In the Classroom: Language Devices in Expository Literature

The best way for young writers to get a feel for the flow of rich text full of language devices is to type out a finely crafted mentor text and analyze it by highlighting different features with colors.

After each child has typed out the text of one of the picture books listed below, small groups can work together to color the text in the computer file, or they can print out the text and mark it up with colored pencils or highlighting markers.

Recommended Books
Frog Song by Brenda Z. Guiberson (2013)
Planting the Wild Garden by Kathryn O. Galbraith (2011)
Feathers: Not Just for Flying by Melissa Stewart (2014)
An Egg Is Quiet by Dianna Hutts Aston (2006)
Lightship by Brian Floca (2007)
Mammoths on the Move by Lisa Wheeler (2006)

The following color codes work well for this activity:
red = alliteration/assonance blue = repetition
green = onomatopoeia
purple = sensory details

 

CCSS.ELA—Literacy.CCRA.R.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.