Students will be reading and discussing two poems to investigate the use of figurative language. At the end of the lesson, students are able to: 
- Determine the tone. 
- Find instances of metaphor and imagery in poetry. 
- Elucidate how metaphor and imagery combine to produce tone. 
- Make pictures to illustrate a scene.

- How does interaction with text elicit thought and response? 
- How do literary and informational texts become meaningful to strategic readers? 
- What is the true purpose of this text? 
- Why pick up new vocabulary? 
- What methods and tools do I employ to decipher unfamiliar vocabulary? 
- How do students expand and improve their vocabulary?

- Connotation: The ideas or emotions associated with a word. 
- Denotation: The literal or dictionary meaning of a word. 
- Tone: The attitude of the author toward the audience (e.g., serious or humorous). 
- Imagery: A word or group of words in a literary work that appeals to one or more of the senses. 
- Metaphor: A comparison of two unlike things without using like or as. 
- Figurative Language: Language that cannot be taken literally because it was written to create a special effect or feeling.

- The poems were chosen for their use of imagery and figurative language, as well as the establishment of tone in “First Snow.” Poems such as Robert Frost’s “Good Hours” and Sara Teasdale’s “Barter” could be substituted. Teachers may substitute other texts to provide a range of reading and level of text complexity. 
- Ted Kooser. (2005). “First Snow” from Flying at Night. University of Pittsburgh Press.
- Li-Young Lee. (1993). “Eating Alone” from Rose. BOA Editions Ltd.. Reprinted with the permission of Li-Young Lee and BOA Editions, Ltd.
- reading/language arts notebook, one per student
- index cards
- Lesson 1 Activity Assessment worksheet (L-7-2-1_Lesson 1 Activity Assessment)

- Keep the lesson's main focus on pointing out instances of metaphor and imagery in poetry and describing how they combine to produce tone.
- Walk around the classroom, observing, and taking notes on students as they search for indications of tone in "First Snow." Assist students who might be struggling to locate proof in the poem for the words they have chosen. As the class works in groups on "Eating Alone," keep an eye on how the students are doing and step in if needed to explain terms or procedures to individual students or the class as a whole.
Ask students to list adjectives that best describe a tone (e.g., amused, angry, bitter, cheerful, confused, excited, thoughtful) in order to give them more practice recognizing tone. After that, assign students to locate or compose sentences that exemplify each tone.
- You can reteach or redirect specific students or a small group if they are struggling with tone, imagery, or metaphor by watching each student work in small groups. You may want to keep a list of students' names nearby so you can jot down anecdotal notes and statistics regarding their participation and figurative language knowledge as you move between the groups. Any knowledge gaps will be evident from the work in their notebooks and from their own imagery.
- Provide the Lesson 1 Activity Assessment worksheet (L-7-2-1_Lesson 1 Activity Assessment) for the students to complete. Determine which students need more instruction, practice, or review based on the results.
- Have students make three original images to represent a scene of their choice at the end of the lesson. - Check students' notebooks to determine their level of comprehension. With this data, you can determine which students might need further assistance, reteaching, or training. Utilize the checklist below to assess students' comprehension:
+ Students show that they can recognize and put together an image.
+ Students produce a minimum of three unique images.
+ Students use colorful language to paint each picture.

Explicit instruction, modeling, scaffolding, and active engagement 
W: Teach students to analyze language use in writing, pay attention to connotative meaning and figurative language, gather favorite examples of figurative language, and create original works that make use of figurative language. 
H: Before the class starts, give the students a chance to relate to the subject on a personal level. 
E: As you read "First Snow" aloud to your class, have them analyze figurative language by pointing out tone, discussing how word connotations impact tone, and gathering examples of metaphor and imagery. 
R: Use the same procedure with another poem, "Eating Alone," to reinforce the students' experiences. Have them work in small groups this time.
E: Ask students to use what they've learned to create three images for a personal scene.
T: Differentiate instruction by having students work in groups, as a whole class, and on their own. Offer a multitude of chances for involvement.
O: The class, in small groups, and individually works through the analytic process starting with a personal connection.

