Tag: WERD Coach Youth

Teaching Figurative Language

The best stories and poems are the ones that draw us in through the expert use of words. We love descriptions and expressions that make us feel we’re there experiencing life in the imaginary world along with the characters. Sometimes, however, figuring out what writers mean is a little more challenging. That’s because sometimes authors use words in ways they’re not normally used, and readers have to interpret them, almost as if reading a foreign language.

There are a few different definitions of ‘figurative language’, but all point to the same thing: figurative language refers to a specific type of language we use to heighten a reader’s experience. Ordinary statements take on a whole new life as we move from literal, exact meaning to abstract, creative meaning.

Pigs strap on jet packs and soar through the sky like eagles on steroids. Pampered pet pooches perch precariously on painted points. Then, BLAM! You’re a rooster in a rainstorm, soaked through to your bones! Nothing is as it seems.

The list of literary devices used as figures of speech is longer than most people realize, with the number going upwards of 20. The good news is that we often use various types of figurative language without knowing what they’re called, and the even better news is that there are only about 6 or so common ones that we should be familiar with.

1. Simile
2. Metaphor
3. Personification
4. Alliteration
5. Hyperbole
6. Onomatopoeia

Simile

This is probably the most common type of figurative language. We’ve all encountered expressions and sayings like: “as busy as a bee”, or “as strong as an ox”, and even “as stubborn as a mule.” Some similes also use the word ‘like’, for example “They fought like cats and dogs” or “That show was like watching paint dry.” A simile is a comparison. You’re comparing a specific quality in one item, with a similar quality in another item that people are familiar with. For example, paint takes some time to dry, and it’s not the most exciting thing to look at. Guess what we’re saying about the show? Yup, it’s boring and slow.

Personification

We do this with our pets all the time when we assign human attributes and thought processes to their behaviour. “Cats are devious animals trying to take over the world.” Sometimes we even assign human characteristics and intentions to inanimate objects. “I swear that spoon was trying to kill me!” Anytime we add human meaning to the actions of non-human creatures or objects, we’re using personification.

Alliteration

This one uses our fascination with sound to create peculiar and interesting reactions. By repeating initial consonants, we create tongue-twisters and amusing statements. One of the more famous expressions of alliteration is: Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers. It’s fun to create your own too, especially if you use words that would not normally come together in a sentence and still try to have the sentence make sense.

Onomatopoeia

This one is a favorite of mine for two reasons. First, the word itself has to be one of the coolest sounding real words in the English language. Say it out loud three times fast and you’ll understand what I mean. The second reason I love this type of figurative language is because of what it is. There are times in writing that you want to conjour a feeling in your audience and conventional words just don’t work well. Enter the word that sounds like the noise you’re describing! How else can you describe a whooshing wind, or a tinkling bell, or the sound of a closing door? Doesn’t BLADAM give you a different response altogether from SLAM or CLICK?

Metaphor

This one is related to similes because it is also used for making a comparison. A metaphor can be considered a simile that has been intensified or strengthened. Instead of saying the two things you’re comparing are similar, like or as, you remove those words to say that the two things are each other. So, instead of “roaring like a lion” you’re now “a roaring lion”. And instead of being “hungry as a bear” you’re now “a hungry bear”. The comparison is the same, but writers are now saying that it’s more than just a similarity, the behaviour is so strong the two things might as well be the same.

Hyperbole

Parents and teachers are often guilty of using hyperbole with children, “I’ve told you a million times to clean up your room!” or “Why do you always ask that question?” These exaggerated statements are not meant to be taken literally, but are meant to highlight something. So, I may not have told you a million times, I don’t actually know because I haven’t been counting, but it feels like a million because it’s quite a lot and I’m tired of saying it.

When writers use figurative language, they’re saying one thing when they really mean something else. This is one of the reasons many people have trouble understanding the meaning associated with some expressions. While many are so common they’ve become integrated into our system of language as idiomatic expressions, many writers create their own, and that requires some thinking on the reader’s part.

The first step in being able to decipher figurative language is to understand the various types there are. For SEA, those described on the other photos in this post are the main ones children need to know. Make sure they know the definitions and are able to recognize examples.

In addition to reading many different types of texts in which figurative language is used, have kids create their own. Encourage them to have fun with this, to make up the craziest, or wackiest metaphor, hyperbole, onomatopoeia, personification, alliteration, or simile.

One word of caution, however. Children should be reminded that when they are in the role of writer, the language they use should be reasonable and understandable. In other words, readers should not feel exasperated trying to figure out what they mean. At this level, readability is paramount.

To teach recognition of figurative language in a fun way, children can play matching games where they have tabs with sentences and tabs with labels they must match. They can work in groups or on their own.

