Similes and Metaphors

Today’s Learning Goals

• Review the difference between literal

and figurative language.

• Learn how similes and metaphors are

used to compare two unlike things.

• Learn about the differences between a

simile and a metaphor.

Literal vs. Figurative

• Just what is this sentence saying?
• No one can really travel 3,700

miles in a single second as
lightning does.

• What do you picture in your

mind?

“Ozzie is as quick as lightning.”

Literal vs. Figurative: Copy this entire slide
in your notebook.

• What it really means is that Ozzie

is extremely fast.

• This means that, “extremely fast”

is the literal, or true, meaning.

• As fast as lightning is figurative

language, also known as a figure
of speech.

“Ozzie is as quick as lightning.”

Literal vs. Figurative

Why didn’t the writer just say what they
meant to begin with?

“Ozzie is as quick as lightning.”

“Ozzie is extremely fast.”

• Which of these sentences seems more interesting?
• Which one paints a clearer picture in your mind?

Figurative Language

In figurative language, words are used in an
imaginative way to show ideas that are not
literally true.

clear as a bell

As big as a house
A man’s home is his castle.

GIVE ME A BREAK.

dancing water

That room is a pigsty.

Figurative Language

Copy the table below in your notebook and
then fill in the empty columns.

Figure of Speech

The Picture You See

The True Meaning

Dancing water

That room is a pigsty

A man’s home is his
castle

As big as a house

Give me a break

Clear as a bell

Types of Figurative Language

Similes and metaphors are two of the more
commonly used types of figurative language.

Write this definition:
Simile – a comparison
between two unlike
things that includes the
word like or as

Example:

The bad news was like

a kick in the gut.

Write this definition:
Metaphor – a comparison
between two unlike things
that does not include the
words like or as

Example:

The bad news was
a kick in the gut.

Examples

Notice how the following sentences use
literal and figurative language to convey
the same information to readers.

Literal

The bad news upset me.

Figurative

Simile:

The bad news was like a kick in the
stomach.

Metaphor:

The bad news was a kick in the gut.

Practice:Copy these examples in your
notebook and then answer the following questions

Here is an example:
• What two things are being compared? = The chipmunk’s

cheeks and uncle Henry

• Is it a simile or a metaphor? A simile
• What does it mean? The chipmunk had no more space left

in his cheeks

The chipmunk’s cheeks were
stuffed as full as my Uncle Henry
after Thanksgiving dinner.

Practice: Copy in your notebook and answer

• What two things are being

compared?

• Is it a simile or a

metaphor?

• What does it mean?

The elephant stretched out its trunk out like a
vacuum cleaner hose, drinking water from the
pond.

Similes Occasionally Use “Than”

On rare occasions, similes use the word
than in comparing two unlike things.
Such comparisons are often humorous.

• Jumpier than a frog on a hotplate
• Meaner than a badger in a bullfight
• Happier than… (now you write one)

Simile or Metaphor? Copy in your
notebook and write the correct answer

1.

I feel like a limp dishrag.

2.

My dad is a pit bull when it comes to
protecting our family.

3.

The soap was as slippery as a wet eel.

4.

My black wool pants are a dust magnet.

5.

My guilty conscience weighed me down.

6.

Ozzie’s feet look like boat paddles.

7.

The fluorescent light burned brighter than
the sun during our test.

Group Practice: You can discuss these as a
class and write then answers in your notebook

Rewrite the following sentences in your
notebooks using figurative language.
1. The sidewalk was hot.
2. It was quiet inside.
3. We were tired.
4. She was very small.
5. My locker is messy.

All done for today

Any work that wasn’t finished will be

homework for tomorrow.