Being able to compare characters, settings and events across a variety of texts is a basis for detailed analytical essay writing. Share two texts with your students several times so that they are familiar. Give each student a large piece of paper. Your students need to draw two large intersecting circles on the paper; have them label one circle with the title of one text and the other circle with the title of the other text. Have students analyze either characters, events or settings for each text, putting instances where there are similarities in the intersecting section. Students can use these diagrams to write a comparison of the two texts.
Recognizing figures of speech such as metaphors, similes and personification in texts and using them in their own writing are key language arts skills. Share a variety of texts with your students, including a selection of poetry. Discuss the figures of speech you find and their effect on the text. Have students work in small groups, giving each a text to analyze, looking for figures of speech. Then provide students with a set of prompts; try dramatic pictures, unusual objects, evocative music for example, and have them create their own metaphors, similes and personification.
Share some examples of poems with your class, reading them out loud so that your students can appreciate the rhythm and effects of language. Then have your students read some short stories or writings portraying an emotive subject. Explain to your students that they are going to create poems based on the writings they have read. Have students make some notes about the sights, sounds, smells and feeling they would like to portray, and any adjectives, metaphors and similes they could include. Once students have created their poems, encourage them to share their work, reading aloud to the rest of the class.
Explain to your class the idea of a dramatic monologue; a type of poem that is voiced by one speaker addressing a certain topic. The language used will convey the characteristics of that speaker. Choose a suitable story to read to your class, or to read as a class. Have students divide into groups and assign each group a character from the story. Have them use the story to decide on adjectives they would use to describe the character and questions they would like to ask. They then need to decide on a subject for the monologue. Then, in groups, have students write a dramatic monologue for their character.