To add some movement into the mix, children can play a twister-style game with the figurative language. Circles can be drawn on the ground, each labeled for a type of figurative language. The teacher reads a sentence and students have to touch the circle that correctly identifies the example with either a hand or a foot. For example, if the teacher says, “He’s as slippery as a snake. Right hand.” Then the children would have to stretch to touch the circle labeled ‘Simile’ with their right hand. There should be several circles labeled ‘Simile’ to choose from. This is ideal for groups of 3 or 4 children.

A modification of that game for larger groups would have larger circles drawn and labeled, and children have to run to the circle they think is the correct answer. Incorrect answers can be monitored and corrected, plus a winner could be determined. After three chances of incorrect answers, a child would be out of the game. Those who have the correct answers remain. A single winner or group of winners could emerge after several rounds.

For children who love art and play dough, these activities can also be integrated into a lesson on figurative language. After discussing and practicing with one of the literary devices, ask the children to select one sentence from a list given, or write their own, and create a piece of art to illustrate the sentence. They can paint, draw, use play dough, or any other material they have at their disposal. Afterward, each child would need to explain their concept.

Teaching figurative language is an opportunity to have a fun and exciting class. What other ideas can you think of to make your lesson enjoyable?

Question-Answer-Relationship

In a previous post, we shared five different types of comprehension questions following one approach. Here’s another comprehension strategy called Q-A-R which helps readers decipher what their role is in answering different types of questions. Q-A-R stands for Question-Answer-Relationship, and identifies four types of questions in two categories.

Category 1 – Answers are in the passage

* Right-There Questions: Answers are stated directly in the passage.

* Think & Search Questions: Answers are stated in the passage, but not all in one place. Readers must piece the information together to fully answer the question.

Category 2 – Answers are in the reader’s head

* Author & Me Questions: Author gives clues to the answers, which must be combined with the reader’s knowledge in order to arrive at a complete answer to the question.

*On My Own Questions: Answers are based on the reader’s knowledge of the passage and previous knowledge of the topic the passage is written about, and are completely created by the reader.

Category 1 questions are usually straightforward and typically easier to answer, while Category 2 questions require more critical and creative thinking.

Right-There Questions usually ask for identification of Who, What, Where, or When. Sometimes, even How or Why can be found directly in the passage. An easy way to find answers for these types of questions is to use key words from the question to guide where the answer is.

For example:
Give one detail about the trip that the writer enjoyed, even though it rained.

Another way to phrase this question is: What did the writer enjoy about the trip, even though it rained?

Key words in this question are: enjoyed, trip, rained. Chances are that you would find one or more of these words directly in the passage. The answer will usually be near where you find those key words…either in the same sentence, or in a sentence before or after.

Other similar questions:
1. Where did the fairies come from?
2. Who brought the magic wand?
3. When was Tania’s birthday?
4. How did Andy open the box?
5. Why did Little Red Riding Hood go to Grandma’s house?

These types of questions often ask for you to put information in your own words. In order to answer them effectively, you will need to read the passage to find relevant information. Many times, these questions ask Why or How and you will need to put together details from many areas in the passage to formulate a response.

For example:
How is Richard’s behavior enthusiastic?

This question calls for two things. First, it calls for an understanding of the word ‘enthusiastic’, then it calls for gathering details about Richard’s behavior to support the idea that it was enthusiastic.

Most likely, details of Richard’s behavior are not all in one place. You will have to read the passage and collect examples of his behavior that fit with the idea of being enthusiastic. Then, you’ll need to present that information in your answer.

Here are other examples of these types of questions:
1. How did the main character find out about the villain?
2. What caused the city to lose hope in the hero?
3. Find 2 examples in the passage that show the villain thought he was doing the right thing.
4. Summarize the passage.
5. How did the hero overcome the villain?

These questions often ask readers to put themselves in the position of the writers or authors, and speculate about the story, characters, and language used.

For example:
What is the main idea of paragraph 3?

This question asks for the reader to consider what the writer’s intentions were, and use information from the passage to support an information about the message the writer conveyed.

Take a look at a few other questions of this type:
1. Why did the writer use the phrase “lost to the world” in paragraph 1?
2. The passage says that Cindy was unhappy at her new school. What can she do to make herself feel better?

Many of these types of questions ask readers to give their opinions or recommendations, and even express how they feel about characters or situations in the passage. Readers can even attempt these questions without reading the passage, although they may miss vital points if they do that because opinions are based on what the passage contained.

For example:
Do you think if the villain apologized for his actions, that the hero would forgive him?

It is likely that nothing in the passage would help you answer that question. You must use your experience and understanding of the type of person the hero is, based on how the passage portrays him, to answer the question on your own.

Other questions of this type can typically take the following forms:
1. Do you feel any sympathy for the villain?
2. Do you think the villain would have been evil if his classmates had been nicer to him when he was in secondary school?
3. The villain wanted to capture the hero, not harm him. What could be some reasons for that?
4. If you were the hero, what would you recommend happen to the villain after capturing him?
5. Do you believe the villain and the hero are fighting for the same reasons?

