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Lesson 4: Understanding Language

Purpose

This unit will help you identify techniques that will help you understand not only what an author has to say but also how the author says it. This understanding is important for you to become a more active reader.

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What You Will Learn

At the end of this unit, you should be able to do the following:

1. Identify and use simile, metaphor, and personification.
2. Identify tone in fiction text.
3. Identify and use sensory imagery (sensory language).
4. Identify how authors express ideas.
5. Correctly use singular, plural, common, possessive, and proper nouns.
6. Define new vocabulary words.

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Reading Assignment

The discussion will instruct you when to complete each reading assignment.

Daybook of Critical Reading and Writing

• Unit 3: Understanding Language, pages 47–62

Writers Express

• Understand Writing Terms: Cliché, page 129
• Using Writing Techniques, pages 126–127
• Nouns, pages 418–420
• Abbreviations, pages 396–397

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Discussion

Understanding Language

In this lesson, you will learn about tone, metaphor, simile, personification, and sensory imagery (sensory details). You have already learned about sensory imagery during the discussion on visualization, but you will practice some other skills in this lesson that will help you become even better at identifying and using imagery. In each lesson, I will give you some additional information about these terms that will help you with the activities in the lessons.

Using these techniques will also help you become a better writer. I encourage you to try these out in your journal. The more you practice, the easier it will be to use the techniques. You will see your own writings really improve as you learn to “spice it up” with figurative language and sensory language.

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Read and Practice

Tone: Expressing an Attitude

Begin by reading the unit overview on page 47 in the Daybook and the top of page 48. Then read from In the Year of the Boar and Jackie Robinson and complete the practice exercises on pages 48–51.

Several words on pages 48–51 may be new to you:

• lyric
• creed
• pauper
• excel
• hue

As you read, find these words in the context of the sentence and try to predict their meanings. Check your predictions with a dictionary if you are uncertain of their meanings, then check your answers.

Self-Check: As you read pages 48–51 and complete the activities, ask yourself the questions below. Once you have responded, check your answers.

1. How do the traits of the characters help to develop the tone (the author’s feeling about) the subject? (Remember that traits are how you would describe the character.)
2. Are the author’s characters positive or negative?
3. How would you describe the author’s attitude toward her subject?

How the author presents the information helps you determine her tone. Bette Bao Lord sets the tone in this selection in several ways:

• The author’s choice of subject (something she sees as worthy, interesting, and positive)
• How Shirley reacts to the teacher’s speech
• The author’s use of words like “thrilled,” “be somebody,” “excited,” etc.
• The author’s use of repetition (“you can” and “you must”)

Writing

When you do your own writing, think about specific words that you can use to create a positive or negative tone in your writing. The emotional content makes up the connotation of a word. The connotation is the way you feel when a certain word is used. It is different from the denotation of a word, which is the dictionary definition.

In an earlier lesson, you learned about a resource called a thesaurus. A thesaurus can help you find just the right word with just the right connotation to develop tone in your writing. For example, if you look up the word “shroud” and the word “cape,” you will find that they are both types of garments used to cover a person. However, a shroud is used to cover a dead body and carries a negative connotation. A cape carries a different connotation, a positive one. You can choose just the right words in your own writing by thinking about connotation.

Write: In completing the writing activity (page 51), you should use words that make people feel positive and negative to give your writings different tones. If you had trouble doing this, go back and think about how a person who hates the sport you love would describe it and what types of words he or she would use.

Metaphors: Vivid Comparisons

Figurative language is the opposite of literal language. In this section (pages 52–54 in the Daybook), you will be working with poetry to help you recognize and use metaphors and similes in your writing. These are two types of figurative language. When you were little, you understood everything on a literal level. If your mother told you she had to “run an errand,” you might have thought she would really be “running.” However, as you matured, you learned that very often people don’t expect you to take everything literally. They often speak figuratively and expect that you will understand what they mean.

You might describe a woman standing up for her child who is being teased by a bully by saying “The mother was a lioness protecting her cub.” The speaker is not trying to fool you into thinking that the woman has somehow become a lion. The speaker is comparing the woman’s characteristics to ones you know about a lion in order to help you visualize what is happening. This type of comparison is called a metaphor. A metaphor is a comparison between two unlike things for effect.

