When teaching poetry, it is often helpful to refresh or introduce students with technical words. Terms like “metaphor", "stanza", "alliteration", "personification", "imagery", "rhyme scheme", "apostrophe", and "assonance" are a few important terms.
After you have read the poem, ask your students to do a scavenger hunt using the Storyboard Creator. Give them the list again and have them create a storyboard that depicts and explains the use of each literary element in the poem! They will have an absolute blast and gain mastery of the words.
| DESCRIPTION | EXAMPLE | |
|---|---|---|
| Heroic Couplet | A set of two rhyming lines typically found at the end of the poem | "Remember, Christians, Negros, black as Cain/ May be refin'd, and join th' angelic train." |
| End Rhyme | Words at the end of a line that rhyme with words at the end of other lines. | "land” & “understand”; “too” & “knew”; and “eye” & “die" |
| Personification | Giving human-like characteristics to non-human objects or abstract ideas | In the poem Wheatley personifies “mercy” by saying it brought her to America. Mercy did not physically carry her across an ocean, but it was metaphorically responsible for her journey. |
(These instructions are completely customizable. After clicking "Use This Assignment With My Students", update the instructions on the Edit Tab of the assignment.)
Student Instructions
Create a storyboard that shows four examples of literary elements in "On Being Brought from Africa to America".
Grade Level 6-12
Difficulty Level 2 (Reinforcing / Developing)
Type of Assignment Individual
Type of Activity: Figurative Language
(You can also create your own on Quick Rubric.)
| Proficient | Emerging | Beginning | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Identification of Literary Elements | All literary elements are correctly identified. | Most literary elements are correctly identified. | Few literary elements are correctly identified. |
| Illustration | Illustrations show attention to the details of the story and demonstrate connection to the literary elements. | Illustrations demonstrate connection to the literary elements. | Illustrations show little connection to the literary elements. |
| Description of Literary Elements | Descriptions clearly explain what the literary elements do to enhance the story. | Most descriptions tell what the literary elements do to enhance the story. | Descriptions are unrelated to the literary elements. |
| Spelling and Grammar | Spelling and grammar is mostly accurate. Mistakes do not get in the way of understanding. | Spelling is very inaccurate and hinders full understanding. | Text is very difficult to understand. |
