Content Area: Language Arts Literacy

 

Index: 3.1G Grade 12 CPI 8

 

Standard: 3.1 Reading

 

Strand: G - Comprehension Skills & Response to Text

 

Cumulative Progress Indicator: 8 - The student will analyze and evaluate the appropriateness of diction and figurative language (e.g., irony, paradox).

 

Grade: 12

 

Sample Activities:

 

·      As students read the play Romeo and Juliet, they keep a journal of Shakespeare’s use of metaphor (e.g., “Juliet is the sun” and “the very center of Romeo’s universe”) and other figurative language, making sure to note how each example affects their feelings and interpretations.

 

·      While listening to songs by such composers as Paul Simon or Paul McCartney, students list favorite images suggested by the lyrics. They later compare and discuss their images with those of other students to see how language can evoke a variety of unique responses.

 

·      After reading and discussing a poem, students read the poem a second time, paying close attention to sound devices used, including alliteration, onomatopoeia, assonance, and consonance. They then write a paper exploring how these sound devices help to support the meaning of the poem.