• participate in large group sessions, volunteering interesting comparisons in oral discussions.
• add ideas to an ongoing class chart with figurative language.
• add words to class charts devoted to an ocean theme.
• dictate or write about ocean creatures using similes and metaphors and comparison words.
• illustrate their comparisons.
• create a page for a class book.
• assess their efforts using a checklist.

• Books featuring Ocean Animals
• Books that include figurative language, including The Sea House by Deborah Turney Zagwyn and My Visit to the Aquarium by Aliki
• The Sea House Activity Sheet
• My Visit to the Aquarium Activity Sheet
• Ocean Comparison Sheet
• Class Book Template for Younger Students or Older Students
• Guided Practice Worksheet
• Independent Worksheet
• Self-Assessment Checklist
• Multigenre Mapper

• Gather copies of books on the ocean or other theme, as well as books that feature figurative language. Suggested texts include The Sea House by Deborah Turney Zagwyn and My Visit to the Aquarium by Aliki.
• Make appropriate copies of the Guided Practice Worksheet, Independent Worksheet, and Self-Assessment Checklist.
• If computers are available, review the Multigenre Mapper and decide whether to use the online tool or the printed Template for Younger Students or Older Students. If computers are not available, make copies of the template that is most appropriate for your students.
• If you are using the online option, test the Multigenre Mapper on your classroom computer(s) to familiarize yourself with the tools and ensure that you have the Flash plug-in installed. You can download the plug-in from the technical support page.

1. Using some of the ocean books, show pictures of whales, fish, and ocean creatures. Picture walk through the book. Do not read the stories at this point.
2. Encourage the students to discuss what they see in the pictures.
3. Prompt students to finish sentence stems such as “The whale is as big as ___________” or “The fish is as scary like a ____________.”
4. As the students complete the sentence stems and add their own statements, record their responses on chart paper or the board.
5. After sharing the pictures, invite students to read their comments from the chart or board aloud.
6. Ask students what the statements have in common. Elicit the fact many use like or as.
7. From this discussion, explain that many of the statements provided by the students compare two unlike things.
8. Ask students to craft their own name and definition of these comparisons (formally, they are similes). Post their responses on chart paper or the board. A possible definition is “when two things are compared using the word like or as.” What is important is for students to be able to describe the comparisons, not to use the words simile.
9. Invite the students to act as detectives in the coming days. Ask them to tell you when they hear or think of a simile. Add such statements to the chart, or have the children do the writing.
10. If there is time left in the session, use the Stapleless Book to illustrate similes. When the book is folded, there will be a page on the left and a page on the right. For instance, if the simile was "A shark is as scary as a tornado", the students could draw a shark on the left side of the book, and a tornado on the right side.

1. Picture walk through the pages of The Sea House by Deborah Turney Zagwyn or My Visit to the Aquarium by Aliki.
2. Provide time for the students to discuss the pictures. Some may choose to use similes, using the definition and name(s) that students chose for the literary element in the previous session. Record comments on chart paper or the board.
3. Model another way to compare unlike items, by rephrasing some of their comments into metaphors.
4. Ask the students to describe the similarities and differences between similes and metaphors.
5. Invite the students to rephrase some of their comments from the chart or board about the story as metaphors. Again, record the students’ phrases and note their use of figurative language.
6. Read the book once through to give students a general sense of the story.
7. Flip through the pages a second time, pausing and prompting students to complete comparisons, as shown on the activity sheet for The Sea House or the sheet for My Visit to the Aquarium. For instance, after reading the Walt Whitman poem, prompt by saying, “The sea is a ___________.” (miracle)
8. Record students’ words when stated as a metaphor.
9. Ask students to review their own statements, asking them to identify their similarities. Ask them to consider how these statements compare two unlike things without using like or as.
10. Ask students to craft their own name and definition of these comparisons (formally, they are metaphors). Post their responses on chart paper or the board, focusing on the aspect of direct comparison. Again, what is important is for the students to describe the comparisons, not to use the word metaphor.
11. Ask students to look for examples of this type of figurative language device as they read texts over the next days. When they find examples, add the phrases to the chart.
12. If students notice the difference between the two kinds of comparisons that you have studied in these sessions, reinforce their discovery and adjust their definitions as necessary. If students do not recognize the difference, you might ask leading questions to help them see the contrast, but do not over-emphasize this process. The focus of this lesson should be on the pleasant sound of words and phrases, and students’ explorations and discovery should be self-guided, never forced or overt.
13. Draw a chart with a large rectangle, divided in half, similar to the Template for Younger Students. On one side of the rectangle, ask students to draw a picture of an ocean creature. On the other side, ask students to draw the item they are comparing the ocean animal to. To provide students with an example, draw a picture of ocean waves on the left side of the rectangle and a treasure chest on the right to illustrate the comparison “the ocean is a treasure.”

