Lesson video

Hello everyone and welcome to this lesson on considering and emulating the use of similes in non-fiction writing.

My name's Dr. Clayton and I'm here to guide you through this learning journey today.

Today's lesson is all about similes.

So we're gonna start off by just reminding ourselves of what a simile is and why they might be useful in non-fiction writing.

Then we're going to identify and analyze the use of similes in Cara Reedy's "My Life as a Little Person" before breaking down why those similes are effective and emulating their use.

So if you're ready, grab your pen, laptop, whatever you use for this lesson, and let's get started.

So by the end of the lesson, you'll be able to identify and analyze the use of similes in a non-fiction text and then emulate the writer's craft.

So we have five words that we'll be using as our keywords that I've identified in bold throughout the learning material, and I'll try to point them out to you as well so you can see them being used in context.

Our first keyword is "simile," which means a figure of speech that involves comparing two unlike things using the words "like" or "as.

" This is a focal point of our lesson today; we'll be identifying, analyzing, and then emulating the use of similes.

Our second keyword is "connotation," which means a feeling or idea suggested by a word in addition to its basic meaning.

We're gonna be thinking about how we can analyze similes by considering the connotation of the comparative image.

Our third word is "paparazzi," which means a freelance photographer who pursues celebrities to get photographs of them.

Now, paparazzi is specifically associated with doing whatever's necessary to get their photographs, which will be important later in the lesson when we think about why the writers are using that particular comparative image.

Our fourth keyword is "scrutiny.

" If a person or thing is under scrutiny, they're being studied or observed very carefully.

We're gonna be thinking about how the similes used in Reedy's "My Life as a Little Person" creates a sense of scrutiny and being watched all the time.

Finally, our fifth keyword is "justification," which means the action of showing something to be right or reasonable.

Once we've created our own similes at the end of the lesson, I'm gonna ask you to justify your comparative image.

So why was your comparative image a reasonable one?

So I'll just give you a moment to write down those keywords and the definitions.

So pause the video, write them down now.

Fantastic.

Let's get started with the lesson.

So we have two learning cycles in our lesson today.

For our first learning cycle, we're going to take a few minutes to think about what a simile is and why writers might use them in non-fiction writing.

Then we're going to read Cara Reedy's article, identify, and analyze the similes that she's used.

For our second learning cycle, we're going to break down Reedy's use of similes was effective and use it as a toolkit to create our own similes.

So as I said, similes are our main focus today.

So I just wanna spend a couple of minutes defining them and considering why they might be useful in non-fiction writing.

So a simile is a figure of speech that involves comparing two unlike things using the words "like" or "as.

" So an example might be "I wandered lonely as a cloud.

" So we're comparing the speaker to a cloud to give ideas of wandering aimlessly through life and not connecting to anything.

Now I think we typically associate similes with fiction writing.

I know my first thought when it comes to similes is always to go to poetry.

So what I'd like to start off by thinking about is why might a writer choose to use a simile in non-fiction writing?

Remember that non-fiction writing is writing designed to be informative or factual.

Now if you went through it with someone else, you might talk about ideas with them.

If you went through it by yourself, you might just think about ideas.

So pause the video and consider why a writer might choose to use similes in non-fiction writing.

Welcome back everyone.

Now, similes are all about communicating an idea and emotion to the audience.

As our pupil, Izzy, says, "I think similes help a writer to communicate an idea or feeling to the audience, which is just as important in non-fiction as it is in fiction.

" So when we're looking at similes later on in the lesson, keep in mind this idea that they're all about communicating an idea to you as the audience.

Now for a quick check for understanding, before we move on to the article, what I'd like you to do is tell me whether the following statement is true or false.

So is it true or false?

Similes are a type of figurative language that should only be used in fiction writing.

Pause the video, make a selection now.

The correct answer is false.

Now I'd like you to tell me why it's false.

So pause the video, take a few moments to consider.

Welcome back everyone.

You might have said the purpose of a simile is to communicate an idea or image, and this can be helpful in non-fiction writing to help the audience understand what the writer is trying to express.

So very well done if you got that right.

So now that we've taken a few moments to consider similes more broadly, we're going to look at an article that uses similes to great effect.

That article is Cara Reedy's "My Life as a Little Person.

" What I'd like you to do is pause the video and read the article now.

So pause the video, read the article.

Welcome back everyone.

Now before we move on to the similes themselves, let's take a moment to reflect on the article.

It is incredibly powerful.

