How do you use Figuratively Speaking

[happycc]

I am using it with my 6th graders. How are you using it? 

 

Right now I go over the topics and make copies of the worksheet components and have them write out the problems.

 

It seems to be too much for me/them. 

 

 

[Chrysalis Academy]

We are really liking it so far.  We use it once a week.  We do the lesson orally.  We also read the whole selection of the example they use - if it's a poem - or I try and find poems or short stories that illustrate the point.  We discuss it till I think she's got it down. We really enjoy the opportunity to delve into reading poems or stories we might not otherwise have read.  It's enrichment, for sure, but we really like it!

[happypamama]

I have my 6th grader read the lesson and literature selections, to get a feel for what it's about. Then I have her do some of the exercises (usually the easier/shorter ones) on paper, just writing out the answers, and we discuss the longer/more complicated exercises together, orally.

[Crimson Wife]

We used it (and Walch "Poetry and Prose Toolbook", which is similar but a bit more advanced) as jumping off points for Socratic discussions. I would ask DD to think of examples from books she is familiar with. Then she would do the exercises (typed on the computer if they were longer responses).

 

If it's too much for them now, I'd put it away and try again next year.

[K&Rs Mom]

 

We're starting it next week, so I'm glad you started this thread!  My plan is to do it once a week, read the lesson together, do the short-answer section orally with both dc, then make the 7th grader write out (or type) any long-form answers.  I'm hoping they'll start to notice these elements in their regular reading so I don't want to go through too fast so they have time to look for them.

[quark]

A number of the terms are already familiar ground here. But I got the book anyway because I like that it lists all the terms in the ToC.

 

We used it (and Walch "Poetry and Prose Toolbook", which is similar but a bit more advanced) as jumping off points for Socratic discussions. I would ask DD to think of examples from books she is familiar with. Then she would do the exercises (typed on the computer if they were longer responses).

If it's too much for them now, I'd put it away and try again next year.

 

 

We are really liking it so far.  We use it once a week.  We do the lesson orally.  We also read the whole selection of the example they use - if it's a poem - or I try and find poems or short stories that illustrate the point.  We discuss it till I think she's got it down. We really enjoy the opportunity to delve into reading poems or stories we might not otherwise have read.  It's enrichment, for sure, but we really like it!

 

We do both of the above, and discussing the examples from various books DS has read is always the highlight of our lesson. I also sometimes include examples from books I have read that he hasn't read yet. That might spark an interest in him to check out that book too. We do a mix of written and oral work. If he already knows the terms well I don't have him write too much as it's usually overkill.

[Lori D.]

We did 1 lesson a week, a few weeks we did  2 lessons to complete it in one year. We also did it orally -- read aloud the definition and excerpt from literature, then do the exercises aloud together. During the week following that lesson we'd look for examples of the literary element in whatever we were reading and point them out to one another. Only did some of the optional additional exercises, and when we did, it was as a substitute for the regular writing program for some variety.

[Acadie]

We started in 5th and will cover all of it over the next few years.  I do think some of the sections may be a bit abstract for the average 6th grader, but some are definitely within their capability and are helpful terms and concepts to know.  Maybe just hit the sections you think are important and within reach for now, and save the more difficult for another year?

 

Amy

[texasmama]

I am using it with a lit analysis co-op class for 4th-7th graders.  (I have mostly older kids in the class.)  I read two terms, define them, have them write these down in a notebook and then go over the examples given.  It is a small part of the class and just meant as an introduction to the terms, but it is working well.

[happycc]

It is not that it is hard for them but I think I am making them do too much worksheets and writing it all out. 

However when I make them write it out I can see clearly what they didnt understand rather than just discussing. 

I like the idea of just doing one lesson once a week. I did two in one day and I think that is too much. 

 

I will drop it to one lesson once a week. 

 

Which lessons would be appropriate for 5 and 6th graders?

 

Maybe I will make this into a two year program. 

[texasmama]

Generally speaking, I find that my kids get beat down by the act of handwriting, but they will listen and engage in a discussion and come away with a fair understanding of what is being presented so this has led me to use many materials which are written in an much more (or completely) oral fashion.  It fits in with my bent towards teaching, as well, so this seems to work for us.  I appreciate the wheel being invented for me in the form of great resources, but I am never afraid to make that wheel fit my particular vehicle by tweaking the heck out of it.  :)

[Crimson Wife]

It is not that it is hard for them but I think I am making them do too much worksheets and writing it all out. 

However when I make them write it out I can see clearly what they didnt understand rather than just discussing. 

I like the idea of just doing one lesson once a week. I did two in one day and I think that is too much. 

 

I will drop it to one lesson once a week. 

 

Which lessons would be appropriate for 5 and 6th graders?

 

Maybe I will make this into a two year program.

We did one lesson per week and I saved the poetry section for the end because I felt that was the most difficult part of FS.

[redsquirrel]

We did it once a week and we got through the entire book in a school year. Maybe at the end of the year we did it twice a week, but that would only happen as other subjects finished and we had more time.

 

I had him do the short answer by himself and, when there were longer questions we discussed it. It wasn't a big deal. Mostly he did it on his own and I corrected it. It was a nice add on to our language arts program.

 

 

[SilverMoon]

We didn't work straight through it, but rather pulled it off the shelf and did the particular section as we came across it in our literature studies. I keep track of which kid has done which section on the table of contents page.

[Mom-ninja.]

We also do it orally. I also sometimes write the exercises on the white board. We do one lesson a week. Sometimes we spend a bit longer on a section.

[swimmermom3]

I usually wove a lesson together with a book or short story my boys were working on. It was used over a couple of years in middle school to complement Lightning Lit and Literary Lesson from Lord of the Rings. I didn't often use it as a stand-alone lesson; it makes more sense if the student can apply the literary element/figure of speech to whatever they are reading. We were finished with it in 7th grade. It's a very good resource and the lessons seem to stayed with my students.

[Murrayshire]

I have been incorporating FS with book guides that I'm making for my 5th grader......I plan on making all or most of her book guides this year using FS for literary terms.  What we do is take a plastic page protector, slit on side of it length-wise, slip it over the page we are learning, and dd's write on it with an expo marker or visa vis.  I was really tired of doing it just orally & really tired of printing.  They keep a page for definitions of literary devices in their literature notebooks for a quick reference & examples!

[RootAnn]

I am not organized enough this year to tie each one into something already being read, but we are also covering one term per week. We do the work orally, together. DD#1 likes those (very few) subjects that she has my full attention on.

 

We did 'idiom' this week & had a blast drawing the 'literal meaning' on the board. She had a mole peaking its head out of its hole & some tall mountains next to it with the words, "Taking something that is really small and making it into a big deal." I had a car pointing up & down - touching a vertical line with the words "You are making me CRAZY" underneath. We brought other family members into the room to guess. They stayed as we drew someone hanging by a thread, splitting headache, costs an arm & a leg, etc. (Use your imagination!) Great fun. This was an actual activity in the book, BTW. I didn't make it up.

 

I have to build in review, however, or she'll lose the term. My kids don't remember anything with just one exposure.

[skimerinkydo]

Here someone has set up links and ideas for reading correlated to figuratively speaking.

http://hteacher.hubpages.com/hub/Learn-literary-terms-and-read-classic-literature-with-this-course-outline-using-Figuratively-Speaking

 

It includes links to BBC;s animated Shakespeare.