1. Lesson 1 Homework Review Central Idea Handout “Tell Them”
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2. “Tell Them We Are Nothing Without Our Islands” Video
Central Idea Handout
Play the video Marshall Islands Poet to the U.N. Climate Summit: “Tell Them We Are Nothing Without Our Islands” [run time 04:01] ( before going over the previous night’s homework.
Pick a few rows of the table on page 3 to go over with the class, calling on students to share what they filled in as their interpretation of the lines.
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3. Central Idea Handout: “Tell Them”
What is the central idea of the poem?
Most people probably don’t know a lot about the Marshall Islands
Kathy tells her friends to tell others about the islands and the Marshallese people when asked about the gifts Kathy sent
also wants her friends to talk about how climate change is already impacting the Marshall Islands
important to the Marshallese people that they do not lose their home (the Marshall Islands)
Ask a couple students to share their answer. Then go over the answer on the slide and discuss as necessary, depending on whether the students’ answers were missing any part of the answer.
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4. Central Idea Handout: “Tell Them”
Write three lines or phrases that support the central idea of the poem.
Last three lines of stanza 2/Stanza 3:
“And when others ask you
where you got this
you tell them
they’re from the Marshall Islands”
Anything from Stanza 4, especially those lines starting with “tell them..”
Anything from Stanza 5
Ask a couple students to share their answer and why they picked those lines. Then go over the examples on the slide and discuss as necessary, depending on whether the students’ answers were missing anything.
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5. Central Idea Handout: “Tell Them”
What is the significance of the last five lines (the last example on the table)?
explains that the Marshall Islands are central to identity of Marshallese people, culture, and way they live
do not want to leave their home and are worried about how climate change might harm islands and ability to continue living there safely
Ask a couple students to share their answer. Then go over the answer on the slide and discuss as necessary, depending on whether the students’ answers were missing any part of the answer.
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6. AAPI Women Voices: Untold Stories Through Poetry (Grades 4-5)
LESSON 2
Similes & Metaphors
Explain to students: In this lesson, they will learn what smiles and metaphors are and how to identify, create, and analyze similes and metaphors.
Distribute the “Similes & Metaphors Handout.”
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7. Literal and Figurative Language
A. Literal language
is used to mean exactly what is written.
It was raining a lot, so I rode the bus.
B. Figurative language
is used to mean something other than what is written; something symbolic, suggested, or implied
It was raining cats and dogs, so I rode the bus.
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8. Literal and Figurative Language
A. Literal language: It was raining a lot, so I rode the bus.
the writer means to explain exactly what is written
the writer chose to ride the bus because of the heavy rain
B. Figurative language: It was raining cats and dogs, so I rode the bus.
not actually cats and dogs falling from rain clouds
instead, the rain felt so heavy and large that it was almost as if small animals were falling from the sky
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9. Simile and metaphor are figurative language
Review the examples and ask the students to explain what they mean. 9
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Simile
Simile 4
Her mind is as sharp as a razor. 5
For I knew his eyes like an old, old song. 6
Her long, blue skirt was like a river, flowing behind her in the breeze. 7
His hands were as cold as ice after walking home during the snow-storm. 8
My good intent has fallen short like an air ball.
Review the examples and ask the students to explain what they mean.
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Metaphor
Metaphor 9
His answer to the problem was just a Band-Aid, not a solution. 10
The path of anger is easier to travel than the road to forgiveness. 11
The teacher planted the seeds of wisdom. 12
The wheels of justice turn slowly.
Review the examples and ask the students to explain what they mean.
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12. Identifying Similes & Metaphors
Simile or Metaphor? 13
He is as tall as a tree. 14
My book bag feels like a bag of rocks. 15
The snow is a white blanket. 16
She dances like she was trying to shake a spider off her leg. 17
He is the Michael Jordan of his basketball team.
Give students a few minutes to fill out the table. Have them check their answers with their shoulder partners and then go over the answers together as a class, calling on students to share their answers.
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13. Identifying Similes & Metaphors
Simile or Metaphor? 13
He is as tall as a tree.
Simile 14
My book bag feels like a bag of rocks. 15
The snow is a white blanket.
  Metaphor 16
She dances like she was trying to shake a spider off her leg. 17
He is the Michael Jordan of his basketball team.
Metaphor 
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14. Analyzing Similes & Metaphors
Similes and metaphors (and other figurative language) are used to compare one thing to another, showing how the things are similar or different.
Looking back at Table 4, think about what is being compared to what?
Circle the two parts of the sentence that are being compared.
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15. Analyzing Similes & Metaphors
Circle the subject of the sentence and what the subject is being compared to. 13
He is as tall as a tree. 14
My book bag feels like a bag of rocks. 15
The snow is a white blanket. 16
She dances like she was trying to shake a spider off her leg. 17
He is the Michael Jordan of his basketball team.
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16. Analyzing Similes & Metaphors
Figurative language is one way that poets express themselves & create imagery.
We will be identifying and analyzing similes and metaphors using “Tell Them”.
Is the phrase listed a simile or a metaphor?
What is being compared (the subject)?
What is that subject/thing being compared to?
What did the author mean by making this comparison?
We fill in the first four rows together, as a class.
Fill out the rest of the handout working in groups of 2-3.
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17. Analyzing Similes & Metaphors: “Tell Them”
Phrases from the Poem:
Simile or Metaphor
What is being compared?
To what?
What is the author trying to say with this comparison?
black pearls glinting like an eye in a storm of tight spirals
simile
the black pearls
an eye
This is a description of the package of earrings she is preparing for her friends.
a proud people toasted dark brown as the carved ribs of a tree stump
our islands were dropped from a basket carried by a giant
the hallow hulls of canoes as fast as the wind
Pick students/volunteers to fill in these rows as a class. Help students understand the significance of the metaphors/similes for the last column, as they may be more focused on or more inclined to define the comparison itself rather than the significance of the comparison. It may also be necessary or helpful to explain the other imagery that is invoked to celebrate the Marshallese people, their culture, and the Marshall Islands.
Give students enough time to fill out at least two more rows on their own (will need to have at least four examples total filled in). Ask each group to share at least one row that they filled in. You do not need to focus so much on whether the answers are correct, but rather if the students feel comfortable identifying and analyzing figurative language and can work through the steps from identifying to breaking down to understanding the significance of how figurative language is used.
Anything the students do not finish—filling in the table and/or discussion questions—must be completed for homework and is due before the start of Lesson 3 the next day. They do not need to fill in the entire table with examples, but must have at least four examples of their own filled into the table.
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18. AdvancingJustice-LA.org 18 AASC.UCLA.edu
Lesson 3 Preview
Turn in Simile & Metaphor handout.
Poetic Structure:
Repetition
Alliteration
Rhyme
Form
Identifying and Analyzing Repetition, Alliteration, & Rhyme
Identifying and Analyzing Form: “Learning to Love America”
Poetic Structure in Action: “Tell Them”
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19. Women Poetry Lesson 2: Similes & Metaphors
Curriculum Developer:
Prabhneek Heer
Curriculum Contributors:
Patricia Kwoh
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