BOOK TITLE: The Lost City of Faar
AUTHOR: D.J. MacHale
LESSON PLAN AUTHOR : Kathleen Robbins

GRADE LEVEL: 6-8
LESSON DURATION: 50 Minutes

OBJECTIVE

• Students will develop an understanding of and give examples of the literary terms symbolism, imagery, and metaphors.

• Students will demonstrate knowledge of symbolism, imagery, and metaphors by choosing a project that will allow students to analyze and explore one of the terms more in depth while they relate it back to the book.

MATERIALS

• 2x7 White poster board cutouts

• Colored pencil, marker, or crayon (preferred media)

• Post-it Notes

• White copy or construction paper

• 4 in. pieces of string

• White 3x5 note cards

• Colored construction paper

• Tape

MOTIVATION

• Tell students that the object you are going to show them represents something. Show students a stuffed bear. Ask them to guess what it might represent (Answer: your favorite childhood toy)

• Next, use several words to describe the second object before showing it. Have students try to picture in their mind what it might be and guess. (Answer: closed lock)

• Now ask the students how the two objects could relate or compare. (Answer: The bear used to make me feel safe and secure much like a closed lock might make you feel safe and secure. A possible metaphor example: The bear was my security.)

NEW INFORMATION

• Explain to the students to three literary terms you just displayed:
  • Symbolism – Use of an object to represent something else
  • Imagery – Use of language to create vivid pictures in the reader’s mind
  • Metaphor – Implied comparisons in which a word or phrase is used

MODELING/GUIDED PRACTICE

• Have students turn to listed pages and look an example of each term from the book

• Symbolism: pg. 7 – “On this door would be a symbol that looked like a carved star identifying it as gate.” (This star symbol is a reoccurring symbol that represented a gate for the travelers)

• Imagery: pg. 214 – “And again, what stood out most were the eyes. They became icy blue and charged with an evil fire.” (These words create a haunting picture in the reader’s mind of Saint Dane’s eyes)

• Metaphor: pg. 362 – “I was out of my head.” (Spader was not literally out of his head he just meant his emotions had control over his decisions)

PRACTICE/APPLICATION

• Explain to students that they will choose one project from the three given. Each project will focus on one of the literary terms discussed above. The project descriptions are as follows:

  Project #1 – Symbolism: “Symbols to Read By.”

  • You will be given a 2x7 piece of white poster board to create a bookmark.
  •  On one side of the bookmark, you will draw symbols that represent yourself. These can include but are not limited to colors and patterns that represent you, and symbols that illustrate your personality, hobbies, and interests. There must be at least four symbols that personally represent you.
  • On the other side of the bookmark, you will draw symbols that represent Bobby Pendragon. These can include interests, items, or other traveler symbols. There must also be at least four symbols that represent Bobby Pendragon.
  • After creating your bookmark, on a separate sheet of paper, give at least two sentences to describe each symbol. On this description, be sure to label the sections with “Your Name” and “Bobby Pendragon” so the symbols are not confused.

  Project #2 – Imagery: “Do You See What I Read?”

  • You will be given post-it notes. While reading the book, place a post-it note on a page if you think there are words or a sentence that display imagery well. Good imagery includes words or a sentence that creates a vivid and memorable picture in your mind as a reader.
  • Decide on four examples from the book that you feel were good examples.
  • You will be given four, half pieces of white copy or construction paper.
  • On each page, write the words or sentence from the book, describe the picture it brought to your mind in three sentences, and then illustrate the picture that you saw using media such as colored pencil, marker, or crayon.
  • After completing your pages, hold all the pages together, hole punch three times, and then tie together with string.

  Project #3 – Metaphor: “Say What You Mean!”

  • Metaphors are implied comparisons and are usually not meant to be taken literally…most of the time. I want you to find the best metaphors from the story and take them literally. If a character claims to be losing his mind, you might wonder where he keeps misplacing it.
  • In this project you will be given twelve 3x 5 note cards. You will use three cards for each metaphor. Your will need to identify four metaphors from the story. On the first card, identify the metaphor. On the second card, illustrate the metaphor as if it were taken literally. On the third card, respond to the metaphor in three sentences with a comment such as “You need to hold onto your mind, it is important!” Repeat this process for all four metaphors.
  • After finishing the cards, mix them up. Then, try to correctly match the three metaphor cards to each other. Also, you can switch card sets with another person and try to match up their cards.

  ---

  CLOSURE

  • Discuss the importance of each literary element in a story. Each of the terms we explored today gives a story more depth, understanding, and makes it come to life.  

  ---

  EVALUATION

  • Students will be evaluated using a rubric that is specific to each project and includes the different required components that are listed for each project.

  ---

  EXTENSION

  • Have students create smaller scale maps of their home, school, community, or state using lines of latitude, longitude, symbols, and legends. 

  ---

  NCTE STANDARD 2

  Students apply a wide range of strategies to comprehend, interpret, evaluate, and appreciate texts. They draw on their prior experience, their interactions with other readers and writers, their knowledge of word meaning and of other texts, their word identification strategies, and their understanding of textual features (e.g., sound-letter correspondence, sentence structure, context, graphics).

  ---

  NCTE STANDARD 5

  Students employ a wide range of strategies as they write and use different writing process elements appropriately to communicate with different audiences for a variety of purposes.

  ---

  NCTE STANDARD 4

  Students adjust their use of spoken, written, and visual language (e.g., conventions, style, vocabulary) to communicate effectively with a variety of audiences and for different purposes.

  ---

  NCTE STANDARD 6

  Students apply knowledge of language structure, language conventions (e.g., spelling and punctuation), media techniques, figurative language, and genre to create, critique, and discuss print and non-print texts.

  ---

  NCTE STANDARD 7

  Students conduct research on issues and interests by generating ideas and questions, and by posing problems. They gather, evaluate, and synthesize data from a variety of sources (e.g., print and non-print texts, artifacts, people) to communicate their discoveries in ways that suit their purpose and audience.