Merged Document 2

Copyright Kevin Sacco 2014
Lesson Plan
Lesson Title: Introduction to Similes (Figurative Language Writing Unit Lesson 1 of 4)
Grade Level: Fifth Grade
Content Area: English/Language Arts
ELPD Standard(s) Framework
e.g., WIDA or state ELPD standard[s] that are the target of student learning.
(Note: Please list the number and text of each standard that is being addressed. If
only a portion of a standard is being addressed, then only list the part or parts that are
relevant.)
Key CCSS ELA Practice 2: Produce clear and coherent
writing in which the development, organization, and style
are appropriate to task, purpose, and audience
CCSS Content Standard
What CCSS standard(s) are most relevant to the learning goals?

CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RL.5.4 Determine the meaning of
words and phrases as they are used in a text, including
figurative language such as metaphors and similes.
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.L.5.5a Interpret figurative language,
including similes and metaphors, in context.
Content Objectives (related to the subject matter central focus) Students will identify and analyze the structures of simile.
Language Objectives (related to key language function, task, or skill)

Students will read and discuss similes; then, orally
deconstruct and write similes by using compare and
contrast strategies.
Prior Academic Knowledge and Conceptions
What knowledge, skills, and concepts must students already know to be successful
with this lesson?
What prior knowledge and/or gaps in knowledge do these students have that are
necessary to support the learning of the skills and concepts for this lesson?

Students must be familiar with compare/contrast strategies
and be able to draw upon their lexical knowledge for
inspiration. These students are familiar with compare and
contrast strategies having completed similar activities in
different content areas, but they will need assistance with
lexical variety.

Instructional Strategies and Learning Tasks
Introduction
10-15 Minutes

How will you start the lesson to engage and motivate students in learning?

Students will be introduced to the unit and the teacher will
explain how they will be engaged in a week-long, role play in
which they will wear costumes and imagine themselves as
Classical Greek poets in Ancient Athens. Students will then
participate in a multimodal Read Aloud of Homers Odyssey
to help initiate the creative process and listen to figurative
language. (Reenactments, debates/discussion, props, and
visual representations will be included).
Instruction
20-25 Minutes

What will you do to engage students in developing understanding of the lesson
objective(s)?

What will you do to model the language forms/vocabulary/function/skills?
Mini-Lesson:
1) Teacher will first introduce students to the preliminary
content vocabulary: simile and figurative language. This
will include a Think Aloud about these words and their
relationship to words both in English and the students L1
(Spanish). Teacher will discuss simile vs. similar (in English);


How will you link the new content (skills and concepts) to students prior academic
learning and their personal/cultural and community assets?

What will you say and do? What questions will you ask?

How will you engage students to help them understand the concepts?

What will students do?

How will you determine if students are meeting the intended learning objectives?

Teacher will demonstrate the etymological relationship
between figurative and figura = shape (Sp.), and explain how
figurative language helps shape ideas in the readers mind
as a mnemonic device for helping students remember key
content vocabulary.
2) Teacher will present the teaching point on the dry erase
board exhibiting the syntactical structures of simile and their
necessary components in a formula for easier analysis, e.g.
1) as + (Adjective) + as +(noun); 2) like + (Noun). A
strategy/comprehension questions will be introduced to help
students compare ideas: Are these two variables similar? Are
they alike? Can we see how x can be compared to y?
Comprehension questions might include: Are these things
similar? How/why are they similar? Do people often think
about x when they picture y in their heads? Is it possible to
compare these two things in other settings? Etc.
3) Teacher will demonstrate how good writers use
descriptions with figurative language in their narratives by
modelling compare and contrast strategies using text
examples that include similes and texts that do not. Students
will be responsible for value judgments of similes as a means
of assessment.
4) Teacher will ask students which examples from sample
texts and worksheets they prefer and why, scaffolding
language usage wherever possible (via peer assistance and
reference to units vocabulary), in order to help students to
start making the connections between good comparisons
(good similes) and bad comparisons (bad similes). This will
provide the necessary background for the following days
lesson and draw on already acquired knowledge of
description and narrative writing from the previous writing
unit.
Language-Focused Structured Practice and Application
20-25 Minutes

How will you give students the opportunity to practice the target language so you can
provide feedback?
How will students apply what they have learned?
How will you determine if students are meeting the intended language objectives?

Differentiation/Planned Support
Group work #1
Graphic Organizer: Students will pick one item, thing, or
person and use the graphic organizer to come up with
adjectives or descriptive phrases to describe them. (Class
thesauruses will be available.) (5-8mins)
Group Work #2:
Students will work in pairs to create similes with vocabulary
cards provided. They will use their worksheets (already


How will you provide students access to learning based on individual and group
needs?

