Figurative LanguageFiguring it Out

Materials: Clicker, homework packet, Notebook, pencil Bellwork: Start your homeworkHomework is due TOMORROW

Figurative and Literal Language

Literally: words function exactly as defined

The car is blue.

He caught the football.

Figuratively: figure out what it means

I’ve got your back.

You’re a doll.

^Figures of Speech

Simile

Comparison of two things using “like” or “as.”

Examples

The metal twisted like a ribbon.

She is as sweet as candy.

Important!

Using “like” or “as” doesn’t make a simile.

A comparison must be made.

Not a Simile: I like pizza.

Simile: The moon is like a pizza.

Metaphor

Two things are compared without using “like” or “as.”

Examples

All the world is a stage.

Men are dogs.

She has a stone heart.

Personification

Giving human traits to objects or ideas.

Examples

The sunlight danced.

Water on the lake shivers.

The streets are calling me.

Hyperbole

Exaggerating to show strong feeling or effect.

Examples

I will love you forever.

My house is a million miles from here.

She’d kill me.

Why do authors use figurative language?

• 1. Figurative language makes unfamiliar objects, settings and situations more relatable

• 2. It makes the characters and storylines come alive in the reader’s mind

What is diction?

Diction is the word choice that an author makes

Think about: Why diction is important?

Think about one character from Walk Two Moons

• Are there typical words and phrases that this character uses?

• Why do you think the character uses those words and phrases?

• How it helps us to understand the character better?

Why diction is important?

1. Diction is allows the reader to better understand the characters.

2. It provides more interesting words for the reader.

3. Diction can create a visual picture of feeling for the reader.

• A topic sentence is a beginning sentence that states the main idea of the paragraph.

• Think about: HOW SHOULD I WRITE A TOPIC SENTENCE?

• You’ve been asked to write an explanatory paragraph explaining how Sal changes throughout the novel Walk Two Moons. What would be a good topic sentence?

What is a topic sentence?

Why is having a good topic sentence important?1. It keeps the writer organized

2. Helps readers know what the paragraph is going to be about

3. It states the main idea of the paragraph

What is a theme?

A lesson, moral, or general message found in the story

It can be proven by what takes place in the story-evidence

It is NOT a topic

It should not include characters names

Think aloud:Is there the only one possible theme in a story?

True

False

Read the following fable and determine a possible theme:

• The Wind and the Sun

• The Wind and the Sun were disputing which was the stronger. Suddenly they saw a traveler coming down the road, and the Sun said: "I see a way to decide our dispute. Whichever of us can cause that traveler to take off his cloak shall be regarded as the stronger.

• You begin." So the Sun retired behind a cloud, and the Wind began to blow as hard as it could upon the traveler. But the harder he blew the more closely did the traveler wrap his cloak round him, till at last the Wind had to give up in despair. Then the Sun came out and shone in all his glory upon the traveler, who soon found it too hot to walk with his cloak on.

Kindness effects more than severity.

•Theme is one of the more difficult elements of a story to identify. A theme is a story’s message. It is what the author of a piece of text wants you to remember most.

What is the difference between the theme and the main idea of

a story?

• The main idea is what the story is mostly about.

• The theme is the universal message you take away from the story.

• You can always tell what the theme of a story is by examining characters and plot

Consider another example:

• The Fox and the Grapes

• One hot summer's day a Fox was strolling through an orchard till he came to a bunch of Grapes just ripening on a vine which had been trained over a lofty branch. "Just the thing to quench my thirst," quoth he. Drawing back a few paces, he took a run and a jump, and just missed the bunch.

• Turning round again with a One, Two, Three, he jumped up, but with no greater success. Again and again he tried after the tempting morsel, but at last had to give it up, and walked away with his nose in the air, saying: "I am sure they are sour."

Discuss in groups what you think the theme of this fable could be?

Theme:

• It is easy to despise what you cannot get.