Language features

Today we did a sorting activity about language features. 

I have observed in the students writing that they don't use language features. I knew many of the year 4's wouldn't know anything about them.

We did a brainstorm - what language features do you know about? Without any help from me, they came up with similies and metaphors. The rest I had to suggest because nobody came up with them. I asked how many people knew what that was and wrote the number beneath the feature. 

Only 4 students knew what a simile was. 

only 5 knew what a metaphor was. 

only 1 knew what a hyperbole was. 

nobody knew what an idiom or personification was.

We talked about what each one was, and I gave an example. 

I handed out the tiny papers that had examples of language features on them.

Students talked to each other and tried to figure out which language feature they had on their piece of paper.

Then we made lists - 

We read through them all and agree/disagreed if each one belonged there. Some had to be moved, and some we agree could belong in more than one category (for example, an idiom is sometimes a hyperbole as well). 

By the end 3/4 of the class could remember what each language feature was. 

We definitely need to review these and apply the knowledge so the kids remember it.