Mar 22

Mar 22 Slice of Life: Day 22 - Sometimes it Helps to Compare When Trying to Understand Comparative Language #SOL22 #TWTBlog

Clare, what do you suggest for helping students understand how and why authors use comparative or playful language? This is tough for our students. Can you do a lesson and suggest some texts?

Here is what I packed in my coaching bag:

These are informational texts that use comparative language. You don’t need these texts — just be on the lookout for it. Many information authors use comparative language.

These narrative texts use comparative language to help readers understand character’s emotions, the setting and the big idea. Keep an eye out for comparative language in the narrative texts you read.

Opinion texts also include a lot of comparative and figurative language. Think about reviews … they often describe by comparing and playing with words.

I could NEVER pack all the poetry that uses figurative, playful and comparative language. These are some I knew the school owned and use this craft in various ways.

I purposefully packed some texts I knew these teachers used earlier in the year AND I packed texts across genres – narrative, informational, poetry and opinion! I wanted to set teachers up to teach this idea all year long next year. When we discover skills, concepts, and crafts that are challenging for our students, we need to use the data and revise our instruction. One lesson is not going to do it. It helps our students to see various ways to use this craft technique as a writer and to experience how it helps us understand different types of texts as a reader. I blogged previously about these two nonfiction texts with great examples of comparative language.

I used The Quiet Book for my demonstration lesson. I also love The Loud Book. These texts always work for me … I even blogged about using them virtually last year.