A simile is like a metaphor except for one thing. It creates a comparison between two unlike things using the words “like” or “as.” For example, “The mother was like a lioness protecting her cub.” Remember, this comparison is for effect. If I say, “The concrete was a slab of ground rock,” that is not a metaphor, because the concrete is a slab of ground rock.

As you complete pages 52–54, think about how the things in the poem are compared and why the author decided to use these comparisons. Poetry often relies on figurative language to create vivid images for the reader. You can use these same techniques to make your own writing more vivid.

Avoiding Clichés: Beware of using similes that are clichés. A cliché is an overused word or phrase that loses its effectiveness because it is so overused. For example, “She was as pretty as a picture” is a cliché simile. Not all clichés are similes, but you will find many overused similes that lose their effectiveness. Such a simile is used so often that we no longer stop to consider what it really means. Avoid using clichés in your writings. Here are some clichés you might recognize:

• They lived happily ever after.
• She was as mad as an old wet hen. (simile)
• He was quiet as a mouse. (simile)
• They jumped for joy.
• That’s cool.
• Time flies when you’re having fun.
• I'm so hungry I could eat a horse.
• Father was as proud as a peacock. (simile)

Advertisements may become so well known that we stop thinking about what they really mean and sometimes even forget what product they were originally advertising. Quotes from movies or TV shows can also become overused:

• You deserve a break today.
• Go ahead, make my day.

Personification: Appearing Human

Some words on pages 55–58 may be new to you:

• centipedes
• arroyo
• tender

As you read, find these words in the context of the sentence and try to predict their meanings. Check your predictions with a dictionary if you are uncertain of their meanings, then check your answers.

On pages 55–57, you will read the poem “Desert Tortoise”to help you understand and use personification. Personification, another type of figurative language, gives a human characteristic to something not human. For example, you might write “The wind whispered through the trees.” People whisper, but the wind doesn’t. However, when we link this human characteristic to the wind, it helps us understand how the wind is blowing, because we know what a whisper is. Remember, this is figurative language—we are not trying to make our readers think that somehow the wind has become capable of actually whispering. (Although that might be fun to use in a scary story!)

In this exercise, you are again asked to think of how things compare to each other. When we look at ways things are the same, we compare them. When you are asked to contrast two things, you are looking at their differences. Sometimes the word “compare” is actually used for both similarities and differences. Keep this in mind as you work through these activities on personification.

Write: Now try using personification in your own writing for the activity on page 58. When you write dialogue, try to make the animal’s personality come out through the words you choose and how you put the sentences together. For example, if your animal is plainspoken, he might say, “I went to the shore.” If you want your animal to sound more formal, he might say, “I journeyed afar toward the distant shore.” Have fun giving your animal human characteristics. Maybe someday you’ll be writing scripts for animated movies!

In your response to the activity on page 58, you should do the following:

1. Use first-person point of view (written as if you are the narrator).
2. Tie human traits to the animal.
3. Include several examples of personification.

Sensory Language: Appealing to the Senses

In lesson 3, you learned that an author uses words that appeal to the senses (sight, sound, taste, smell, and feeling) to help bring you into the setting. We call these sensory images. Look for these types of words as you read. They help you to visualize where the story takes place.

Several words on pages 59–62 may be new to you:

• savoring
• grimaced
• caress 
• plummeted

As you read, find these words in the context of the sentence and try to predict their meanings. Check your predictions with a dictionary if you are uncertain of their meanings, then check your answers.

As you read from Silverwing and do the activities on pages 59–62, you will notice many wonderful examples of sensory images. You will be able to visualize what the author is writing about, because you will be able to “see” the writing. As you read, I also want you to realize how the author has chosen just the right words. For example, author Kenneth Oppel writes:

Airborne now, the beetle was a whirl of shell and wing.

Instead, Oppel could have written:

The bug flew in the air.

