POEtry and figurative language

Poems paint picturesIn our minds

Main Idea• When you first read a poem, you may not understand every word. Don’t

worry! After you read it the first time, just ask yourself, “What is this mainly about?” That will help you understand the poem when you reread.

• What is this poem mainly about?Lost

I cannot find my basketball.I cannot find my locker.

I cannot find my homework,Which is really quite a shocker.

I cannot find my lunchbox.Worse, I cannot find my class.I’m going to have a rotten day

Until I find my glasses.-Bruce Lansky

RhymeRhyming words have the same end sound.

• Quick! Find some rhyming words!I Should Have Studied

I didn’t study for the testAnd now I’m feeling blue.

I copied off your paperAnd I flunked it just like you.

-Bruce Lansky

Fill in the blanks with words that rhyme.Blue ___________________ ___________________ ________________Bear ___________________ ___________________ ________________Could ___________________ ___________________ ________________

RepetitionMany poems repeat words, lines, or whole stanzas.

• Can you underline the repetition in this poem?Boa Constrictor

Oh, I’m being eatenBy a boa constrictor,

A boa constrictor,A boa constrictor,

I’m being eaten by a boa constrictor,And I don’t like it ----one bit.

Well, what do you know?It’s nibbling my toe.

Oh, gee,It’s up to my knee.

Oh, my,It’s up to my thigh.

Oh, fiddle,It’s up to my middle.

Oh, heck,It’s up to my neck.

Oh, dread, It’s upmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmffffff…

-Shel Silverstein

SimileA simile compares things by saying one thing is like or as another thing.

• Hunt for similes in this poem.The Star

Twinkle, twinkle, little starHow I wonder what you are!Up above the world so high,

Like a diamond in the sky.-Ann and Jane Taylor

Try more similes!The ball is as red as ______________________.This bed is as soft as _____________________.My friend runs like _______________________.

MetaphorA metaphor compares things by saying one thing really is another.

• Read the poem and answer questions below.Clouds

White sheep, white sheepOn a blue hill.

When the wind stopsYou all stand still.

When the wind blowsYou walk away slow.

White sheep, white sheepWhere do you go?

1. The “white sheep” are really a)trees. b) kites. c)clouds. d) sheep.

2. What is the “blue hill?” a) the sky b) a meadow c) a flower d) a mountain

3. When the poet says, “You walk away slow,” she means that a) the sun is crossing the sky. b) the sheep are looking for grass. C) clouds are moving across the sky. D) flowers are blowing in the wind.

AlliterationWords that have the same beginning sound show alliteration.

• Be an “Alliteration Detective! Circle the beginning sounds that are the SAME on each line of this silly poem.

Don’t Bring Camels in the ClassroomDon’t bring camels in the classroom.

Don’t bring scorpions to school.Don’t bring rhinos, rats or reindeer.Don’t bring mice or moose or mule.Lose your leopard and your lemur.Leave your llama and your leech.Take your tiger, toad and toucanAnywhere but where they teach.

- Kenn Nesbitt

OnomatopoeiaOnomatopoeia means words that sound like what the word represents.

• Can you make the sound of …A bell? ________ A cat? _______ A jet? ______A potato chip? ________ A firecracker? _______

Underline the onomatopoeia in this poem.What if….

You opened a book about dinosaurs and one stumbled outAnd another and another and more and more pour

Until the whole place is bumbling and rumblingAnd groaning and moaning

And snoring and roaringAnd dinosauring? -Isabel Joshlin Glaser

PersonificationPersonification means making animals and objects act like people.

• Find and circle 5 examples of personification in this poem. Mister SunMister Sun

Wakes up at dawn,Puts his golden

Slippers on, Climbs the summer

Sky at noon,Trading places

With the moon.Mister SunRuns away

With the blue tagEnd of day,

Switching off the Globe lamplight,Pulling down theShades at night.

-J. Patrick Lewis

HyperboleHyperbole is exaggeration, meaning stretching the truth.

• Shel Silverstein loves to exaggerate in his poems. Hunt for hyperbole in this funny poem.

SpaghettiSpaghetti, spaghetti, all over the place,

Up to my elbows – up to my face,Over the carpet and under the chairs,

Into the hammock and wound round the stairs,Filling the bathtub and covering the desk,

Making the sofa a mad mushy mess.

And remember…

When reading a poem for the first timeDon’t worry.

Hunt for figurative languageDon’t hurry.

Find rhyme, repetition, metaphor, simile,Alliteration, onomatopoeia, personification, hyperbole

And you will answer all questions Most EXPERTLY.