Education Technology

NCTE: Collaborating on Figures of Speech

Activity Overview

Students will work together to find examples of metaphorical language in songs and/or poems online, identifying such elements and their effects and sharing their findings with the class.

Before the Activity


Print the appropriate pages from the Activity for your class.


You may want to assign specific roles to each student in the group. For example, one student could be the typist, maneuvering the mouse and typing in web addresses; one could be the resource coordinator, determining which websites to visit and keeping track of the address and other relevant identification information; one could be the recorder, using the exercise file on the device to record the group's findings; and one could be the facilitator, ensuring that the group stays on task and is following directions.

During the Activity

  • Distribute the appropriate pages from the Activity to your class
  • Follow the procedures outlined in the Activity

  • Students will:
  • Identify metaphors and extended metaphors in the poem provided.
  • Examine possible effects of identified metaphors.
  • Research the lyrics of various poems or songs.
  • Analyze the effects of the figures of speech.
  • Identify and explain examples of figures of speech.
  • Write an analysis that clearly identifies these elements.
  • After the Activity

    Have students present their findings to the class. They should share with the class the lyrics of the poem or song, sending them to the other students using the unit-to-unit cables. They should identify a few of its uses of figures of speech, and explain how those figures of speech affect the song or poem. If time allows, encourage students to question one another and extend their understanding of the figures of speech through discussion.