Mouse's First Spring Language Arts Lesson Plan
Teaching Elementary Students How to Use Literary Devices
Mar 3, 2009
In this elementary language arts lesson plan, teachers use Lauren Thompson's trade picture book Mouse's First Spring [Simon & Schuster, 2005] to teach students how to identify examples of figurative language and use these literary devices in their own writing. Students use text and picture clues to solve each riddle in the book and then use these riddles as models for writing their own riddles about things people see in spring.
Introduce the Book and Build Background about Signs of Spring
Begin this elementary reading lesson plan by building background about the season of spring and the things people see that tell them that spring is here. Ask students to brainstorm and share signs of spring. Record student suggestions in a list on the board.
Next, display the cover of the book and have students describe what they see, identifying any spring items pictured. Ask students to use the title and cover illustration to predict what the book might be about.
How to Share the Book with Students
Next, read the book to students. Ask students to point out signs of spring that are mentioned or shown, such as the day being windy and the different things Mouse and Momma see. Place check marks by items that were already mentioned on the class list, and add new items at the bottom of the list.
Each time Mouse finds a spring object and wonders what it is, have students use the text and pictures to guess what the object is before Momma identifies it. At the end of the book, check students' predictions about the book's plot.
Identify Text Structure
Work with students to identify the pattern that repeats in each scene in the book: Mouse finds an object in a place, the author describes it with a few words (which are given special text treatment), Mouse wonders what it is, and then Momma identifies the spring object. Finally, the wind blows, and the object moves away.
Then, compare the structure of the last scene with the structure of the other ones, having students identify how the final scene diverges from the pattern.
Identifying Rhyming Words
Discuss how rhyming words are words that have the same sounds in the middle and at the end. Skim through the book and have students identify examples:
- day/play
- glittery/flittery
- fluttery/buttery
- hidey/insidey
- dip/flip
- rumply/bumply
- smooch/oooch
Teaching Alliteration
Explain that alliteration is when words begin with the same consonant sound. Skim through the book and have students identify examples:
- slithery/slimy
- flip/flap
- splishy/splash
- squiggly/squeeze
Introduce advanced students to the concept of internal assonance, where the same vowel sound is repeated in the middle of different words. Point out examples such as green/peeping, pink/wiggly, and oh-so-cozy.
Teaching Onomatopoeia
Explain that onomatopoeia is a word that sounds like the sound it is describing. Skim through the book and have students identify examples:
- whoosh
- splishy and splash
- smooch and oooch
Teaching Riddles
Explain that a riddle is like a puzzle to be solved. A reader must listen to the words the author uses to describe something and then guess what is being described.
Model how to rephrase information from the book in a more traditional riddle form. For example, What is something slithery and slimy that is found under a leaf during spring?
For assessment, have students use what they have learned about figurative language and the text structure of riddles to write riddles about objects seen in spring. Ask students to trade and solve riddles with a partner.
Extension Activities
- Use examples from the book to review words that begin with consonant blends (such as slithery and splishy) and words with wh, sh, and ch (such as whoosh and smooch).
- Discuss what adjectives are and how to use them, identifying examples from the book and having students use adjectives to describe spring objects not already mentioned in the book.
- Discuss what prepositional phrases are and how to use them, identifying examples from the book and having students write their own prepositional phrases to describe where various spring objects might be found.
In this elementary language arts lesson plan, teaching elementary students how literary devices are used in an actual text will help students understand the devices better and learn how to use them successfully in their own writing.
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