Main Question: How does a poet interpret a poem?

Students should take out their reading and language arts notebooks. Have them write down a few words that best describe their feelings when they see the first snowfall of the year. Allow students to speak. Acknowledge each student's response. While the majority of answers will be positive, some might be negative—like having to shovel snow, for example. Then announce to the class that they will be reading a poem titled "First Snow." Have them jot down a few specifics about what they believe they might discover in the poem.

Using the board or interactive whiteboard, write the following inquiries to guide the poem's reading:

How does one define a poem?
What makes poets employ metaphorical language?
What emotional impact does a poet's word choice have?
In what ways does one's appreciation of poetry increase with an understanding of figurative language?
Distribute copies of the poem to every student or post it on the interactive whiteboard or board. Read it aloud to the class. Then, before reading it aloud to them once more, make sure they understand that you are pausing at the commas, semicolons, and periods—even though some fall midline—rather than at the end of each line (unless there is clear punctuation or meaning reason for you to do so). (This is essential because a lot of students struggle to comprehend poems because they stop at each line.) Next, read the poem out loud one more time. Give the following reading prompt after you've read the poem twice: "Take a moment to write a word that you think describes the way the speaker feels about the first snow." Give the class a minute to complete this before asking them to find at least two instances in the poem that illustrate the speaker's feelings. Say, "This serves as your proof. We'll discuss it after I give you a moment to locate your examples." Observe and record information about the students as you move around the room. Assist students who might be struggling to locate proof in the poem for their word choice.

Allow students to sit in a circle for discussion so that they can see one another. Invite a few students to share their thoughts. As an illustration:

pleased, joyful, or excited—since the speaker truly talks about "our excitement."
In the kitchen, everyone is narrating stories. “The kitchen is a kindergarten/steamy with stories” makes the people in the poem feel youthful.
People in the house are making noise as they react to the snow since the dog needs to find "a quiet spot."
It's a nice image—the winter night with "diamonds in his fur."
Say: "The tone of the poem, or the speaker's feelings about the subject, is what we have been talking about. The poet's choice of language helps to establish the tone." Describe the distinction between a word's denotation and connotation. (Denotation is a word's dictionary definition; connotation is a word's ideas or feelings attached to it.) Inquire, "What does the word kindergarten mean?" (A class of first-graders in elementary school, or the classroom in a school reserved for these pupils.) "What implications does the word have?" (having the innocence, freshness, zeal, and learning of a child) Help students understand how this word's usage complements the tone of the poem.

"Look at "First Snow" once more. This time, try to find a well-chosen example of a picture in words that you can visualize in your head." Allow students a brief moment to offer examples. ("The winter night curls around the legs of the trees" and "The dog gets stiffly up and limps away") As you go around the circle, call on students who aren't raising their hands; however, make it sound like you're asking them to share. Say, "An image is a vivid word picture; the imagery is the combination of multiple images. Similar to tone, these are terms you should be aware of when discussing how writers employ language. To make the scene the writer is constructing seem real to us, imagery plays on our five physical senses: sight, hearing, touch, smell, and taste. Additionally, authors frequently employ figurative language. One instance of figurative language is found in the sentence, 'The kitchen is a kindergarten/steamy with stories.' Although the writer's comparison of a kitchen to a kindergarten is not factually accurate, it paints an emotional picture." Remind students that a metaphor is an implicit comparison of two very different things. Then, let them discuss the meaning of the kitchen/kindergarten metaphor and how it fits with the overall tone. (The metaphor maintains the exuberant tone by implying that people's excitement for snow is childlike.)

Ask students to identify additional instances of the poem's figurative language and to clarify the distinction between literal and figurative interpretations. It is not literally possible for an animal to have "diamonds in his fur," to curl "around the legs of the trees," or to blink "snowflakes from his lashes" during the winter. Describe how the figurative meaning of the poem supports its tone.