How will you support students with gaps in the prior knowledge that is necessary to
be successful in this lesson?

How will you differentiate the task(s) for:

Students with different LEP levels:

Whole Class:

Groups of students with similar needs:

Individual students:

Students with IEPs or 504 plans:

How will you engage ELLs at different levels of language proficiency? Include a table
with
LEVELED QUESTIONS to differentiate your instruction for the different levels of
language proficiency represented in your classroom.

completed during Instruction) as a guide. This will be a
competition establishing which group can design the best
simile with the words provided on the table. Both like +
(noun) and as + (Adjective) + as (noun) formulae can be
utilized. (5-8mins)
Group work #3:
Students will orally construct similes in groups using provided
pictures and/or imaginations with no aid of vocabulary similar
to task 2 without the scaffolding tools. Vocabulary cards
and/or peer assistance can scaffold the activity.
Whole Class Work #1: Students will present their similes to
the class for evaluation and helpful suggestions. The
objective is not to criticize but to obtain suggestions from
peers on how to improve the similes. The class will then vote
for the group who wrote the best similes.
Whole Class: Some students will be more advanced than
others both orally and in their writing. Careful pairing will help
offset any unbalanced approaches to the tasks. Vocabulary
cards and other tactile media like markers and dry-erase
strips will help engage students.
Groups of students with similar needs: Since all the
students are Ls, they will all have some gaps in their lexical
capabilities. Having them work in pairs will facilitate
communicative learning strategies which will help lower level
Ls negotiate for meaning with higher proficiency Ls.
Individual students: Individual issues will be addressed in a
Socratic dialogue format, i.e. via Q & A method.
Students with IEPs or 504 plans: A variety of scaffolding
tools, e.g. vocabulary cards, visual representations, and peer
suggestions, will be available to assist students of lower
proficiency, but will not be imposed in order to prevent
students from failing to challenge themselves. Likewise, the
Leveled Questions (See below) and Language Performance
Indicators (See Index) are designed with differentiation in
mind. Likewise, teacher conferencing will be conducted
throughout.


LEVELED QUESTIONS: Indicate the wording of 3 leveled questions for each language proficiency level of ELLs in your group of students.

LEVEL 1 LEVEL 2 LEVEL 3 LEVEL 4 LEVEL 5
Why are similes important in
good narratives?
Why do you think
the author
compared these
two things for this
simile?
How can we compare/contrast
_______ to ______ to make this
simile better? Can we improve
this? Should we?
When in the narrative does the
author choose to use similes?
Why did the author
choose to write a
simile here in the
text? Is this
location
significant?
What images does the author
want the reader to see with this
simile?
What is the relationship
between x and y?
What do you think
the reader feels,
sees, and/or
understands when
they read this
simile?
How can we prove that the
authors simile achieved its
objective?

MATERIALS: Graphic Organizer, dry erase board, dry-erase sentence strips, dry erase markers, worksheets, computer (to look up pictures),
student thesauruses, read aloud book, costumes, scaffolding vocabulary cards, and pencils.
Closure
5-10 Minutes

How will you evaluate and assess the students learning? What evidence will support
your assessment?

How will you end the lesson?

What is the assessment evidence of content and language learning?

Closing Discussion:
Student accountability for the material will be demonstrated
here by having students discuss what they learned and the
benefits of the lesson. The academic language taught must
be used to prove familiarity with the material. One volunteer
(or pair) will recapitulate the lesson orally and others will add
to it if they see fit. Evidence of learning will be demonstrated
by oral interaction with the content in the classroom and by
collecting and reviewing the language usage in the content-
based artifacts completed in class, e.g. worksheets, dry erase
strips etc., all of which will demonstrate how students have
internalized the content enough to implement the language in
their writing.

Copyright Kevin Sacco 2014.

Lesson Plan

Lesson Title: Comparing and Improving Similes (Figurative Language Writing Unit Lesson 2 of 4)
Grade Level: 5

e.g., WIDA or state ELPD standard[s] that are the target of student learning.
(Note: Please list the number and text of each standard that is being addressed. If
only a portion of a standard is being addressed, then only list the part or parts that are
relevant.)
writing in which the development,
organization, and style are appropriate to task, purpose, and
audience

CCSS.ELA-Literacy.W.5.3b Use narrative techniques, such
as dialogue, description, and pacing, to develop
experiences and events or show the responses of
characters to situations.
Content Objectives (related to the subject matter central focus)

Students will work on identifying and analyzing good vs. bad
sample similes.

Students will compare and contrast adjectives in order to
improve upon and write their own similes, later including
them in their narratives (See Lessons 3 & 4).
with this lesson?