I want to make sure we understand what Reedy wants to communicate to the audience before we start analyzing how she's done that.

So I'd like you to pause the video and consider what the key message of Reedy's article is.

Welcome back everyone, some great discussions there.

As I said, it's a really powerful article and I think it really helps you to see the world through someone else's eyes.

Often when we think of non-fiction, we think of factual or informative articles, but they can be just as powerful as fiction because they're talking about someone's real life rather than a life that has been imagined.

As our pupil, Izzy, says, "I think Reedy is trying to communicate how people's reaction to dwarfism make her feel uncomfortable and belittled.

She wants people to understand she's a normal human being too.

" Now what we're gonna do is think about how Reedy has used similes, not just try to help the reader understand how she feels and what she's experienced.

So before we try to understand the similes, we need to identify them.

Remember, a simile is a figure of speech that involves comparing two unlike things, using the words "like" or "as.

" So what I'd like you to do is return to the article and identify the similes.

So pause the video, identify the similes now.

Welcome back everyone.

So in order to analyze the simile, we might consider the following two things: what the connotations of the comparative image are.

Now connotation, one of our key words, means a feeling or idea that's suggested by a word in addition to its basic meaning.

So what ideas or feelings do you get from the comparative image?

Then we also wanna think about how they link to the idea or image the writer's trying to communicate.

Remember, this is at the core of why a writer uses the simile.

They're using it to communicate something to the reader.

So let's go to the first simile together.

So here Reedy is comparing her life to a circus.

What I'd like you to do is think about what the connotations are of a circus.

So what ideas or feelings does the word "circus" give you?

Pause the video, take a few moments to consider.

Welcome back everyone.

Let's talk through what you might have said.

Now, the literal definition of a circus is a group of traveling entertainers that include acrobats, clowns, and trained animals, or a performance by such a group, often in a tent.

So you might think of words such as performance, entertainment, or spectacle and associate it with a circus 'cause it's all about public interest and the public's enjoyment.

However, some of you also might have considered that the circus can have darker undertones as well.

Previously a circus was thought of as a place for people where there was something about them that made them stand out.

You might have heard of acts such as the bearded lady or the elephant man, people being looked at because they're different from what was considered normal.

Therefore, you might have associated something strange or exploitative about the circus, particularly when it comes to animals at the circus who have no choice but to participate in the acts.

You also might have thought of clowns when we think about a circus.

I think clowns are particularly evocative because primarily they're designed to make us laugh, but they typically paint their face with tears.

So we get the sense the person who's entertaining us is actually saddened to do so.

Now we always want to come back to this idea of communication, what message the writer is trying to communicate through the comparative image.

So what I'd like you to do is think about how the comparison to a circus links to Reedy's key message in her article.

So pause the video, take a few moments to consider.

Welcome back, having some great ideas there.

I think the comparative image of a circus really links to Reedy's message of how she feels if she's considered entertainment to other people.

As our pupil, Sofia, says, "Reedy presents the negative challenges she faces on a daily basis.

The simile effectively highlights the negative and invasive treatment she often receives from strangers and how they view her as a source of amusement.

" I think the choice of circus is so evocative because of the dark undertones and how people found entertainment in watching those who they considered different for some reason.

I think that really speaks to what Reedy wants us to understand about her life.

People have viewed her as an amusement rather than a human being.

So now for a quick check for understanding.

So which of these following three images do you think best represents how Reedy feels about her daily life and experience?

So pause the video, take a few moments to consider.

Welcome back everyone.

It was great to see people thinking about how the images of A and B seem to connect to the idea or feelings of being on show for people and how they see her as entertainment.

That's why image B best represents Reedy's experience.

She's told us she doesn't like the attention she gets from others.

So very well done if you got that right.

Amazing work so far, everyone.

It was the first task of the lesson.

So now that we've gone through the first simile together, discussed the connotation of the circus, and how it relates to Reedy's overall message, I'd like to do the same thing for the other two similes.

Now, in order to analyze the similes, I'd like you to answer the following questions.

So what connotations do the words "celebrity" and "paparazzi" have?

So what ideas or feelings do the words "celebrity" and "paparazzi" give you?

Number two, what do you think Reedy is trying to communicate about her experience through this simile?

Number three, what are the connotations of "kick"?

So what ideas or feelings does "kick" give you?

And finally, what do you think Reedy is trying to communicate?

So pause the video, take a few minutes to answer the questions.

Welcome back everyone.

Had some fantastic ideas there.