Comprehension Strategies

Reading comprehension is one of the areas many children have challenges. While they may get the general idea of what they’ve read, some of them have great difficulty responding to comprehension questions. The most fundamental comprehension strategy is knowing what the question is asking, which requires understanding of the different types of comprehension questions.

A quick online search will tell you that there are generally five types of comprehension questions –
1. Lexical – those questions that have to do with vocabulary. For example, “What took the bus into the city?”

2. Literal – those questions that have answers that can be found from a quick scan of the reading material. These usually answer the questions Who, What, Where, When. For example, “Where is the boy with the suitcase going?”

3. Interpretation – those questions that are based on information presented in the reading, but require some thinking to answer. These types of questions answer Why, How, and What if. For example, “Why did the boy with the suitcase board the bus?”

4. Applied – those questions that ask readers to go beyond what was read and give their opinion. These types of questions answer What do you think. It’s important to note that in answering these questions, readers must give reasons for their opinions, and these reasons must be based on the information given in the reading material. For example, “Did the boy with the suitcase do the right thing by boarding the bus?”

5. Affective – those questions that ask readers to go beyond what was read to give thoughts about how characters are feeling, or how the reader feels about similar situations. These types of questions refer to social and emotional ideas, and also require reasons and examples from the reading material to support ideas given. For example, “How did the boy with the suitcase feel about the bus driver?”

Knowing the type of question asked is the first step toward answering the question effectively.

Understanding Poetic Language

Understanding poetry takes more than just knowing the words. That’s because writers use many different techniques to express ideas and feelings in poems. For some people, recognizing the abstract and figurative language is a challenge.

Here are five tips for understanding and analyzing poems that you can use and share with your child.

1. Read through the poem to get the general idea of what’s going on. Ask yourself, “What is the poem about?” Note the subject of the poem. See what is being discussed or shared.

2. Next, think about the title of the poem. Does the title give you an idea of what the poem is about? Note the connection between the title and the rest of the poem. See if the title helps with understanding what the poem is about.

3. Then ask yourself who’s telling the poem. Note whether the speaker is involved in the poem, or telling the poem like a narrator. See if you can get any clues about the speaker in the poem. Think about things like personality, attitude, and age.

4. Now you can think about the language of the poem. Go through the poem again and identify where the writer uses figurative language. Label the techniques used. Is it personification? Is it visual or tactile imagery? Is it a metaphor or simile? Remember that poetic language is used for a purpose. The author is trying to convey an emotion or an idea with words. This means thinking about the author’s intention will help you. So ask yourself why the author used that particular technique. Why not something else? What is the important idea that you must understand in this part of the poem?

5. Once you’ve gotten an idea of what each of the techniques convey, replace the figurative language with the explanation. Read the poem again with your explanations to get a better understanding of the meaning of the poem and the ideas the writer is sharing.

After doing all of that, you can now discuss the poem with more confidence. You’ll be able to comment on the techniques used, the ‘speaker’ in the poem, and the ideas or emotions the poem is sharing. From there you’ll also be able to talk about why you think the author wrote the poem the way it was written.

This type of analysis is a process that gets easier with time, so read poetry and practice it often.

Encouraging Critical Thinking

Over the past week I’ve been in several conversations about how important it is to allow children to think and respond on their own. Far too often parents and teachers feel the need to correct children’s thinking, rather than guiding them to learn better habits.

Usually when we ask children to respond to a question and we don’t get the response we’re looking for, it’s easier to tell them they’re wrong than it is to analyze how they came to their conclusion in the first place. This happens a lot when going through comprehension with children, and the end result is that we give them the answers rather than guiding their thinking in the right direction.

Critical thinking is a skill that develops over time, and children must be allowed to think for themselves. Prescribing formulas for writing, particularly creative writing, does not give them an edge. What it does is create a box for them to function in, when by its very nature creative writing should allow them to express themselves freely.

There are ways to guide children through thought processes without giving them the answers we’re looking for.

Here are three strategies you can use:

1. Focus on ways to find information, rather than on a specific formula for a response. Show children how to ask questions about what they’re reading by listing and modeling. What is the idea given here? What in the passage supports your conclusion?

2. Discuss the reading/writing connection and have children think about the author’s intention and reader’s understanding. Why were certain words used? How do you think readers would react to this?

3. Show children that there are different types of comprehension questions. There are those which require details from the passage, and ask for specific information that can be easily found through scanning. There are those which ask about meaning, and require some thinking about how ideas are connected. And there are those which require readers to go beyond what’s stated or indicated in the passage to come to their own conclusion.

The most important thing, however, is to have patience with your child when they’re giving responses, and resist the urge to tell them what to think.