Students must utilize and refine their compare/contrast
strategies to evaluate similes. Students must also recall the
last lesson and have completed their assigned homework
assignments in order to have a better command of the
target language and structures. Students must also recall
strategies learned in earlier narrative units to begin
organizing their ideas for the narrative portion of this unit.

Description of what the teacher (you) will be doing and/or what the students will be doing.

Introduction
10 Minutes
As in Lesson 1, the teacher will begin with a multimodal read
aloud to engage the students and attempt to inspire them



towards creative ends. (Reenactments, debates/discussion,
props, and visual representations will be included).
Instruction
10 Minutes

objective(s)?






Brief discussion about the last lesson to establish and build
upon prior learning and content specific vocabulary (orally).
One student will then write on the dry erase the formulas for
simile that the class learned last lesson (collaborative effort
will be encouraged) to use as a reference during class.
Student-Lead Mini Lesson
Teacher will provide support for the students while students
work in groups and discuss good and bad similes that the
teacher provides as prompts. Strategies for improving similes
will be introduced via inquiry-based instruction. This will
include writing practice similes on the board and the similes
worksheet in discussion format. Peer interaction and oral
defense of choices and value judgments will set the higher-
order thinking tone for the rest of the lesson.
40 Minutes

provide feedback?

needs?




Whole Class:



Group Work No.1
Students will work in pairs to complete the Improving similes
worksheet. They will be allowed to keep their homework
worksheet in front of them as a reference. Additionally,
adjective cards will be available for ease of reference or
vocabulary scaffolding. (10 mins)
Group Work No. 2
Students, in collaboration with teacher, will improve similes on
the dry erase board using strategies learned and justify their
answers based on the criteria set for good vs. bad similes.
This can be done orally or with dry erase sentence strips
(some students are better at writing than speaking and vice
versa). (10 mins)
Group Work No. 3
Students will work in pairs to decide their topics for the
narrative writing portion of this unit. A graphic organizer will
be provided to organize their ideas and plot summaries. This
brainstorming strategy will have already been mastered in
previous units. (10-12 mins)
Individual Work #1 (If Time)
Students will start writing their draft narratives using these



What is the best way to analyze
this simile? (Discuss and justify
analysis)
What evidence
from the text can
you use to explain
why this simile
assists the authors
message?
How would you design a simile
that achieves a similar feeling or
emotional state?
Could this simile be used in a
text that was(serious, funny,
fantasy, drama, etc.)?
How effective
would the authors
narrative be if the
similes were
removed?
What are some of the intended
effects of the authors similes and
how can we predict that the
similes will be effective?

with

strategies and the strategies learned in other units for
structure and discourse. A rubric which describes whats
expected of them will be provided so that students are aware
of the teachers expectations and how the points are being
allotted. (20-25 mins)
Whole Class: Some students will be more advanced than
others both orally and in their writing. Careful pairing will help
offset any unbalanced approaches to the tasks. Teacher will
walk around to conference and facilitate learning.
Groups of students with similar needs: Since all the
students are Ls, they will all have some gaps in their lexical
capabilities. Teacher conferencing will be considered during
individual writing sections.
Individual students: This will be handled in the Socratic
dialogue method, i.e. via Q & A method. Additionally,
students will have the option to write or speak their answers
and arguments during compare and contrasting.
Students with IEPs or 504 plans: A variety of scaffolding
tools, e.g. vocabulary cards, visual representations, peer
assistance, and peer interactive activities will be made
available to assist students of lower proficiency. Likewise, the
leveled questions (See below) and language performance
task requirements (See below) are designed with
differentiation in mind.


Why does the author choose this
adjective to describe x?
Based on our prior
knowledge, do
these similes really
help the reader see
or understand the
comparison?
What are some of the ways in
which the author could have
made this simile better and
suggest some words the author
could have used instead?

MATERIALS: Graphic Organizer, dry erase board, dry-erase sentence strips, dry erase markers, worksheets, computer, student thesaurus, read
aloud book, costumes, scaffolding vocabulary cards, draft paper, and pencils.
Closure
5-10 Minutes

your assessment?



Closing Discussion:
Student accountability for the material will be demonstrated
here by having students discuss what they learned and the
benefits of the lesson. Students might have group discussions
regarding the strategies for improving similes in order to
reiterate some important content from the lesson. If there is
time, a quick game of Improve the Simile that involves the
whole class might help reorganize some thought patterns, fill
content gaps, and allow for more interactive learning while
simultaneously reviewing and utilizing the target language.


Lesson Plan

Lesson Title: Drafting and Editing Narratives (Figurative Language Writing Unit Lesson 3 of 4)
Grade Level: 5




Students will apply and demonstrate their knowledge of
simile by incorporating similes into their narratives.

Students will write and edit their draft narratives, and then (if
ready) start publishing their narratives.
with this lesson?

