D. Composition: Expressing Ideas and Creating Texts · Writing with Purpose, Voice and Evidence

Voice, Tone and Style: Figurative Language and Poems

D2.3 D2.1 A1.2About 45 minutes

Learning goals

I can choose a tone that fits my form, genre and audience.
I can use figurative language: metaphor, personification, alliteration and hyperbole.
I can vary my sentences and choose precise words so my writing sounds like me.
I can write a poem that shows my voice.

Words to know

tone
The feeling or attitude in a piece of writing: friendly, serious, funny, excited, calm.

formal
Polite, careful language for people you don't know well or for important texts.

informal
Relaxed, everyday language for friends and family.

style
The way a writer uses words and sentences: word choice, sentence length, figurative language.

metaphor
A comparison that says one thing is another: The rink was a mirror.

personification
Giving human actions or feelings to something that is not human: The wind whispered.

alliteration
Words close together that start with the same sound: slippery, sliding sleds.

hyperbole
A huge exaggeration for effect: I've told you a million times!

Remember from Grade 3

In Grade 3 you added voice with descriptive words, similes (as cold as ice), sound words and different sentence patterns, and you wrote cinquains. In reading, you met metaphors. In Grade 4 you will establish your voice with more figurative language, choose a tone that fits each text, and make careful style choices.

Tone: how your writing sounds

You talk differently to your best friend than to the mayor. Writing works the same way.

To a friend (informal, excited): Guess what?! We WON the championship! Come over for pizza!

To the coach (formal, thankful): Dear Coach Martin, Thank you for helping our team all season. Winning the championship was a wonderful way to end the year.

Same news, different tone. Choose the tone that fits your audience and form: a report sounds serious and clear; a funny story sounds playful; a thank-you letter sounds warm.

Same news, two tones. Notice how the words, capitals and punctuation change for each audience.

Tool	What it does	Example
Metaphor	Says one thing is another	The frozen lake was a giant mirror.
Personification	Gives human actions to non-human things	The old house groaned in the wind.
Alliteration	Repeats the first sound	Freezing flakes fell fast.
Hyperbole	Exaggerates for effect	This backpack weighs a tonne!
Precise words	Exact nouns and strong verbs	poodle instead of dog; trudged instead of walked
Sentence variety	Mixes short and long sentences and different openings	The wind howled all night. Then, silence.

Style tools for voice

Worked example

Let's change the tone

Message: The class hamster escaped and was found in the coat closet. Write it for two audiences.

Audience 1: your friend, in a text message (informal, funny). Use excited punctuation and a little hyperbole: You will NOT believe it! Nibbles escaped and we searched the WHOLE school. She was napping in a mitten in the coat closet!
Audience 2: the principal, in a note (formal, clear). Use complete sentences and calm words: Dear Ms. Fraser, This morning our class hamster, Nibbles, escaped from her cage. We found her safe in the coat closet. We have fixed the latch.
Compare: the facts are the same, but the words, punctuation and sentence style change the tone.

The informal version sounds playful and excited; the formal version sounds calm and responsible. Each fits its audience.

Worked example

Let's write a personification poem

Topic: the winter wind. Give it human actions and feelings in free verse (poetry that doesn't need to rhyme).

Brainstorm what wind does: blows, pushes, makes noise, moves snow.
Turn each into a human action: whistles, shoves, sings, tosses, sneaks.
Add a metaphor and some alliteration.
End with a feeling or a surprise that sounds like you.

Winter Wind

The winter wind is a bully on the playground. It shoves my scarf into my face, steals my toque, and tosses snow down my collar. At night it sneaks around the house, whistling, wailing, whispering at the windows. But in the morning, it gives me a gift: a snowdrift taller than our house.

(Metaphor: is a bully. Personification: shoves, steals, sneaks. Alliteration: whistling, wailing, whispering at the windows. Hyperbole: taller than our house.)

A haiku

A haiku is a short poem form that started in Japan. Haiku often describe a moment in nature. In English, many haiku have 3 lines of 5, 7 and 5 syllables.

Snow falls on the pond (5)

a loon's empty summer home (7)

waits under the ice (5)

Count the syllables by clapping each line.

Clap the haiku: each box is one syllable. The lines have 5, 7 and 5 syllables.

Your voice, your way

Your voice grows from who you are: your sense of humour, the words your family uses, the languages you speak, and the places you know. Read your writing aloud. If it sounds like something you would say (in the right tone for your audience), your voice is coming through.

Just for fun

I've told you a million times: stop using hyperbole!

(See what happened there?)

Hands-on activity

Figurative language scavenger hunt and poem

You need: a notebook, a pencil, and a room or yard to explore (with a grown-up if outside).

Choose 5 objects around you (a kettle, a clock, a snowbank, a tree, a fridge).
For each, write one personification sentence: The fridge hums a sleepy song.
Write one metaphor, one alliteration and one hyperbole about any of them.
Choose your favourite object and write a free verse poem of 6 to 8 lines using at least three tools.
Read it aloud twice: once in a serious tone, once in a funny tone. Which tone fits your poem better?
Optional: write a haiku about the same object. Clap to check 5-7-5.

Your turn

What is tone?

Is this formal or informal? Hey! Wanna come skating? It's gonna be awesome!

Name the tool: The sun smiled down on the beach.

Name the tool: Our classroom was a zoo this morning.

Write an alliteration about snow.

Write a hyperbole about being hungry.

Which tone fits a report about volcanoes: silly or serious and clear?

More practice: warm-up

What does alliteration repeat?

Is as busy as a bee a simile or a metaphor?

What is a hyperbole?

How many lines does a haiku usually have in English?

Which is more precise: a bird or a blue jay?

More practice: on your own

Rewrite in a formal tone for a letter to the mayor: The park is gross. Fix it!

Turn into a metaphor: The snow was like a white blanket.

Add personification: The leaves fell.

Fix the sentence variety: I went outside. I saw a deer. It looked at me. It ran away.

Count the syllables: Maple leaves drifting.

Challenge

Write a haiku about a season. Check the 5-7-5 pattern.

Write the same news (Our school is having a winter carnival) in an informal tone for a friend and a formal tone for a newspaper.

Explain why using too much figurative language in one paragraph can be a problem.

Check your understanding

Quiz

Which sentence uses personification?

Which is a metaphor?

Which tone fits a thank-you letter to a guest speaker?

Which is alliteration?

Which is a hyperbole?

What is a common syllable pattern for an English haiku?

For parents and teachers

Big idea (D2.3): Grade 4 writers establish a personal voice using varied language and elements of style to express thoughts, feelings and opinions, and use a tone appropriate to the form and genre. This lesson also models poem forms (D2.1) and connects to A1.2 (using transferable skills and expressing their own voice).

How to help at home:

Play "tone switch": say the same sentence in a happy, angry, bored and excited voice.
Point out figurative language in songs, ads and picture books.
Encourage your child to write poems, cards and notes that sound like them, including words from home languages.

Common difficulties:

Mixing up simile and metaphor. Simile uses like or as; a metaphor says something is something else.
Overdoing it. Too many comparisons crowd a paragraph. Choose the best one.
Informal tone in formal texts ("Hey Mayor!"). Ask: Who is reading this?

Syllable counts can vary by accent; accept reasonable counts in haiku.