Anna Morrison

11th and 12th grade English

Holly Springs High School 2008

Approximate Time: 50 min

Objectives:  The student will examine the author’s (or authors’) use (or uses) of figurative language (personification) in multiple texts to analyze its effect on theme.

(Mississippi Frameworks 1b.)

Materials: whiteboard markers, pens, paper, overhead projector, transparency (vocabulary/examples), Personification handout 1 (Animal Farm, April Rain Song)

Do Now: If you could have any type of animal as a pet, what would you choose? Why? (3-4 sentences)

Set:  Ask students to share examples of the Do Now. Why do we enjoy having pets (students respond – keep us company, listen well, fun to play with) We imagine that we can talk to our animals, and they are listening, but in reality, they really aren't. But we imagine that animals have human qualities. This strategy is used in writing – it is called personification, and it is a type of figurative language. Yesterday you went over simile and metaphor with Ms. Morrison– (question and answer to go over simile/metaphor. Simile and Metaphor are types of Figurative language). Perhaps Talk about  rap songs as figurative language... (3min)

Procedures:

A. The teacher will put up an overhead of the definition of personification, and several examples, which students will copy into their notes. (7min)

B. The teacher will ask the students to take out a fresh sheet of paper that they will be turning in. 1. Explain personification in your own words. and 2. Give a creative example of personification: Choose an animal, object or idea, and write a sentence giving it human qualities. Bonus points for creating 2-3 MORE examples, and draw one of them. (5min)

C. The teacher will guide the students in reading aloud passage from “Animal Farm”, and lead a discussion about the personification in the text. Students will answer the three questions as the class discusses them. (15min)

D.  The teacher will guide the students in a reading of “April Rain Song” and the students will answer the same three questions independently. (8min)

E. The teacher will lead a short class discussion about WHY the second author used personification –Students questioned - how does it help the main idea of the poem? (3min)

E. The teacher will assign the homework, and give students time to work on it. Imagine you are a tree. You have an option: You may be a withered, old tree, tired of living. Or a young, sturdy tree, full of energy.  (Write which one at the top!) Tell the reader about your surroundings – Where are you? do you like your piece of land? Do you like your view? Are there people around you? How do you feel about them? What is it like when the weather changes? Tell the reader what you think and feel – and make sure they HELP show which kind of tree you are! (At least a half page) Bonus: Draw this tree.

Closure: Today we talked about the definition of personification (question students) and looked at examples in poetry and fiction. Quick review, I will choose an object, and you give me a creative sentence that personifies that object. Next week we are going to be writing some short poetry, and you all will be using figurative language – keep this in mind! (4min)

Assessment:

Informal-  The teacher will observe the students(M) defining personification and identifying examples in literature. (C).

Formal:  The teacher will collect the students' in class work,  (M) on which they defined the term “personification” and identified examples of it in literature, © and grade the papers according to their ability to define and identify personification, and then record the  grade in the gradebook(D).