Students will be responsible for the material covered in the
previous lessons and in previous writing units, e.g. compare
and contrast strategies, simile formulae, the basic
components of a narrative (beginning, middle and end), plot
enhancements (suspense, personal experiences, dialogue,
tone, mood).


Introduction
10 Minutes

Students will take part in a multimodal read-aloud which will
result in a brief discussion and/or debate. (Reenactments,
debates/discussion, props, and visual representations will be
included).
Students will review in pair/group work their homework and
the material covered in earlier lessons.



Where in this paragraph would a
simile fit?
Which word (choice
x) or (choice y)
would best fit in this
simile?
Can this idea be more specific to
make the concept more vivid with
a simile? How?
Are we going to make the reader
feel (happy, sad, concerned, et
cetera) with this simile?
What effect does
this simile have for
the reader?

How would you improve this
simile to make the comparison
seem more (un)believable?
Does the story need a simile
here? Why? What can we
compare?
What is the context
of the simile you
are trying to include
What are some strategies we use
to make our plot come alive and
bring our characters to life?
50 Minutes

objective(s)?







Individual/Group Work No.1
Students will continue to brainstorm their ideas for their
narratives (if not yet completed in Lesson 2) using the graphic
organizer(s). Students will then begin to work independently
on drafting their narratives. They will be given time
periodically for peer support and critiquing.

Individual/Group Work No. 2
Upon completing their drafts, students will edit their work, and
begin finalizing their narratives for publishing. Time will be
given for group conferencing if students wish.

Whole Class:
The former Whole Class supports will still be in place. In
addition, each student will be supported on an individual basis
for more personalized attention.
Groups of students with similar needs: Pairing and
grouping may be utilized depending on the effects of the
lessons assignments.
Individual students: Student will be conferenced in a Q & A
format to encourage independent thinking (with leveled and
concept clarification questions).
Students with IEPs or 504 plans: Every student will be
consulted in a manner best fitting to their situation, keeping in
mind their strengths and weaknesses.


and what might be
some strategies for
drafting one?

MATERIALS: Graphic Organizer(s), dry erase board, red pens (editing), worksheets, computers (if needed), student thesauruses, read aloud book,
costumes, scaffolding vocabulary cards (if needed), draft paper, and pencils.
Closure
5-10 Minutes

your assessment?


Closing Discussion:

Student -lead discussions about their narratives and ideas.
Students will work in groups to assist each other in their
writing. Teacher will be available for any concerns or
questions.

Copyright 2014 Kevin Sacco

Lesson Plan

Lesson Title: Publishing Narratives (Figurative Language Writing Unit Lesson 4 of 4)
Grade Level: 5




Students will apply and demonstrate their knowledge of
simile by incorporating similes into their narratives.
Language Objectives (related to key language function, task, or skill) Students will write/publish their narratives.
with this lesson?

Students will be responsible for the material covered in the
previous lessons and in previous writing units, e.g. compare
and contrast, simile formulae, the basic components of a
narrative (Beginning, middle and end), plot enhancements
(suspense, excitement, tone, mood).


Introduction
10 Minutes
Students will take part in a multimodal read-aloud.
(Reenactments, debates/discussion, props, and visual
representations will be included).
50 Minutes

provide feedback?
Individual/Group Work No.1
Students will complete the publication of their narratives.
(Instruction will take place on a one-to-one basis)




Where in this paragraph would a
simile fit?
Which word (choice
x) or (choice y)
would best fit in this
simile?
Can this idea be more specific to
make the concept more vivid with
a simile? How?
Are we going to make the reader
feel (happy, sad, concerned, et
cetera) with this simile?
What effect does
this simile have for
the reader?

How would you improve this
simile to make the comparison
seem more (un)believable?
Does the story need a simile
here? Why? What can we
compare?
What is the context
of the simile you
are trying to include
and what might be
some strategies for
drafting one?
What are some strategies we use
to make our plot come alive and
bring our characters to life?


needs?




Whole Class:




with

Whole Class:
The former Whole Class supports will still be in place. In
addition, each student will be supported on an individual basis
for more personalized attention.
Groups of students with similar needs: Pairing and
grouping may be utilized depending on the effects of the
lessons assignments.
Individual students: Student will be conferenced in a Q & A
format to encourage independent thinking (with leveled
questions and concept clarification questions).
Students with IEPs or 504 plans: Every student will be
consulted in a manner best fitting the situation and students
strengths and weaknesses.


MATERIALS: Student thesauruses, vocabulary cards, worksheets (for reference), computer (if needed), pens.
Closure
5-10 Minutes

your assessment?


Closing Discussion:

Student -lead discussions about the strengths and
weaknesses of the unit, and why the unit was beneficial to
their writing. Brief discussion about narrative plots.

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