English Grade 7 Lesson Plan 3

The Language of Literary Description

Key Idea

The Language of Literary Description

Most Essential Learning Competencies

The learner will:

 Use appropriate reading strategies to meet one’s purpose (e.g., scanning, skimming, close reading, etc.) EN7RC-IV-b-10

 React to what is asserted or expressed in a text (EN7RC-IIIe-2.1.7)

 Discover literature as a tool to assert one’s unique identity and to better understand other people (EN7LT-III-b-5)

 Determine the worth of ideas mentioned in the text listened to (EN7LC-IV-g-8.2)

 Cite evidence to support a general statement (EN7RC-IV-g- 10.4)

Component 1: Short Review

Time: 7 minutes

 Teacher asks students questions to activate prior knowledge. Teacher elicits answers from students orally before giving the class 3 minutes to write their answers on the worksheet. Suggested answers are provided below.

In our last two lessons we read two short narratives, a fable and a folktale.

Q1. In what ways are these narratives similar?

Q2. How are they different?

 Students record their answers on the worksheet.

 Teacher checks the answers by involving the students [~5 minutes]

Suggested answers:

Q1. Both fables and folk tales are old stories, often passed on to us through the generations. They contain events that lead to a crisis which needs to be resolved. Both teach us lessons about life.

Q2. The fable had animal characters whereas the folk tale had human characters.

Component 2: Lesson Purpose

Time: 3 minutes

Teacher briefly states the purpose/focus of the lesson and explains explicit the learning goal for students.

In this lesson, we are going to look at how authors use words in special ways to create rich descriptions so that readers can imagine what the characters and places in stories are like. We are going to look at some literary descriptions from an old classic narrative, this time a fantasy adventure with animal characters.

We will look closely at some examples of figurative language or figures of speech. These are words or phrases that create vivid imagery in the minds of the readers, but are not literally true. The words are used in a non-literal way to express certain ideas and feelings.

Component 3: Lesson Language Practice

Time: 10 minutes

Teacher teaches explicitly the instruction on the words and phrases that are important to learners in recognizing and understanding the text.s

 Teacher displays the list of words on the board, reads each word aloud, and elicits student talk about what each word means before moving onto the next word.

Here are some words and phrases from the texts we are going to read. Let’s read them together. What does each word mean?

 watered silk (silk or fabric that is woven to have a wavy, shiny pattern)

 cunning (clever at planning to get one’s own way, especially by tricking others)

 bold (daring and brave)

 reckless (dangerously careless; not cautious)

 wounded (injured)  splendid (magnificent; very impressive)  causeway (a raised road or track across low or wet ground)  splinters (small, thin, sharp pieces of wood)

 hinge (piece of metal that fastens the edge of a door to something else so it can open or close)

 battlement (a wall around the top of a castle)

 decayed (rotted, damaged)

 creepers (plants that grow along the ground, or up walls or trees)

Some of the phrases in the text are similes. Similes describe something by comparing it to something else, using like or as, e.g.

 panther markings like the pattern of watered silk

 a voice as soft as wild honey dripping from a tree

Similes follow two simple patterns [write on the board]:

_______ as _______ as

_______ like ________

 Teacher instructs students to practice reading the words with a partner and to complete the worksheet. Now it’s your turn. Take turns to read the words out loud with a partner and write the meanings on the worksheet.

 Then with your partner, think of some similes that you know, e.g. as white as snow; as busy as a bee; eats like a pig; chatters like a monkey.

[Teacher note: A simile is a figure of speech which compares one thing with another thing of a different kind, to make a description more vivid.]

Component 4: Lesson Activity

Time: 25 minutes

Component 4A Reading the Text [5 mins]

 Teacher reads the text aloud to the class. Students listen and follow along, and highlight or underline any similes they come across.

I’m going to read two short descriptions from an old classic called ‘The Jungle Book.s’ The first one describes a character from the book. See if you can spot any similes as I read the text out loud. The second one describes a place in the story.

Literary Descriptions from The Jungle Books by Rudyard Kipling

Text 1 - Character

A black shadow dropped down into the circle. It was Bagheera the Black Panther, inky black all over, but with the panther markings showing up in certain lights like the pattern of watered silk. Everybody knew Bagheera, and nobody cared to cross his path, for he was as cunning as Tabaqui, as bold as the wild buffalo, and as reckless as the wounded elephant. But he had a voice as soft as wild honey dripping from a tree, and a skin softer than down.

Text 2 - Place

Mowgli had never seen an Indian city before, and though this was almost a heap of ruins it seemed very wonderful and splendid. Some king had built it long ago on a little hill. You could still trace the stone causeways that led up to the ruined gates where the last splinters of wood hung to the worn, rusted hinges. Trees had grown into and out of the walls; the battlements were tumbled down and decayed, and wild creepers hung out of the windows of the towers on the walls in bushy hanging clumps.

 In pairs, students then take turns to practice reading the texts aloud. Now it’s your turn to practice reading the texts to each other.

Component 4B Questions [10 mins]

 Display questions on board. Teacher models how to identify key words in the questions.

Here are some questions about the descriptions we just read. Read each question carefully.

Questions

Q1. Who or what is described in Text 1? Who or what is described in Text 2?

Q2. Find at least three (3) similes that describe the character in Text 1.

Q3. Would you want to be friends with someone like the character in Text 1? Why or why not?

 Teacher checks the answers by involving the students [~5 minutes]

Suggested answers:

Q1. Bagheera the Black Panther; an Indian city

Q2. as cunning as Tabaqui, as bold as the wild buffalo, as reckless as the wounded elephant; a voice as soft as wild honey dripping from a tree, and a skin softer than down

Q3. (Be prepared for a variety of responses. Focus on students’ reasons, which may include meanings inferred from the text.)

Component 4C Questions [10 minutes]

 Display questions on the board. Teacher models how to locate information to answer the questions. Where can we find the answer? Ask yourself: Is it here in the words? Is it hidden in the text? Is it in my head?

Questions

Q4. What is the place like in the second text? Write one sentence to describe the place in your own words. Find the words in the text that support your answer.

Q5. The second text uses many words to create an image of an ancient city. Find words and phrases that suggest this place was very old.

Q6. Draw a picture of the place described in the text.

 Teacher checks the students’ responses and provides feedback. [~ 5 minutes]

Suggested answers:

Q4. Various responses are possible e.g. The Indian city was once very grand but has fallen into ruins. It is a walled city on a hill that looks like an old fort or castle. etc.

Q5. Heap of ruins; long ago; ruined gates; last splinters; worn, rusted hinges; tumbled down and decayed.

Q6. Be prepared for a variety of visual interpretations.

Component 5: Lesson Conclusion

Time: 5 minutes

Q1. What did you learn about the language usedS in literary descriptions from this lesson?

Q2. Which questions were the hardest? Can you rank them in order of difficulty? (Give a rating of 1 for the easiest, and 10 for the hardest questions.)

Q3. How were the difficult questions different from the easier questions?

[Teacher Notes: It would be worthwhile to do this by getting students to write on the Worksheet, so you have some feedback on the effectiveness of the lesson and how they feel about their learning experience.

However, if pressed for time, you may want to do this section as a class discussion].