Language Arts III 3203

Instructor:
Sharlet Mullen
Blooms
Knowledge
Domain
__ Declarative
__ Procedural
x_ Conceptual
x_ Metacognitive

Reading Lesson Plan

Sharlet Mullen

Subject Area:
Grade:
Personification Day 1
3rd Grade
Information about the Lesson

Date:
10/27/16

Blooms Cognitive
Domain
x_ Remember
x_ Understand
__ Apply
x_ Analyze
__ Evaluate
__ Create

Gardners Multiple Intelligences

Lesson Type
x_ Verbal/Linguistic
x_ Present and Explain
__ Logical/Mathematical
x_ Direct Instruction
x_ Visual/Spatial
__ Concept Lesson
__ Bodily/Kinesthetic
__ Inquiry-Based Lesson
__ Musical/Rhythmic
__ Cooperative Learning
x_ Interpersonal/Social
__ Project /Problem-Based
__ Intrapersonal/Self-aware
Learning
__ Naturalist/Environmentally aware
x_ Classroom Discussion
Elements to consider when planning (Copied from the SNR Lesson Template for Student Teaching)
Preparation
Scaffolding
Grouping Options
___ Adaptation of Content
___ Modeling
_x_ Whole class
_x_ Links to Background
_x_ Guided Practice
___ Small groups
___ Links to Past Learning
_x_ Independent Practice
___ Partners
___ Strategies incorporated
___ Comprehensible input
_x_ Independent
Integration of Processes
___ Reading
___ Writing
_x_ Speaking
_x_ Listening

Application
___ Hands-on
___ Meaningful
_x_ Linked to objectives
_x_ Promotes engagement

Assessment
_x_ Individual
___ Group
_x_ Written
___ Oral

Context/Rationale: Personification is yet another literary device which authors use to make both fiction
and non-fiction interesting and realistic. This lesson is to allow students to explore how authors use
personification in writing and develop a deeper meaning of texts.
Prerequisites: Student should have basic knowledge of fairy tales, make believe, Disney movies and
childrens books.
Materials Needed:
Power Point created by Sharlet
Book Froggys Halloween by Jonathan London
Personification Power Point created by Sharlet
Mullen
Worksheet 1 guided practice see below - read the pair of
sentences. Circle the sentence that uses personification. (1 per
student)
Worksheet 2 Personification see below - read the sentence, underline the object
being personified and circle the human characteristic. (What the object is doing that
makes it a personification) singing, danced, winks, hugs, wraps. (1 per student)

Lesson Content and Design

Central Focus / Big Idea:
Writers use words to paint a picture of a situation or idea when they write a story or poem. To explore
personification in books and develop an understanding for future writing.
Objective(s):
The student will be able to recognize personification in childrens literature and sentence phrases.
The student will look at given sentences and describe the object being personified.
The student will create simple sentences to describe pumpkin using personification.
Guiding Question(s):
What kinds of words do authors use to help see their ideas?
What is personification?

Language Arts III 3203

Reading Lesson Plan
Sharlet Mullen
Assessment: The assessments are to gain an understanding of the direction of future lessons.
Students are not expected to have a firm grasp of personification yet.
Formative Assessment - worksheet 1 Guided Practice. The student will read the sentence, underline the
object being personified and circle the human characteristic. (What the object is doing that makes it a
personification) Singing, danced, winks, hugs, wraps. This worksheet will start as a guided activity, and
when the student feels ready, they can finish on their own.
Do 1, 2, and 3 together if ready try on own
Help answer question 4 and 5 if ready try on own
5 to 10 students talk the teacher through the question. Teacher will help as needed
The summative assessment is to give the teacher an understanding of what more to teach.
Do the students understand the meaning?
Can the students find personification by underlining the object and circling the human
quality?
Can the student find the personification when two sentences are similar?
Summative Assessment of Worksheet 2 The student will read the pair of sentences and determine the
sentence that uses personification. The assessment is, so students gain an understanding of
personification.
8 to 12 The student gets the concept and is ready to write.
1 to 7 The student needs more examples and practice before writing.
Academic Language:
Personification -giving human traits to non-living object or animal.
Personify To think of or represent (a thing or idea) as a person or as having human qualities or powers.
MN Content Standard(s): English Language Arts Standards (MN Common Core)
3.1.4.4 3rd Grade 1. Literature K-5 Craft and Structure 4. Interpret words and phrases as they are used
in a text, including determining technical, connotative, and figurative meanings, and analyze how specific
word choices shape meaning or tone 4. Determine the meaning of words and phrases as they are used in
a text, distinguishing literal from nonliteral language, including figurative language such as similes.