Both sentences mean the same thing, but the first is filled with wonderful “just right” words. Try to do the same thing in your own writing. It takes practice, but the more you try to use “just right” words, the easier it will become. Your writing will begin to sound just like you!

Write: On page 62, use sensory language to write more of Shade’s story. You will describe a new experience that the bat has as he hunts for food. Your writing should include different types of sensory language. Use information provided by the author as you extend this story. You might want to use a web again for this writing.

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Self-Check Answers

• lyric: poetic
• creed: a promise
• pauper: a poor person
• excel: to exceed expectations
• hue: color

1. The character’s determination gives the reader a feeling of hope and inspiration.
2. The author’s characters are positive.
3. You might use word like “determined,” “positive,” or “proud.”

• centipede: an insect that has many legs
• arroyo: a water-carved gully
• tender: delicate or soft

• savoring: enjoying
• grimaced: made a frowning face
• caress: stroke softly
• plummeted: fell quickly

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Skill Lessons

Nouns

Nouns are the most used parts of speech in the English language. Nouns are what we call “naming words.” You were finding a noun in lesson 2, when you found the subject of a sentence. Nouns name people and groups of people, they name places, and they name all of the things you can think of! Nouns can even name things that you can’t see with the human eye. If someone tells you that your effort was much appreciated, the word “effort” is a noun. It is an idea, and ideas are also classified as nouns.

You can use nouns in different ways in the world of language. If you look in the yellow pages near the back of Writers Express, you can find the section on nouns. (Or you can use the index, because you know how to do that from an earlier lesson.) Page 420 tells you more about subject nouns, predicate nouns, and possessive nouns. (We will talk about direct objects, indirect objects, and prepositions later.)

One way to identify nouns is to look for “noun markers” called articles. They are words such as “the,” “an,” and “a.” If you see one of these words, a noun can’t be far away.

Activity: Use the examples in Writers Express as patterns to write sentences of your own in your journal. Practice using nouns in each of the ways listed below. Share your work with your parent/teacher.

• subject noun
• predicate noun
• possessive noun

Singular and Plural Nouns

Nouns can be singular or plural. Think of singular as being similar to a single person. It means one of something. On the other hand, plural is like a strand of pearls. There are many pearls all connected. “Plural” means “more than one.” It is important to realize that the spelling of a noun changes when it goes from singular to plural. If you look on the “Plurals” pages (394–395) in Writers Express, you will see some of the rules for spelling when you change a singular noun into a plural.

Activity:Using the examples in Writers Express, write down in your journal your own examples of words that follow each rule. Check your spelling using a dictionary. Sometimes words in the English language don’t follow the “rules.” This is because English has many words that come from other languages. I know that sometimes this can be frustrating for you, but as you notice language more (because you are becoming an active reader), you will become familiar with these exceptions. Try to become aware of your spelling patterns and habits when you proofread your writings. Share your work with your parent/teacher.

Common and Proper Nouns

Some nouns, such as “boy” and “town,” are very general and can mean many different things to different people. These types of nouns are called common nouns. Some nouns are very particular or specific. They are called proper nouns. For example, the common noun “boy” can be turned into a proper noun by making it more specific and substituting names like “John” or “Steve” or “Juan.”

Proper nouns stand out from common nouns, because they always start with a capital letter. Here are rules that will help you remember which nouns should be capitalized:

• Capitalize names of people and pets.
• Capitalize every important word in the names of particular places and things.
• Capitalize the names of months, days, and holidays.

Activity: The capitalization section of Writers Express (pages 390–392) will give you more examples of words to capitalize. Find examples of capitalized words in a magazine, newspaper, or your Daybook. In your journal, write a list of the words you find. Share your work with your parent/teacher.

Abbreviations

Sometimes proper nouns are abbreviated. Abbreviations are shortened forms of words. They stand for or mean certain things. Most abbreviations begin with a capital letter and end with a period. Sometimes, we are more familiar with the abbreviated form of a word than we are with the complete form.

Can you find the spellings for the complete word of each of the following? Are you surprised? Share your work with your parent/teacher.

• Mr.
• Dr.
• Mrs.

