Metaphor Map
The Metaphor Map is a unique way to show connections between ideas and understanding of concepts. You’ll be designing a Metaphor Map based on our readings in Module 2: The Human Being and The Life Cycle. You may use the assigned and unassigned readings from your text, Being Human.
This assignment encourages students to practice and perform a variety of ways of thinking:
think creatively about a text, concept, or unit (or several) by thinking metaphorically
synthesize varied pieces of a complex concept or text
articulate your thinking in new and self-authored ways
To complete this assignment successfully, you must:
Reflect on the assigned concept, text, or unit, focusing on what you think are its most significant components.
Think of a metaphor that represents how you make sense of this concept, text, or unit. What is it similar to, and in what ways?
Draw this metaphor. Stick figures are fine. Artistic ability is not required, but clarity of thought and relationships are important.
Write a 400-500 word explication of your metaphor. You should interpret the drawing for others, explaining the metaphor and all of its details, with specific attention to how it explains the concept, text, or unit.
Give feedback to two of your classmates about their metaphor map.
You might be asking: What is a metaphor?
A metaphor is a comparison of two things. A metaphor has two essential parts: a tenor and a vehicle.
A tenor is the subject to which the metaphor is applied.
A vehicle is a figure of speech that conveys meaning to help us understand the metaphor.
For example:
America is a great Melting Pot
In the example above, America is the tenor, and Melting Pot is the vehicle. The image below represents this metaphor:
Consider this example of a sample metaphor for critical thinking. In this image, critical thinking is a ship at sea surrounded by ethical mountains. The image represents the relationship of critical thinking to other concepts in the unit.
Ultimately, metaphor maps are less about the drawing and more about how you synthesize and unify complex, multidimensional thinking around a single metaphorand how clearly and effectively you explain these ideas. This strategy stretches us beyond the typical modes of learning and challenges us to organize their thoughts in a new way.
Criteria
