Unit Plan 14 (Grade 4 ELA): Poetry Craft – Figurative Language & Imagery
Grade 4 poetry unit: analyze similes, metaphors, and sound devices to interpret meaning, mood, and structure—helping students read poems like craft detectives.
Focus: Simile/metaphor, sound devices; meaning of words/phrases
Grade Level: 4
Subject Area: English Language Arts (Reading Literature, Language)
Total Unit Duration: 5 sessions (one week), 45–60 minutes per session
I. Introduction
This week invites students to read poems like craft detectives—spotting figurative language (similes, metaphors), unpacking the meaning of words and phrases in context, and noticing how sound devices (alliteration, repetition, rhyme, onomatopoeia) and structure (lines, stanzas, refrains) shape meaning and mood. By Friday, each learner will annotate a poem for imagery and sound, explain what key lines mean, and analyze how stanzas/line breaks contribute to overall meaning.
II. Objectives and Standards
Learning Objectives — Students will be able to…
- Determine the meaning of words and phrases in poems using context and connotation; explain how they contribute to mood/meaning.
- Identify and explain similes and metaphors; restate their literal meaning and effect.
- Notice and describe sound devices (alliteration, repeated words/lines, rhyme, onomatopoeia) and how they support meaning.
- Explain how a poem’s structure (lines, stanzas, refrains) groups ideas and builds impact.
Standards Alignment — CCSS Grade 4
- RL.4.4 (determine the meaning of words/phrases as used in a text; effect on meaning/tone)
- RL.4.5 (explain major differences between poems and prose; analyze structure—lines, stanzas, rhythm)
- L.4.5a–c (a. explain the meaning of simple similes and metaphors; b. recognize/explain common idioms/adages/proverbs; c. demonstrate understanding of word relationships—synonyms/antonyms)
Success Criteria — student language
- I can quote a line and explain what the words/phrase mean in this poem.
- I can identify a simile/metaphor, tell what it literally means, and how it changes the picture in my mind.
- I can point out a sound device and explain how it highlights an idea or feeling.
- I can explain how the stanzas/line breaks help organize or emphasize the poem’s message.