Lesson Plan: Teaching Figurative Language

Figurative language is an expression of speech--something that is said on a figurative level that cannot be understood on a literal level. There are many types of figurative lanaguage: similes, metaphors, personification, hyperboles, and oxymorons. There are other types of figurative language, but the above suffice for now.

Similes and metaphors make comparisons between items or things that are not similar, though a simile will always contain the following words: like, as, than, or resembles. If you do not have the words: like, as, than, or resembles, then you probably do not have a simile, it is most likely a metaphor.

Simile: Her face is as red as a tomato. Because the word "as" is present, it is a simile.

Metaphor: Her face is a tomato.

Personification consists of giving human attributes or human traits to nonhuman things. This occurs when you have talking trees, whispering wind, and staring star.

Personification consists of giving human attributes or human traits to nonhuman things. This occurs when you have talking trees, whispering wind, and staring stars.

Hyperboles are another figurative language device in which there is extreme exaggeration present. A common example is it is raining cats and dogs outside or that I am so mad that I could eat nails.

Oxymorons occur when you have oppositions combining. For example: jumbo shrimp. Shrimp is commonly used to refer to something little while jumbo refers to something large, so the end result is an oxymoron.

Create a larger project in which students must incorporate examples of figurative language. For example, incorporate figurative language when writing a ballad or writing Anglo-Saxon riddles.

Although it is fairly simplistic to come up with examples of figurative language, students must be able to use them with regard to the topic at hand and to transition to the examples. Requring students to incorporate figurative language in a specific context becomes challenging for students, and it makes them think. Doing so shows a level of mastery and reflects that students are proficient in using figurative language devices.