After going over figurative language examples with the class, draw attention to the fact that the last three lines contain a metaphor. Pose two questions: "What made the poet select this metaphor? How does it uphold the tone of the poem?" Assist students in understanding how the poem's figurative language and imagery combine to produce meaning.

"I'll give you another poem to read in groups," you say. "Read it aloud at least twice, remembering what I said about not stopping at the end of a line unless absolutely necessary. Follow the identical procedure that our class just completed." On the board, write the following steps:

Choose the tone the poet wants to get across in the poem.
List instances of imagery that contribute to the poem's overall tone.
Choose a metaphor and describe how its literal and figurative meanings differ.
Describe how these elements combine to produce meaning.
Ask pupils to write their answers in their notebooks.

You can also ask them to turn to the people closest to them in the large circle. Have students read aloud in groups of three or four. Give them Li-Young Lee's poem "Eating Alone" to read. After giving the class ten to fifteen minutes, have them reassemble in the big circle to continue the conversation about tone, evidence, metaphor, and imagery.

Tone examples include reflective, peaceful, melancholic, lonesome, solitary, and nostalgic.

Imaginary examples include: "The garden is bare now." "The day flames in the maples," "the ground is cold, brown, and old," "glazed in slow, glistening juice," "flickering, deep green shade," and "white rice steaming."

Metaphor examples include "What is left of the day flames/in the maples." (In this metaphor, the sunset is compared to flames or fire.)

Combine the aforementioned elements to help students understand how tone and meaning are created.

Assign index cards to the students. Say, "Considerate a scene that you would like to describe in the same way that the authors of the two poems you read today did. Write three accurate descriptions of your scene in a letter or drawing." Make anecdotal notes about the students as you move around the room. As needed, offer assistance and motivation. Gather the index cards for the lesson's discussion and assessment of the student's comprehension in Lesson 2.

After the class, gather the students' notebooks to assess how well each one of them understood the tone and the roles that figurative language and imagery played in establishing meaning. With this data, you can determine which students might need further guidance, reteaching, or training.

Extension:

For students who require more practice or guidance, assign the following tasks:

Give students a sentence like "The room was a mess" to practice imagery. Draw attention to the fact that this sentence paints no specific picture. Ask them to describe the scene in detail, using specific examples such as a pile of filthy clothes blocking the doorway, a black banana peel lying limply across a pillow, or dust bunnies hiding under the bed, so that the reader can visualize it and possibly even smell it.
If students are having trouble with metaphors, remind them that a metaphor is a comparison between two very different things. It is meant to provide a clearer image or feeling for the reader (for example, "My sister was an iceberg of disapproval as she stared at the hot chocolate I had just spilled on her new dress"). Due to the iceberg's connotations, ask the student to identify the two objects being compared—the sister and the iceberg—and what knowledge they have of the circumstances. (The sister is not happy at all. The word's meanings imply that she is icy, intimidating, and domineering.) Request that all students write or gather metaphors to post for public viewing on a bulletin board.
Ask students to list words that have comparable meanings, such as lovely, beautiful, gorgeous, and pretty, if they are having trouble understanding the concept of connotation. Ask students to write down the idea or picture that each word conjures. Describe how these are the words' meanings.
Give students a specific example if they are having trouble understanding the tone. Say, "I really appreciate your help." Show how a sentence's tone can alter its meaning. Say it first, just as you would to someone who has just assisted you in winning $1,000. Then say it as though you had just finished two hours of cleaning, and you walked into the kitchen to find your little brother and his friends making peanut butter and honey sandwiches and dripping honey all over the place. Describe how writers express their feelings about their subject through language, particularly imagery, and word connotations, because they are unable to use the tone of their actual voice.

For pupils who are prepared to go above and beyond the basics, assign them the following task:

Engage students' preexisting understanding of figurative language, imagery, and tone by using the lyrics of popular songs.