Figures of Speech

As an educational subject, Language Arts contains a plethora of topics that easily allow for student
engagement and creativity. One such topic is figurative language. Teaching a unit like this can lead
to some of the most satisfying and innovative educational experiences for teachers and students
alike.
As figures of speech are centered on imaginative connections and ideas, you can apply this topic to
any sort of literature (especially poetry), speech or verbal expression, or any type of media. The rest
of this lesson describes ideas for activities and games to use when teaching figures of speech.
Remember, any of these ideas can be modified to cover a wide variety of resources or learning
goals you have for your particular classroom.

Activities
Hyperbole Challenge
This activity focuses on using hyperbole, or extreme exaggeration, which is something many
students are already good at. This activity capitalizes on the natural tendency of kids to exaggerate
regular daily occurrences.
To participate in this activity, have each student quickly jot down a list of routine things that they did
this morning. Examples could include eating cereal for breakfast or loading up their backpack. Next,
they brainstorm hyperbolic phrases they could use to exaggerate their morning routine. Ultimately,
each student will write a short story or poem describing this event, using as many hyperbolic
expressions as they can. When finished, students can share their writings with the class, which is
sure to provide endless humor for your classroom.

Finish the Simile

This is the perfect activity for students who are just learning figurative language. Similes are usually
easy to spot, as most students look for the words 'like' or 'as.' However, this activity takes it a step
further from simple identification.
Provide a list of only half of a simile. It can be the end or beginning, but leave a blank for one of the
objects being compared. The object of this activity is for students to come up with the second half of
the simile, while at the same time making sense within the context of the situation. Here are some
examples:

 Silly as a _
 Tall like a _
 _ as a lion
 _ like a demon

You can provide a short story or a poem that contains the unfinished simile. Advanced students
could even write their own story or poem to use the similes. However you decide to set up the
writing, be sure to clarify requirements, like what types of words they have to use in the blanks or
how many of the similes they need to use. This will get your students thinking about how to use a
simile to appropriately describe a specific situation.

Figurative Language Scavenger Hunt

When you want to practice identifying all the types of figures of speech you have taught your
students, set up a scavenger hunt. For this activity, provide resources containing various forms of
literature. If you have focused mainly on poetry, use a poetry anthology. On the other hand, most
literature textbooks will have a variety of poetry and short stories for this activity.
The next step is to provide a handout with the required types of figurative language students must
find. Here is an example.

 Three similes involving animals.

 Two metaphors for happiness.
 Three examples of onomatopoeia
 A hyperbole with a negative connotation.

Create a list with a difficulty level appropriate for your class. Finally, give a time limit, and the hunt is
on! You can make this a team activity or an individual one, but whoever finds the most examples
wins!
https://www.k12reader.com/subject/figurative-language-worksheets/