Day 2 Grade 9 English Lesson: Building a Literary Devices Glossary

Yesterday’s lesson set the stage for our Grade 9 English course with an introduction to growth mindset and community building. Today, we dive into the foundation of literary analysis: creating a literary devices glossary. This glossary will serve as a reference point throughout the semester as students practice identifying and using literary devices in their reading and writing.

Lesson Flow

1. Welcome and Quick Review (5 minutes)

• Greet students and remind them about yesterday’s focus on growth mindset.

• Briefly explain how literary devices help us understand and enjoy texts on a deeper level.

2. Introduction to Literary Devices (10 minutes)

• Give a short explanation of what literary devices are and why authors use them.

• Provide examples students are likely familiar with (e.g., simile: “Her smile was like sunshine.”).

• Emphasize that today they’ll start their own literary devices glossary.

3. Building the Glossary (20 minutes)

• Hand out the Literary Devices Glossary worksheet (or display digitally).

• Students will fill in the first five today: alliteration, allusion, analogy, anaphora, and antithesis.

• Teachers can choose to:

  • Have students look up definitions in dictionaries or online resources, OR

  • Have students copy provided definitions from the completed glossary you provide.

5. Growth Mindset Connection (10 minutes)

• Return to the growth mindset work from yesterday.

• Ask students to reflect: How might approaching challenges in English class with a growth mindset help us learn new concepts, like literary devices, more effectively?

• Allow students to add a short reflection in their journals or share with a partner.

6. Wrap-Up (5 minutes)

• Collect or review the glossary sheets.

• Remind students that they’ll continue building this glossary throughout the course.

• Preview tomorrow’s lesson: applying these devices when reading short texts.

Teacher Materials