had my students create pop up books using the similes and metaphors they created during these lessons.

This is part of the activity that my students worked on in preparation for their pop-up books.  CLICK HERE to download this sheet!

My students were so excited to do pop-up books!  They got to be creative, yet they had to write out their sentences, revise,  and edit.  Before I handed them blank booklets, they had to plan out the pages of their book using a template and then check it in with me.

A planning template had to be completed and checked in with me before the student got their blank "pop-up book".  

The books are turning out GREAT!  They are all so different, yet they are a wonderful way to see which students are understanding the concepts of similes and metaphors and which students need more support.

Another thing I am loving about this unit, and this activity in particular, is that all of my students are feeling successful.  I have a wide range of ability levels in my classroom and they are all proud of their pages.  I have 33 students and every time one of them finishes a page they run up to me for me to take a picture of it.  That makes my day!

The next steps for this unit are idioms and personification!  I have an Idiom Quick Draw game planned for idioms and for personification, students will put all six literary devices together in a writing piece.  For the writing, the plan is to have students write from the point of view of an animal or an object.  These are sure to be fun to read!

These are the guidelines for the final writing activity. 

This unit has been a lot of fun, not only for my students, but also for me to teach.  If you are interested in taking look at the entire unit, you can find it here in my TpT store. The preview has the entire table of contents and a unit overview.  

Psssst...   The first 10 purchasers of this unit also get the below Scoot and Sort for free!  The unit is $5, the scoot is $3...  that means you are really getting the unit for $2!  CRAZY!

As  a supplement to the unit, I also have available this scoot and sort.  It can be used as a whole class scoot activity or a literacy center sort.   

Thank you for visiting!!!  I hope that you are all staying safe and warm, especially my east coast friends.
Come back and see me soon!