Teaching Figurative Language with a Mentor Text: Mud! *Freebie!
This month, the Reading Crew is celebrating spring! It’s a fun link-up featuring a variety of mentor texts related to spring and a great freebie to go with each one. Check out all the posts and collect the mystery words from every post! Then use them to enter the Rafflecopter to win an Amazon giftcard and buy your own copies of the books!
There are two link-ups: K-2, and 3-5. Each has its own Rafflecopter, set of words, and great ideas. Happy Reading!
Mud is a beautifully written book, perfect for growing students’ writing language! Mary Lyn Ray uses vivid figurative language to describe the transition in seasons, from winter to spring. The word choice and sentence variety are incredible, and it’s appropriate for all levels in elementary.
It’s simple enough to be enjoyed by any kindergartener, and complex enough to be emulated by any fifth grader.
To begin the lesson, before you read a single page, introduce the idea of reading like writers. Writers choose their words carefully; they have a purpose for everything they do. As you read Mud together, you’ll want to notice all of the beautiful language that Mary Lyn Ray uses to help the reader feel and visualize the changing of the seasons, resulting in mud.
This resource (freebie, yay!) will guide you through the four main steps you’ll use to have students notice, name, explain, and try figurative language in their own writing.
They’ll notice the language with you, help you build an anchor chart recording the figurative language you noticed, and participate in a discussion about why the author chose to use that language. These steps will work with ANY mentor text!
The figurative language used in the book includes onomatopoeia, personification, simile, alliteration, and sensory details.
Lines such as, “A cold, sweet smell rises from the ground, like sap in the snow,” are beautiful and students will notice something special is happening!
Every line is interesting, which makes this a great book for discussing beautiful lines.
After you’ve noticed the figurative language, named it, explained it, and charted it, you’ll use the included graphic organizer to brainstorm figurative language to use in your own writing and model writing a descriptive paragraph for your students. Then your students will write their own descriptive paragraphs using their own figurative language!
Building in opportunities for students to see the reading-writing connection in action are an absolute must! This freebie includes a page to help students identify figurative language during their independent or home reading. Noticing is the first step to being a great writer and reader!
This freebie follows the gradual release model. It’s a great way to teach new strategies in reading and writing! Get a gradual release freebie and reading resources and tips in your inbox by entering your email address below!
Before you move on to the next post, my mystery word is Mud. [HERE]is the link to the form you can use to keep track of the mystery words at each stop. You’ll need them for an entry on the Rafflecopter below.
Your post is great, and I love this book too. What a great choice for spring! I also appreciate all of the teaching tips and printables. They're fabulous! Carla
Love the anchor charts you shared today. Can't wait to share this text with my teacher peeps at school! I love finding books that we can use across grade levels!
Building in opportunities for students to see the reading-writing
What a wonderful blog post!
Jenn
Reading in Room 11
Your post is great, and I love this book too. What a great choice for spring! I also appreciate all of the teaching tips and printables. They're fabulous!
Carla
Love the anchor charts you shared today. Can't wait to share this text with my teacher peeps at school! I love finding books that we can use across grade levels!
Abby @ Third Grade Bookworm
Love how they turned out! Thanks for the kind shout out! Hope your students had as much fun as mine…
Regards
Amit | LaptopInstitute