Holiday Simile Lesson Plan

Students will define and recognize similes.
Students will write a poem using similes.

Procedures

Prewriting:
Define simile: a figure of speech that compares two objects using like, as, or than. (She is as red as a beet.) The objects being compared are not similar except in one respect.

Explain to students that they will write a poem based primarily on similes.

Brainstorm on the blackboard for a list of words naming holidays.

Provide the following structure for their poems.

The poem is a definition using all the senses and similes that the students make personal by using original detail, which reflects their lives and experiences.

The fourth of July is.... (This line is a metaphor.)
It sounds like...
It tastes like...
It smells like...
It feels like...

A sample:

Clouds are like cotton balls in the sky.
It sounds like silence.
It tastes like rain.
It smells like fresh laundry.
Clouds feel soft.

Drafting:

Ask the students to pick a word of their own from those brainstormed on the blackboard and begin their own poem. (Encourage students to include onomatopoeia in the description of sound.)

Revising:

Have the students edit and shape their poems (adding specific original detail where appropriate, and writing their final copy on plain paper).
Work individually with students.

Presenting:

When the final copies are completed on unlined paper, ask students to read their poems aloud before collecting them.