I'm gonna share the ideas of one of our pupils, Izzy.

I'd like you to answer how well they align with your ideas.

So question one, what connotations do the word "celebrity" and "paparazzi" have?

And Izzy said: The words "celebrity" and "paparazzi" suggest ideas of constant unwanted attention and scrutiny from strangers.

Now "scrutiny" is one of our key words, means someone being studied or observed very carefully.

So Reedy is drawing on the sense she has no privacy when she's in public, just as celebrities don't either.

Question two, what do you think Reedy is trying to communicate about her experience through the simile?

I think it links to the idea she feels a constant watchfulness and scrutiny from other people, but also perhaps the idea that people feel she's removed from them and therefore they can make comments just as we often do with celebrities.

Question three, what are the connotations of "kick"?

And Izzy said, "Kick has connotations of a sudden forceful movement, particularly with undertones of violence.

" And number four, what do you think Reedy is trying to communicate about her experience through the simile?

And Izzy said, "I think the image really suggests how people's reactions negatively affect Reedy, and perhaps hence, she doesn't always feel safe because of those reactions.

" So pause the video and consider how well Izzy's ideas align with your ideas.

Welcome back everyone.

It was great to see people really building on those earlier ideas we had about a circus and how that links to being seen as entertainment by other people, but also these dark undertones of entitlement and violence, especially from the word "kick.

" People feel entitled to be entertained by her just as arguably sometimes we feel entitled to be entertained by celebrities.

We forget they're people with feelings.

I think that's really what Reedy wants us to understand through these similes.

Amazingly done everyone.

We're now doing our second learning cycle.

We're gonna break down Reedy's similes and turn them into a toolkit that we can then use to create our own similes.

So as I said, now that we've analyzed Reedy's use of similes, we're going to think about how we can emulate her work.

So how can we imitate the effectiveness of her similes?

So let's start thinking about what the first step to creating an effective simile is.

Remember, a simile is designed to communicate an idea and image to the audience.

If that's the case, what do you think the first step in creating a simile might be?

Pause the video.

Take a few moments to consider.

Welcome back everyone.

It was great to see people really zooming in on this idea of communication.

As our pupil, Laura, says, "That means we need to have the idea or image we want to communicate in mind as our first step to creating an effective simile.

" So now we have our first step of thinking about what the idea or image is we want to communicate.

We then need to think of our second step.

Now just a reminder, the definition of a simile is the figure of speech that involves comparing two unlike things, using the words "like" or "as.

" So once we have our initial idea we want to communicate to the audience, what do you think the next step is?

Pause the video.

Take a few moments to consider.

Welcome back everyone.

Now, given that a simile is a comparison, to create an effective simile, we need to decide on a comparative image that will help us communicate our idea to the audience.

So let's return to one of Reedy's examples and think about what is so effective about her simile.

So we have our idea, the communication of unwanted attention, and we have a comparative image, the circus.

What I'd like to think about is what has Reedy done here to create an effective simile?

Pause the video.

Take a few moments to consider.

Welcome back everyone.

Now as our pupil, Laura, says, "She's added extra details to really ensure the audience understands the level of scrutiny and constant invasion of her privacy.

" By suggesting she's the main attraction, Reedy highlights just how much she's expected to entertain other people and how much attention she gets.

By telling us it happens every day of her life, it really drives home to the reader just how little privacy she has.

How draining, exhausting, this constant observation and attention is.

Now for a quick check for understanding.

So what did Reedy add to a simile to enhance its effectiveness?

Was it A, a second comparative image?

B, extra details, or C, an anecdote?

Pause the video, make your selection now.

The correct answer is B.

She added details of being a main attraction that happens every day of her life to really emphasize just how much unwanted attention and observation she gets.

So very well done if you got that right.

So in order to emulate Reedy's use of similes, we might use the following steps.

Number one, consider what our initial idea or image is we want to communicate to the audience.

Number two, decide on a comparative image that has connotations similar to what we want to communicate to the audience.

And number three, add extra details to our comparative image to really help the audience understand our idea.

So before we put our toolkit into action, let's just do a quick check for understanding.

What I'd like you to do is fill in the missing words to complete our steps to creating an effective simile.

So number one, consider what our is that we want to communicate to the audience.

Number two, decide on a that has connotations similar to what we want to communicate to the audience.

And number three, add to our comparative image to really help the audience understand our idea.

So pause the video, take a few moments to consider.

Welcome back everyone.