Presentation/Syntax
Elements
Consider: Work to
prepare students
and access prior
knowledge and
experiences.
Prepare Get
material and load
power point
Prior knowledge
background of
childrens books
and Disney movies

Time
10
Mins

Detailed Description
The full lesson plan includes reading, art, and writing elements. To complete the entire
lesson plan two 40-minute time slots. Students will have independent writing time for
two days to complete the whole writing process.
Day 1 Reading set up
Load power point created by Sharlet Mullen
Chart paper
Book - Froggys Halloween by Jonathan London
Copies of worksheet 1 (guided practice) and worksheet 2 double-sided 1 per student
Day 2 Art and Writing set up
Power Point created by Sharlet Mullen start on slide 13
Book The Ugly Pumpkin by Dave Horowitz
Orange construction paper - 1per student
black construction paper 1 per student
Scrap box for creating costume or background for pumpkin
Scissors, Glue sticks, Pencils, Writing Journal, Final draft paper
Chart with descriptive words from day 1
Tub of childrens books with personification
Back to back copies of check-list and Rubric 1 per student

Language Arts III 3203

Construct: Work to
allow students to
build new
knowledge and
skills

3-5
Mins

10
Mins

Reading Lesson Plan

Sharlet Mullen
Call the class to the reading corner.
Lead-in message/Discussion
With Slide one on the smartboard or screen.
Tell the class, Who is ready to learn something fun
and new? Today we are going to learn about
Personification.
Look at the title page slide one on the power point.
Ask the class if anyone has heard of Personification?
By the picture, does anyone have any guesses? (Disney, princesses?)
Hold up the book - Froggys Halloween by Jonathan London
Tell the students This book has many examples of
Personification.
Read the book. (Emphasize a few of the examples of
personification but do not directly tell the students these are
examples of personification)
Group Discussion and Presentation of power point

15-20
Mins

After reading the story. Ask if anyone has any more

guesses about what Personification might be? (superheroes)
Look at slide Two of the power point and have a student
read the definition of personification. Personification
means giving human traits qualities, feelings, actions, or
characteristics directly to a non-living object.
Slide Three for a better understanding of the definition.
Teacher reads the definition on slide three.
Personification is when an author/writer gives
characteristics of a person to an animal or an object.
Listen to this sentence, sentence The Wind Howled at
Night.
Ask students, What do you picture with this sentence?
By hitting the arrow a picture of wind, wolf and night will come up.
Ask students if this was some of the pictures they created in their minds when
the sentence The Wind Howled at Night.
Talk about what the sentence means, The wind blew during the night.
Is the sentence The wind blew during the night. as exciting as The Wind
Howled at Night. (no)
Personification is a way of making stories more exciting.
Slide Four examples of personification.
Read the examples,
The sad Cloud, who wanted to make friends.
Ask, What is the object? (the cloud)
What is the personification? (sad)
Yes, sad is a human trait or action.

Language Arts III 3203

Reading Lesson Plan

The tree that talked.
Ask, What is the object? (the tree)
What is the personification? (talked)
Yes, talking is a human trait or action.

Sharlet Mullen

The Flowers Dance in the Grass.

Ask, What is the object? (the flowers)
What is the personification? (dance)
Yes, dance is a human trait or action.
Can a flower dance in the grass? (yes, if the wind is blowing)
Can a tree talk? (yes, if it is storming or the wind blows or if someone cuts the
tree down)
Can a cloud be sad? Yes, it would be gray or rain)
Look back through the book Froggys Halloween and read a
few pages pointing out the personifications.
Slide Five
Ask students, What kinds of words do authors use to help you see their
ideas? (words to describe something, action words)
Personification uses descriptive words to give objects or animals human
actions.
Write a list on the chart paper and save for writing
on day 2
Tell student, We are going to create a list of
descriptive words that could help us to find
personification in a story or if we were going to write our story using
personification. (Yes, the class will write a story with personification) (Call on
students to create the list Try to be sure each student contributes to the list)
Slide Six
Why use Personification in writing?
Have a student read the slide, Many times an
author will use this literary technique to add more
fun, drama, sparkle, excitement, or interest to a
story or to convey a certain mood.
Teacher, Think of the book Chicka, Chicka boom,
boom Can letters of the alphabet race to the top
of the coconut tree? (no)
Ask, What is the object? (the letter of the alphabet)
What is the personification? (race)
Slide Seven
Have student Read another reason for using
personification in writing
It makes more sense to us (as readers) to
understand what they author is talking about when WE can RELATE to the
emotions or characteristics that the non-living object has.

