Illustrating Idioms

Submitted by: Melissa Corry Gifted art and Intellectually Gifted teacher at H.W. Byers School, Mississippi

Subject: Illustrating Idioms / Shakespeare's love of phrases
Grade levels: K through 6th grade
Integration: English/ Language

 

Procedure:

I discussed Idioms with my class as an extension of a lesson I was doing on Shakespeare. We looked at idioms used in his plays and discussed the meanings of them. I wrote about 30 idiom phrases on strips of paper, and we read them each and discussed if the kids had ever heard the phrase, and what it meant.

 

I was surprised how many they did not understand. I then had them tell me some idiom phrases that they were familiar with and heard at home regularly. We discussed how difficult it is for someone just learning English to understand idioms because they make no sense unless you already know the phrase or can figure it out in context.

 

Students then pulled an idiom phrase out of a bag, and without showing it to anyone went back to their tables and drew the idiom. They then showed their illustrations to the class to see who could guess their phrase. This is a short and effective mini- lesson which would be good for a sub or as a filler. It is a great way to integrate their language studies with art. I encouraged students to use a lot of details and draw clearly.

 

The idiom phrases illustrated below were done by 2nd through 4th graders. They show the phrases hit the hay and I smell a rat. All students were highly engaged during this lesson and had lots of fun guessing their classmates phrases.

 

Hit the Hay

This lesson correlates with the gifted outcomes of Communication, Group dynamics, creativity, and thinking skills. I teach intellectually gifted students and did this lesson with them. They all informed me that they had been learning about idioms in their regular education classes, so this was a great integration lesson. I could see using this in a high school classroom as a mini- lesson with a study of William Shakespeare.

 

Supplied needed:

List of idiom phrases, art supplies, Drawing Paper, and teacher-made strips of idiom phrases to put in a bag for students to pull out.

Shakespeare PowerPoint

 

Evaluation:

Teacher observation of classroom discussion participation and final illustration.

 

Other resources:

If teaching Shakespeare to young students, the following books are great:
MacBeth: For Kids (Shakespeare Can Be Fun series) by Lois Burdett
The Shakespeare Stealer by Gary Blackwood
Shakespeare's Stories for Young Readers by E. Nesbit
Who Was William Shakespeare? by Celeste Davidson Mannis
Classics to Read Aloud to Your Children by William F. Russell

 

I Smell a Rat

 

I began my lesson on Shakespeare with a PowerPoint about his life and the Globe Theatre. We read MacBeth For Kids, and acted out each section using silly hats and props from the Dollar Tree- also old robes and scarves and Halloween witches hats. For King Duncan I made a cardboard crown and bought lots of fake bling necklaces from the dollar store. I did the Shakespeare unit with 2nd through 6th graders and they all loved it. There are also some excellent animated BBC videos you can order, or if you have access to YouTube show them the witches' chant being done by professional actresses. Type up the chant and perform it with them allowing them to chime in loudly on the Double, Double Toil and Trouble parts. Don't be afraid to delve into Shakespeare with youngsters, they love it.

 

William Shakespeare's works are the second most quoted after the Bible. He loved language and plays on words and expressions. An idiom is a saying that makes no sense if you try to look the words up in a dictionary. idioms are difficult for people to understand when they are attempting to learn a new language. Some examples of idioms credited to Shakespeare are:

Idioms

Every dog will have its day

A sorry sight

One fell swoop

A piece of work

Something wicked this way comes

What is done is done
Dead as a door nail

A dish fit for the Gods

A plague on both of your houses

As cold as any stone

Pure as the driven snow.

Greek to me

Fight fire with fire.

Green eyed monster

Give the devil his due.

Hot blooded

In a pickle

In stitches

Make your hair stand on end

Wear your heart on your sleeve

Wild goose chase
( A metaphor may also be an idiom)

Other idioms: (Many lists of idioms are readily available on the internet.)

House of cards

All ears

Arm and a leg
Break a leg

Axe to grind

On my last nerve

Barking up the wrong tree

Cry your eyes out

Down in the dumps

Fifth wheel

Back seat driver

Money talks

Can of worms

Piece of cake

Rock the boat