4th Grade - Figurative Language (simile, Metaphor, Hyperbole, Personification)

What is a simile? (a comparison of two things using the words “like” or “as”)

What is a metaphor? (a vivid comparison of two things using descriptive language and/or symbolism)

What is hyperbole? (a deliberate and obvious exaggeration)

Metaphors, similes, and idioms are all types of figurative language that compare things. Unlike similes (use like and as to make comparisons) and metaphors (vivid comparisons that do not use like and as), idioms do not make any literal sense – they are common expressions enrooted in the language.

Practice differentiating (finding what is different) between these three types of figurative language – make a table with three columns and list examples of each kind.

Examples:

T

idiom: as snug as a bug in a rug

- making fun of a tree is a knock on wood (pun)

- cool kindness , jumbo shrimp (oxymorons) ake several pieces of paper and fold them all together in half, so it makes a book. Then staple or hole-punch and tie the folded edges so the pages stay together. Make a “Figurative and Literal” book to show words or expressions with pictures of their literal and figurative meanings (one meaning per page or one word/ expression per page).
Examples: literal on left; figurative on right

More examples: http://idiomsbykids.com

Choose a few examples of figurative language that you could act out. Do this in a figurative (what the expression means as a whole) or literal (taking each word for its actual, real meaning) way.

Examples:

• You can’t teach old dogs new tricks.

• Break the ice.

• Stick your neck out for a friend.

• Brush that chip off your shoulder.

• Toot your own horn, why don’t ya!

If you have a video camera, it could be hilarious to record these acts, otherwise, “savor the moment”!

What is an oxymoron? (phrase in which two words of contradictory meaning are used together for special effect)

What is an idiom? (a “figure of speech” or natural expression native to a language, whose literal meaning makes no sense)

What is imagery? (figurative language, especially similes and metaphors, used in plays, poetry, & other literary works that describes a scene with such vivid details that you can imagine/ visualize it)

What is alliteration? (where consecutive words begin with and/or contain the same sound and/ or letter)

What is onomatopoeia? (when a word makes the sound of things it describes)

What is an example of a simile? (His nose is as cold as ice!, My cat is like a stealth ninja., etc.)

What is an example of a metaphor? (“Juliet is the sun.” – Shakespeare, New shoes are a new start., etc.)

What is an example of hyperbole? (You are a day late!, I could eat a million of these!, etc.)

What is an example of personification? (The walls whispered to me., The teapot sang and whistled., etc.)

What is an example of a pun? (There was once a cross-eyed teacher who couldn’t control his pupils., I wondered why the baseball was getting bigger. Then it hit me., etc.)

What is an example of an oxymoron? (wise fool, legal murder, etc.)

What is an example of an idiom? (put your money where your mouth is, is there a frog in your throat?, it’s raining cats and dogs, etc.)

What is an example of imagery? (“The Road Not Taken” by Robert Frost
Two Roads diverged in a yellow wood,
And sorry that I could not travel both
And be one traveler, long I stood
And looked down one as far as I could
To where it bent in the undergrowth;…,
Her skin was as white as snow and her eyes were as black as coals…, etc.)

What is an example of alliteration? (The rabbits ran rapidly.; She left as fast as a flock in flight., I have a fuzzy, furry ferret and a cute, cuddly kitty., Dentists do dental diagnoses., etc.)