The correct answers are: consider what our initial image or idea is we want to communicate to the audience, decide on a comparative image that has connotations similar to what we want to communicate to the audience, and add extra details to our comparative image to really help the audience understand our idea.

So very well done if you've got those right.

You're all doing fantastically well everyone.

On to the final task of the lesson, we're gonna bring everything together to create our own similes.

Now we're focusing on emulating Reedy's use of similes, which means we're taking what we've learned from Reedy's similes and applying them to our own.

Now Reedy's article showed the reader her experience of feeling like a spectacle with constant unwanted attention.

It's not to emulate rather simply copy Reedy's similes.

We're going to use our toolkit to create a different emotion.

So we're gonna craft a simile that shows the opposite idea to the audience.

The idea of feeling invisible.

Now, before we get into the crafting, I'd like you to take a moment to generate some ideas about what you think that would feel like.

'Cause remember, the idea you're communicating is at the core of creating an effective simile.

So what are your initial thoughts and feelings about the notion of being invisible?

Pause the video, take a few moments to consider.

Welcome back everyone.

Had some fantastic discussions there.

I think it was amazing to see the different reactions to being invisible.

Some people interpret it as positive because you focus on yourself and your life and not be distracted by the outside influence of others, whereas other people interpret it in a more negative way.

A feeling of that sense of loneliness and separation from others.

Whichever ideas you had about that feeling of being invisible, I want you to hold onto those and channel those into your simile to really communicate that idea to the audience.

So now I want to use your ideas from your discussions to craft your own simile.

So remember to use a comparative image that has connotations similar to what you want to communicate to the audience and to add extra details to enhance your message to the audience.

So pause the video, create your simile now.

Welcome back everyone.

Now we're going to take a look at one of our pupils' similes and think about what it's trying to communicate.

I think it's a great idea to look at someone else's work and see how you respond to it.

Excited to see how you can take those ideas and apply 'em to your own writing.

So I'd like you to read Izzy's simile.

Think about what it is you think she's trying to communicate to the audience.

So Izzy's simile was, "I felt like a thought that kept receding away back into my subconscious mind.

" Pause the video, consider what it is you think Izzy's trying to communicate.

Welcome back everyone.

It was great to see people recognizing that Izzy was trying to communicate that feeling of loneliness and trying to connect with others yet failing.

Now Izzy wrote a justification for her simile.

Now, justification is one of our key words, means the action of showing something to be right or reasonable.

So Izzy has written about why her extra details are reasonable in trying to convey that idea of wanting to connect yet failing.

So Izzy wrote, "I wanted to communicate the idea of not only being invisible, but also the idea that I was trying to come to the forefront of someone's mind to be present and physical.

But I kept somehow slipping back into invisibility and obscurity.

" So what I'd like you to do is pause the video and consider whether Izzy's justification helps you understand her simile.

Welcome back everyone.

So Izzy started with this initial idea of a thought which is invisible and untouchable as it is, but then extended that by creating this impression of a thought that cannot actually stay in someone's mind.

I think that really creates a sensation of being forgettable, even though you're desperately trying to make an impact.

Now, I'd like you to return to your own similes and write a justification for your extra details.

How do they enhance your simile?

Pause the video.

Take a few moments to consider.

Welcome back everyone.

I think this idea of going back over your work and really trying to think about why you did something, it's really useful because that helps you really interrogate what your thought process was and whether it's translated on the page.

So whenever you're crafting your writing, always try to keep that in mind to take a moment to pause and consider what effect you want to have on the reader and how what you're doing is trying to create that effect.

You all did amazingly well, everyone.

Here's a summary of what we covered.

A simile might be useful in non-fiction writing to explain an idea to a reader.

Reedy's use of similes highlights the level of scrutiny and unwanted attention she endures.

To create a simile, we might start with deciding on what idea it is we want to communicate.

So in Reedy's example, she started with this idea of communicating how unpleasant the unwanted attention she gets in public is.

Then we might decide on a comparative image that has connotations that match our idea.

So in Reedy's example, she chose the image of a circus to communicate those ideas or feelings if people see you as entertainment rather than a real person.

Finally, we might add extra details to enhance the reader's understanding.

So in Reedy's example, she actually felt like a main attraction at a circus, she felt like that every day, to really enhance the invasive nature of the unwelcome attention that she receives.

I really hope you enjoyed the lesson, everyone.

I hope the toolkit we created will be useful in future writing for when you want to use similes to communicate an idea.

I hope to see you for another lesson soon.

Goodbye.