You can find a list of other common abbreviations and the rules for them in the abbreviations section in Writers Express (pages 396–397).

Possessives

You have already learned that a noun is a person, place, or thing. You have also learned that nouns can be plural or singular and that they can be common or proper. Now you will learn about possessive nouns. Possessive nouns show that the person or thing you name in your sentence owns something. Let’s say that you read this sentence on a note left for you on the kitchen table:

Take the cat’s bowl out and set it on the porch.

First, you have to find the noun. The first noun in this sentence is actually “bowl.” Ask yourself, “Whose bowl?” Yes, it is the cat’s bowl. “Cat’s” is the possessive noun, a word that shows ownership. The apostrophe (’) is a signal to the reader that this word is a possessive and not just a plural. Because “cat” is singular, you simply have to add ’s to make the word possessive. If the bowl belonged to more than one cat, then you would form the possessive as “cats’ bowl.” The signal tells readers that there is more than one cat and that these cats own something. The apostrophe section of Writers Express (pages 384–385) will show you some more examples. Share your work with your parent/teacher.

Activity: Practice writing some sentences of your own with possessive nouns and figure out what kinds of “signals” you need to provide your readers. One common mistake people make is to use an apostrophe any time they add an s to a word. Don’t do this, or your readers will have a “wreck”! You will be giving them the wrong signal!

Self-Check: Nouns When you have finished the self-check exercises below, share your work with your parent/teacher and then check your answers.

Singular or Plural?

In the following sentences, identify whether the underlined nouns are singular or plural.

Our family always looks forward to one celebration held in August. It is the Missouri State Fair. For the past five summers we have packed up the car with food and a blanket to sit on. Our first stop is always the pavilion where they keep the sheep. My brother and I love to see the fluffy, cuddly baby lambs. Their ears and tails twitch as they nibble their feed. One year Dad bought me a lamb of my own. His name was Duke, and he was a Dorset.

Common or Proper?

In the same passage, identify the common and proper nouns.

Our family always looks forward to one celebration held in August. It is the Missouri State Fair. For the past five summers we have packed up the car with food and a blanket to sit on. Our first stop is always the pavilion where they keep the sheep. My brother and I love to see the fluffy, cuddly baby lambs. Their ears and tails twitch as they nibble their feed. One year Dad bought me a lamb of my own. His name was Duke, and he was a Dorset.

Possessive or Not?

For the following sentences, use the boxes to retype any word that needs punctuation to show possession.

You have finished lesson 4, so it is time to complete the progress evaluation. It contains questions from lesson 3 and lesson 4. It is a computer-scored evaluation, so follow the directions for submitting this evaluation for scoring. Good luck!

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Self-Check Answers: Nouns

Singular nouns: family, celebration, August, Missouri State Fair, car, food, blanket, stop, brother, feed, Dad, lamb, Duke, Dorset.

Plural nouns: summers, sheep, lambs, ears, tails

Common nouns: family, celebration, summers, car, food, blanket, stop, sheep, brother, lambs, ears, tails, feed, lamb

Proper nouns: August, Missouri State Fair, Dad, Duke, Dorset

1. The one black kitten’s mother took it back to the barn.
2. We looked and looked for the four kittens’ hiding place.
3. We found there were really six kittens in all.
4. The mother cat had hidden them under the hay in the smallest horse’s feed box.
5. It was hard to find them, but their tiny mewing voices led us to them.
6. They were safely out of the way of the dog’s hunting.

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Progress Evaluation

You should now complete the lesson 4 progress evaluation. This progress evaluation will also cover topics from lesson 3. Be sure to reread the general requirements for progress evaluations from the overview.

This progress evaluation consists of 25 multiple-choice questions worth 1 point each for a total possible of 25 points. Remember to mark your answers on a printed copy of the progress evaluation preview so you have a record of them. (Select “Lesson 4” to preview this progress evaluation.) When you finish filling in and checking your answers on a copy of the progress evaluation preview, click on “Submit a Lesson” in the Utilities box below for the actual lesson submission page.

Note: Progress evaluations must be submitted in sequence, and you cannot submit more than three progress evaluations in a seven-day period.

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