Figurative Language

The driving force that echoes through the hallways, at our staff meetings and classroom is rigor.  My principal wants her teachers to develop rigor in the classroom.  She gave out articles on how important students should have this concept. Rigor is active, deep and it’s engaging.  Creating an assignment on glogster has allowed me to make a connection to rigor and having a discipline and synthesizing mind.

          The assignment I chose for glogster is figurative language and how it’s used in writing.  As I mentioned earlier rigor is active.  It allows students to communicate, it’s tactile, thought provoking and it’s inquisitive.  This reminds me of having a discipline mind. It is taking a skill figurative language or a topic and permitting students to explore the different areas of that skill or topic and connect it to their disciplines such as, literacy, science, math, art and social studies.

          Secondly, Digital Media helps the learner to visualize and comprehend the skill or subject.  Using glogster can lead students to dig deeper.  For example, on my glogster I linked a YouTube video clipping of the old Batman and Robin program. I remembered that Batman and Robin had words on their screen when there was a fighting scene.  I did not know what those words were called until I became a teacher.  When my students see this video clipping some would pose a question I wonder what other television programs have figurative language.  Another example, some of my students can do additional research on a particular author who uses figurative language in his or her writings such as J. K. Rowling.  J.K. Rowling uses figurative language as one of her writing styles.  In the novel “Chamber of Secrets”, Rowling used personification.  The tree yawned and the car burped out the suit case. Also, she used metaphors, such as “The girl was a flower.”   Digging deeper reminds me of synthesizing.  Using information learned and extending your knowledge to a different level.

          Lastly, glogster is engaging and it builds on creativity.  For example, students will see a video clipping from Discovery Education.  They will view how the narrator uses figurative language to help the viewer understand the skill and teach them how to incorporate this writing style into their writing.  In addition, having digital media allows the teacher to facilitate with questions and answers, help with research and projects.  Students will know they are not working totally alone.

http://yharp.edu.glogster.com/figurativelanguage/

Citations:

Lundsgaard, N. (2004, April). FOCUS. Retrieved April 16, 2011, from Small School Project: http://www.smallschoolsproject.org/PDFS/apr04_focus.pdf

Rowling, J. (1998). The Chamber of Secrets. New York: Scholastic Press.