Language Arts III 3203

Reading Lesson Plan

Sharlet Mullen
Have students raise give thumbs up if they are understanding personification
or thumbs down if this is confusing. (If no one feels comfortable explaining,
give definition and show more examples) (Personification means giving human
traits qualities, feelings, actions, or characteristics directly to a non-living
object.)
Read the sample from the Little Engine that Could (on slide seven)
Who knows what Book they might hear?
Can a little train engine talk herself into pulling a
bunch of heavy cars up a steep hill by repeating,
think I can, I think I can, I think I can?
What Book?
Go to Slide eight
Slide Nine
Look at the sentences and ask the following
questions
the trees were dancing with the wind
the pot of soup bubbled merrily on the stove
the sun peeked over the hill.
Why are these sentences examples of personification?
What do you picture?
What is the object or animal?
What human Characteristics was it given?

10
Mins

Slide Ten
Question?
Ready to Try a few more?
Do the examples below. Students will underline the
object and circle the personification. (if projected on
smartboard use tools)
Traffic slowed to a crawl.
The stairs groaned as we walked on them.
My flowers were begging for water.
Time flies and waits for no one.
My cars headlights winked at me.
Slide Eleven
Time for worksheets Give direction and have students work - Students will
return to their tables and work through the first few as a group.
Worksheet 1 Guided Practice - read the sentence, underline the
object being personified and circle the human characteristic.
(What the object is doing that makes it a personification)
singing, danced, winks, hugs, wraps.

Language Arts III 3203

Confirm: Work to
allow students to
contrast new
knowledge with
prior and close the
lesson

10
Mins

Reading Lesson Plan

Sharlet Mullen
This worksheet will start as a guided activity, and when the student feels ready,
they can finish on their own.
Do 1, 2, and 3 together if ready try on own
Help answer question 4 and 5 if ready try on own
5 to 10 students talk the teacher through the question. Teacher
will help as needed
Worksheet 2 read the pair of sentences. Circle the sentence that
uses personification.
The assessment is, so students gain an understanding of
personification.
8 to 12 The student gets the concept and is ready to write.
1 to 7 The student needs more examples and practice before
writing.
When the students have completed the two worksheets, they will turn in the
worksheet to the done basket and return to the reading circle.
Evaluate student understand from the worksheets before the teaching of the
next lesson on art and writing. The worksheets are to check for student
understanding and to evaluate if more teaching is needed before the students
try to write their story using personification.
While waiting for everyone to finish, do the following activity with the students.
Use the adjectives on the chart to create personification. This activity is an
improv activity.
Example
word - yells
sentence - The alarm clock yells at me in the morning.

Differentiation
Planned Support /Extension/ Differentiation for Specific Students:
Differentiation/ELL: striving students & English learners - Provide more stories and examples of
personification. Walk through each of the sentences on the worksheet and talk about each example. Allow
students time to listen to more stories online that use personification.
Extension: advanced students - Using poetry to teach personification helps students to recognize
personification within the text. It is also beneficial for helping students distinguish between different types
of figurative language. This personification lesson plan would be great to use in the later part of the year
with various poems, sentences, and posters. Revisiting the personification topic will help reinforce the
concept of fugitive language.

Reflection
What worked, didnt work, needs adjustment for next time:
The lesson went well and employed active teaching. The students were engaged in active learning during
and after the presentation, story reading, and group discussion. The worksheets showed feedback
before transferring the information to the next step of the lesson. The feedback shows six students
needed some added attention before part two of the lesson. The class seemed to like the concept and the
presentation. There was good class participation. The discussion time was good in length, and the story
was engaging. Bringing in childrens books for a lesson about language grammar concepts helps keep
the lesson fun. The day of the lesson was after a crazy week of OPLA testing and substitutes due to
Teacher training workshops. The class was a little chatty at times.
After teaching the lesson, the grading assessment felt more fitting to check student understanding instead
of grading the assignment. Day 2 of the lesson would be a better place to grade the students and a better
window to see if they understand personification.