1. To connect with the work that they students have done in their reading, explain that the class will be revising some their own writing and adding comparison phrases, explaining the activity by referring to the definitions and terms that students have chosen for similes and metaphors.
2. Ask students to suggest reasons that writers use similes and metaphors. Possible answers include “It makes the writing more interesting” and “It is fun to read the sentences and phrases when different things are compared.”
3. Pass out copies of the Guided Practice Worksheet or display a transparency of the sheet. Discuss the directions with the students, and demonstrate the process with an example sentence. More experienced students can also use the Independent Worksheet and select passages from their own writing to revise.
4. Use the rest of this session to work on the Guided Practice Worksheet individually, in pairs or small groups, or as a whole class.
5. Allow time for the students to share some of their revisions with the class.

1. When everyone in the class has had a chance to revise for similes and metaphors, explain that the class will make a book on the ocean that features the comparisons you have been exploring. Use the language that students have chosen for their definitions and names for the elements.
2. Ask each student to choose an ocean animal. Work for a range of animals, avoiding repetition if possible.
3. Explain the process you have chosen for students to use for the class book, following the relevant details below, referring to the Ocean Comparison Sheet for an example:
   
   
   • Pass out copies of the Template for Younger Students or Older Students and explain the worksheet.
     
     
   • Demonstrate the Multigenre Mapper and explain how students will use each of the areas of the tool:
     
     
     • In Section A, write the name of the subject, the ocean animal each student has chosen.
     • In Section B, write something about what you are comparing the ocean animal to.
     • In Section C, write a sentence comparison.
     • In the drawing area, draw the ocean creature and/or what is named in space B.
       
       
4. Provide time for students to work on their page of the class book. Encourage students to use the ocean books that are available in the classroom for reference and research.
5. Circulate and help children in very short writing conferences.
6. Ask students to print at least two copies of their pages—one for the class book and another for each student to keep and share with family members.
7. Have a circle sharing time as projects are finished, or plan to have a few children share each day.

• Using their ocean theme, students could write a shape poem, using the online Shape Poems interactive.
  
  
• More advanced students can create a Venn Diagram, comparing the attributes of Similes and Metaphors. Focus the exploration on the definitions and terms that students use naturally, rather than on using the formal names for the figures of speech.
  
  
• The class as a whole, or individual students, can use the Alphabet Organizer to create an ocean-themed student dictionary or alphabet book. Invite students to brainstorm words to enter (all letters do not have to be represented). The online tool allows students to enter one word, more than one word, or a word and related notes for each letter of the alphabet. Print the finished pages, and encourage students to add to the book on an ongoing basis.

Ocean Life, from Scholastic
http://teacher.scholastic.com/activities/explorer/oceanlife/

Students can explore the endangered ecosystems of the ocean—and learn about the turtles and dolphins that live in these ecosystems. A Teacher's Guide is also available on the site.

Ocean Living, from the National Zoo
http://nationalzoo.si.edu/Animals/OceanLiving/

This National Zoo site includes details on marine life and Aquatic Animals as well as images of many animals. The site's Octopus Cam can provide live feed of underwater creatures.

• Base your assessments—formal or informal—on your students’ needs, focusing on elements such as the following:
  
  
  • student participation in whole-group discussions.
  • student participation in writing assignments.
  • quality of participation in discovery of examples of comparison.
  • quality of content in student books, especially comparison sentences.
  • student participation in discussion about their page in the class book.
    
    
• When the class book is completed and published, provide time for the students to share their work with the rest of the class. Invite the students to complete the Self-Assessment Checklist, which prompts them to think about the work that they have accomplished and the steps they have completed.
  
  
• If students print out a Multigenre Mapper or complete a handout, provide feedback as you normally would. If you choose a more formal assessment strategy, use the following guiding questions:
  
  
  • Did the student add comments or write phrases on the comparison chart?
  • Did the student volunteer appropriate words for the online interactive or printed template?
  • Did the student include appropriate figurative language in the writing projects?
  • Did the student speak up during the day when similes and metaphors were noticed, other than in writing class?
    
    

NCTE/IRA Standards

3 - Students apply a wide range of strategies to comprehend, interpret, evaluate, and appreciate texts. They draw on their prior experience, their interactions with other readers and writers, their knowledge of word meaning and of other texts, their word identification strategies, and their understanding of textual features (e.g., sound-letter correspondence, sentence structure, context, graphics).

4 - Students adjust their use of spoken, written, and visual language (e.g., conventions, style, vocabulary) to communicate effectively with a variety of audiences and for different purposes.

5 - Students employ a wide range of strategies as they write and use different writing process elements appropriately to communicate with different audiences for a variety of purposes.

6 - Students apply knowledge of language structure, language conventions (e.g., spelling and punctuation), media techniques, figurative language, and genre to create, critique, and discuss print and nonprint texts.

11 - Students participate as knowledgeable, reflective, creative, and critical members of a variety of literacy communities.

12 - Students use spoken, written, and visual language to accomplish their own purposes (e.g., for learning, enjoyment, persuasion, and the exchange of information).