1. Students practice (solo) speaking and listening skills
2. Students introduce themselves and an aspect of their personalities (so we get to know a bit about our classmates)
3. We review literary devices
Here's what we do:
1. Students select a toy from a bin (items cultivated from cast-off toys at home and garage sales) that they think is reflective of their personalities in some way.
2. Students select a piece of paper that has a literary device printed on it (they are not to share the device with anyone).
NOW:
3. Students are tasked with introducing themselves (and explaining their connection to the toy) while using the literary device.
Example:
Student: Carrie
Personality trait: friendly
Toy: sunshine squeeze ball
Literary Device: Simile
"Hi, I'm Carrie, and I'm as friendly as the sunshine on a warm spring day."
Admittedly, some of the literary devices are more challenging than others. Even I wouldn't want to be the kid who draws synecdoche, but students are always surprising me with their ability to come up with fun, creative, and precise sentences.
FINALLY:
4. During the presentations, the rest of the students try to figure out what device the student is employing. They take notes, and it serves as a great review for literary devices overall--and it helps us get to know each other.
Here is a student presenting (his toy was very small). You can also see the box of toys in the foreground.