Language Arts III 3203

Reading Lesson Plan

Sharlet Mullen

Resources:
Barker, Kim. "Personification Practice Page." Teachers Pay Teachers. TeachersPayTeachers.com, 21 Oct. 2012. Web. 24
Oct. 2016.
Dawn. "How to Draw Thomas the Tank Engine." Dragoart. N.p., 13 Feb. 2008. Web. 24 Oct. 2016.
Fanpop, Inc. Finding Nemo." - Fanpop. N.p., n.d. Web. 24 Oct. 2016
Freeman, Don. Corduroy. New York: Puffin, 1968. Print.
Goguen, Isabel. "Tale as Old as Time." Guacamole Window: N.p., 01 Jan. 1970. Web. 24 Oct. 2016.
Horowitz, Dave. "The Ugly Pumpkin." The Ugly Pumpkin. Puffin Books, 14 Aug. 2008. Web. 29 Oct. 2016.
London, Jonathan, and Frank Remkiewicz. Froggy's Halloween. New York: Puffin, 2002. Print.
Martin, Bill, John Archambault, and Lois Ehlert. Chicka Chicka Boom Boom. New York: Little Simon, 2006. Print.
Piper, Watty, George Hauman, and Doris Hauman. The Little Engine That Could. New York: Platt & Munk, 1976. Print.
Resources, Teri And Tiff's Creative. "Writing with Personification Creative Writing Tool." Teachers Pay Teachers.
TeachersPayTeachers.com, 16 Mar. 2013. Web. 24 Oct. 2016.

Language Arts III 3203

Reading Lesson Plan

Sharlet Mullen

Name: _________________________________________________ Date:

____________________________
Guided Practice

Personification Identification

Directions: Underline the objects being personified and

circle what theyre doing that makes it an example of
personification.
1. The sun winked good night as it disappeared behind the
mountain.
2. The big, full moon confidently led me through the forest.
3. The mountain cackled at the rumbles beneath its
surface.
4. As the rain raced to the ground, everyone ran for cover.
5. The surfers ran for their boards as the waves crashed on
the shore.
6. The old car wheezed and shook as the man cranked the
engine.
7. The wind howled a mournful cry as it blew through the
old windows.

Language Arts III 3203

Reading Lesson Plan

Sharlet Mullen

8. The leaves danced to the ground as the children played

around the old tree.
9. As the boy began his math test, his pencil pranced
across the page.
10. The tornado devoured everything in its path.
All materials 2013, Teri and Tiffs Creative Resources

Language Arts III 3203

Reading Lesson Plan

Sharlet Mullen

Name: __________Answers___________________ Date:

____________________________
Guided Practice

Personification Identification

Directions: Underline the objects being personified and

circle what theyre doing that makes it an example of
personification.
1. The sun winked good night as it disappeared behind the
mountain.
2. The big, full moon confidently led me through the forest.
3. The mountain cackled at the rumbles beneath its
surface.
4. As the rain raced to the ground, everyone ran for cover.
5. The surfers ran for their boards as the waves crashed on
the shore.
6. The old car wheezed and shook as the man cranked the
engine.
7. The wind howled a mournful cry as it blew through the
old windows.

10

Language Arts III 3203

Reading Lesson Plan

Sharlet Mullen

8. The leaves danced to the ground as the children played

around the old tree.
9. As the boy began his math test, his pencil pranced
across the page.
10. The tornado devoured everything in its path.
All materials 2013,

Teri and Tiffs Creative Resources

11

Language Arts III 3203

Reading Lesson Plan

Sharlet Mullen

Name ________________________________________________________
_____________________________

Personification
Directions: Read each sentence pair. Circle the letter of the sentence that uses
personification.
1. a. Clouds were playing in the sky.
b. The sky was filled with clouds.
2. a. The water in the ocean was extremely
warm.
b. The warm ocean waters embraced me.
3. a. Fortune smiled on me.
b. I got very lucky.
4. a. The statues, atop their pedestals, stared down at me.
b. The statues were placed on pedestals high in the air.
5. a. It rains frequently in April.
b. April is a weepy month.
6. a. The cattails waved goodbye to departing dragonflies.
b. The cattails leaves bounced up and down when the dragonflies flew away.
7. a. The engine clanked as the old truck moved slowly uphill.
b. The engine made a clanking noise as the old truck fought its way uphill.
8. a. The water from Grandmas rusty faucet spilled out into Jamies hands.
b. Grandmas rusty faucet spat water into Jamies outstretched hands.
9. a. Shiny new shoes peeked out from under his freshly pressed pants.
b. Shiny new shoes were just visible under his freshly pressed pants.
10. a. The scruffy puppys eyes begged us to pick him up.
b. We could not resist the terriers puppy-dog eyes.
11. a. The breeze caused our laundry to move back and forth on the
clothesline.
b. Our laundry jerked back and forth on the clothesline, tickled by a breeze.
12. a. Vines crept slowly up the sides of the birdhouse.

12

Date

Language Arts III 3203

Reading Lesson Plan
b. Slow-growing vines soon covered the sides of the birdhouse.

13

Sharlet Mullen

Language Arts III 3203

Reading Lesson Plan

Answer Key:
1. A
2. B
3. A
4. A
5. B
6. A
7. B
8. B
9. A
10.
11.
12.

A
B
A

14

Sharlet Mullen