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Developed by Maureen A. Roe, 2003
Mastering the Simile The background for each slide will be consistently green with light green titles and white text. The font style is Tahoma throughout. Slide transitions are programmed for “Fade Smoothly”; students may self-pace by clicking for the next screen or wait 20 seconds for an automatic transition. “The evening is spread out against the sky/Like a patient etherized upon a table.” T.S. Eliot, “The Lovesong of J. Alfred Prufrock” Developed by Maureen A. Roe, 2003
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Welcome The purpose of this program is:
To instruct you on the definition and use of the simile To enable you to produce more effective descriptive writing To allow you to integrate technology into your learning The learning objectives include assisting you in: Describing a scene Describing a musical score Creating your own similes Identifying similes Evaluating the effectiveness of similes Bullets will stream in, in order, at a pace slow enough for the learner to read as they come. Let’s Begin…
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Definition What is a simile?
Introduction Welcome Definition Examples Practice Describe a Picture Describe a song Write similes Identify & Explaining Similes Analyze Similes Assessment Quiz Metacognition What is a simile? A figure of speech that compares unlike things in order to describe something. Similes do not state that something is another thing. Instead, they compare using the word “like” or “as.” The left side Table of Contents will contain the ordering of the screens. Each subtopic (white text) will be a hyperlink. Let’s look at some examples…
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Example 1 “My love is like a red, red rose.”
From Robert Burns’ “A Red, Red Rose”: “My love is like a red, red rose.” Photos will fade in for dramatic effect to help the viewer understand the simile connection.
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Example 2 From Elizabeth Bishop’s “The Fish”:
“I caught a tremendous fish…/ his brown skin hung in strips/ like ancient wallpaper,/ and its pattern of darker brown/ was like wallpaper:/ Shapes like full-blown roses/stained and lost through age.”
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Example 3 From Christina Rossetti’s “Flint”:
“An emerald is as green as grass,/ A ruby red as blood;/ A sapphire shines as blue as heaven;/ A flint lies in the mud.”
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Example 4 “The elephant’s blood poured out like red velvet….”
From George Orwell’s “Shooting an Elephant”: “The elephant’s blood poured out like red velvet….” Now it’s your turn…
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Practice Exercises You will now participate in a series of exercises to practice your understanding of the simile. All of these tasks should be completed on your own paper and then turned into your instructor as a packet. Let’s get started…
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Practice Exercise 1: Working with Pictures
Now that you have seen some examples of effective similes, try to write some yourself. In the next few screens, you will be given a series of pictures; for each one, record a simile on separate paper. Here we go…
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Picture 1 Create a simile based on this picture…
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Picture 2 Create a simile describing what you see…
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Picture 3 CREATE A SIMILE On to Exercise 2…
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Practice Exercise 2: Working with Music
Now that you have tried your simile skills with pictures, you are ready to describe some sounds. Listen to this portion of Richard Wagner’s Ride of the Valkyries and write down three similes that come to mind. Ask yourself: What does the music sound like?
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Practice 2: Ride of the Valkyries
Here comes Exercise 3 Wagner’s song will play from start to finish, until the viewer clicks for the next screen. When you have finished, continue to the next exercise where you will write similes of your own
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Practice Exercise 3: Creating Similes
In this exercise, you will be given some images with which you will create similes. Fill in the blanks with something that compares well with the image and provides the reader with a vivid picture. Record your answers on separate paper. Here we go…
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Practice 3: Finish the Simile
Going to college is like________. Marriage is like________. Pets are like ________. Religion is like ________. Death is like ________ My mother walks like ________. My father talks like ________. On we go to Exercise 4…
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Practice 4: Finding & Explaining Similes
For this exercise, you will be given short passages from Pulitzer Prize Winning author, Michael Cunningham’s A Home at the End of the World. Find and explain the similes in each, identifying what they mean and why they make sense. Record your answers on a separate piece of paper.
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Passage 1 “He stepped off the crowded curb with the calm certainty of a general. I, however, tended to move like a long apology.”
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Passage 2 “Bobby looked too much like a man who’d been in a cartoon accident. He might have had stars and planets fluttering around his head. You got the impression that he was slightly cross-eyed.”
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Passage 3 “Bobby looked hungry as a stray dog, and just that sly and dangerous. He sat at our table, wolfing roast chicken. His hair was an electrified nest. He wore boots, and a leather jacket decorated with a human eye worked in faded cobalt thread.” Almost done! One more Exercise…
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Practice 5: Evaluating Similes
For your final practice exercise, you will be given a poem with several similes. Your job is to provide at least three clear reasons why these similes improve the poem’s impact on the reader. Ask yourself these questions: What do the similes help me visualize? What would the poem be like without the similes? What overall effect does the poet want the poem to have and how do the similes contribute to this effect?
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Evaluating Similes Dream Deferred
What happens to a dream deferred? Does it dry up Like a raisin in the sun? Or fester like a sore-- And then run? Does it stink like rotten meat? Or crust and sugar over-- like a syrupy sweet? Maybe it just sags like a heavy load. Or does it explode? Langston Hughes ( ) Now let’s see how you did…
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Assessment Now that you are almost finished with your journey through the simile, it is time to show what you know. Let’s take a quiz…
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Simile Quiz You and Your Simile
1) What word is likely to appear in a simile? One answer only. since like because is 2) What is the primary function performed by a simile? informing persuading comparing defining 3) Which of the following is an example of a simile? The king is a dictator. Dogs are cute and cuddly. The woman smiled from ear to ear. She looked lke a Halloween witch. Let’s Continue… Castle Toolkit will allow the students to score themselves. A graphic will be added.
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Simile Quiz Continued You and Your Simile 1) What other word are you likely to find in a simile? One answer only. as when until into 2) Which of the following is NOT a simile? I am as cold as ice. The moon is a night light. Her face was white like chalk. Life is like a constant marathon. 3) What does a simile do for a passage? helps describe helps create a picture helps reader relate to the images all of the above Record your answers on separate paper, score them, and then submit quiz to the instructor. Castle Toolkit will be activated and clip art added. One more thing…
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Metacognition In a short paragraph, explain how and why similes are effective for you. When you are reading something with similes, how is your experience enhanced or limited. Do similes help you see and understand? Submit the paragraph to your instructor.
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Summary: The Final Word
This will bullet what the student has done and learned from the project.
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