Students identify similes, metaphors, personification, hyperbole, onomatopoeia and idioms in sentences and a story, then write two of their own.
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Students learn to spot six types of figurative language: simile, metaphor, personification, hyperbole, onomatopoeia and idiom. They name the type in ten sentences, explain what four of them really mean, then find five figures of speech in "Lights Out," a short story about a family during a power cut, and record each one's type and meaning. A final task asks for a simile and a personification about a busy farmers market. The key explains why sentence 2 counts as a simile even though it exaggerates.
Sentence 2, "as round as a pumpkin," is both a comparison and an exaggeration. Students who write hyperbole have spotted something real; the key counts it as a simile because of the as … as wording, so use it to show how one phrase can fit two types.
"A blessing in disguise" is the hardest example to find in the story because it reads like ordinary words. If students stop at four, point them to the last sentence.
If a meaning just repeats the figure, such as "the yard was a swamp," ask students what the yard was really like.
Ways to adjust the figurative language tasks for different students.
Each one is checked against the official documents. Where the resource covers only part of a standard, the note says so.
Students name similes and metaphors in sentences and in a short story, and write what each one really means; they also write their own simile.
Students explain idioms such as under the weather and a blessing in disguise. Adages and proverbs are not covered.
Students identify personification, hyperbole and onomatopoeia in sentences and in the story, explain them, and write their own personification.
Students name similes, metaphors, personification, onomatopoeia and more in sentences and in a short story, explain what each really means, and write their own simile and personification; the author's purpose for each choice is only touched on.
Students spot hyperbole such as a backpack heavier than a car and write what it really means; stereotyping and anecdote are not covered.
It has five: a simile, a metaphor, personification, hyperbole and an idiom. Onomatopoeia appears only on page 1, in the chart and sentence 4.
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