EDU 360/372Margaret Hoffmann

Thematic UnitFebruary 27, 2003

Lesson # 4

Unit Title:InsectsSubject: Science Grade 2

NYS Standard:

Standard #2 (Elementary): Students will read, write, listen and speak for literary response and expression.

Lesson Title:SimilesSubject:Language Arts

NYS Performance Indicator:

Students will create their own stories, poems, and songs using the elements of the literature they have read and appropriate vocabulary.

Essential Question: What is a simile?

Lesson Objectives:

  1. Students will recognize and identify similes in text. (Knowledge)
  2. Students will define in their own words what a simile is. (Comprehension)
  3. Students will compose original similes. (Synthesis)
  4. Students will illustrate and write in a complete sentence their original simile. (Application)

Anticipatory Set:

I will read the book Quick as a Cricket by Audrey Wood.

Communicate Purpose:

“ We are going to learn about similes. I am not going to tell you right away what they are yet. First we are going to read the book Quiet as a Cricket, which has many similes in it. While I am reading I want you to pay very close attention to the way the author describes things. See if you can find a pattern in her language. Then when I am finished reading the story we will discuss what you have discovered about similes.”

Description/Method/Assessment:

Method: I will use direct teaching of similes and cooperative learning activities for the children to develop their own.

Description:

  1. Read aloud the book Quiet as a Cricket.
  2. Ask children what patterns in the author’s language did they hear?
  3. Note all answers on chart paper. Using the students answers define what a simile is verbally and in writing.
  4. Ask students for examples of a simile from the book.
  5. Ask students to brainstorm a list of their own similes. Write the list down on chart paper.
  6. Provide students with teacher created worksheet ______(adjective) As a ______(insect).
  7. Students will work in pairs to create their own simile and illustrate it on the worksheet paper. (Students will use markers, crayons, pencil and pens)
  8. Students will share their similes and illustrations.
  9. All the completed worksheets will be combined to create a classroom book Insect Similes.

Assessment: I will give a vocabulary test using the word “simile” and other insect related words for the students to provide written definitions and matching definitions of. Students will individually create an original simile, using correct spelling, vocabulary, punctuation, and accurate and detailed illustrations. Observation will be used during whole group and small group activity.

Student-Teacher Resources:

Student Resources: Teacher created simile worksheet, crayons, markers, pens, pencils and their imaginations.

Teacher Resources:

Wood, A. (1990). Quick as a Cricket. Swindon, England:Child’s Play International Ltd.