Figurative or Literal

• ____ 1. Eric thinks doing schoolwork is one big video game.• ____ 2. Lauren has made up her mind to volunteer every Tuesday after school.• ____ 3. Thinking about summer camp makes me feel like a bundle of sunshine.• ____ 4. As I delivered my speech, my voice sounded as if I’d swallowed rocks and

sand.• ____ 5. Emma may seem clumsy, but onstage she dances like a gazelle.• ____ 6. Jacob expresses many feelings through his photography.• ____ 7. My favorite tennis shoes have grown tired and weary.• ____ 8. Before the soccer match, both teams attended a sportsmanship program.• ____9. I have a ton of paperwork to do before I can enjoy the sun this summer.• ____ 10. Sometimes I have to be my little brother’s brain.• _____11. Some students are getting swept out of the library.• _____12. Her brain is the size of a pea.

• _____13. That joke went right over my head.• _____ 14. The students caught him with his pants down on Monday. I forgot about

the field trip.• _____15. It was a group project, but everyone rode Andrew's coattail.

Figurative Language

What is Figurative Language?What is Figurative Language?•Whenever you describe something by Whenever you describe something by comparing it with something else,comparing it with something else,you are using figurative language. you are using figurative language. 

Figurative

Adjective

- of the nature of or involving a figure of speech, especially a metaphor; metaphorical and not literal, as in figurative language .

My Definition:

- a comparison to something

- not real

Literal

adjectivetrue to fact; not exaggerated; actual or

factual: a literal description of conditions.

in accordance with, involving, or being the primary or strict meaning of the word or words; not figurative or metaphorical: the literal meaning of a word.

MY definition: FOR REAL!

Figurative or Literal

• ____ 1. Eric thinks doing schoolwork is one big video game.• ____ 2. Lauren has made up her mind to volunteer every Tuesday after school.• ____ 3. Thinking about summer camp makes me feel like a bundle of sunshine.• ____ 4. As I delivered my speech, my voice sounded as if I’d swallowed rocks and sand.• ____ 5. Emma may seem clumsy, but onstage she dances like a gazelle.• ____ 6. Jacob expresses many feelings through his photography.• ____ 7. My favorite tennis shoes have grown tired and weary.

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L Jonah forgot about the field trip, so some of the kids called to see if he was all right.

What Is a Figure of Speech?

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A figure of speech is a word or phrase that describes one thing in terms of something else and is not literally true.

•All he thought about was money. His eyes were dollar signs.

Uses of Figures of Speech

Figures of speech can …

• create images in a reader’s mind.

• establish moods.

• express feelings and ideas in interesting and

surprising ways.

• As I slept beneath the stars, a white blanket of fog covered me in its misty folds.

What do these sayings

mean?Discuss/write

down with your partner.

1) They were as busy as bees.

2) My love is deeper than the ocean.

3) The room looks like a pig sty.

4) The announcement was music to my ears.

5) It’s a jungle out there.

6) Pretty as a picture

7) Sly as a fox

8) Smooth as silk

9) Slow as molasses

10) Burns like fire

12) Mad as a hornet

13) Dark as midnight

14) Thorn in my side

Why might figures of speech be confusing for

people whose first language is not

English?

Kinds of Figures of Speech

Four types of figurative language we will use in fiction are…

• similes

• metaphors

• idioms

• hyperboles

• personification

Understanding Figures of SpeechUnderstanding Figures of Speech

When you read a figure of speech, use what you know about one thing to help you understand more about the other.

In the water, Mark was a dolphin.

Dolphins are good swimmers.

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What Are Similes?

Similes are comparisons between two unlike things, using a word such as like, as, than, or resembles.

• The city lights twinkle like stars in the night sky.

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What Are Similes?

•Phoebe ran like a cheetah.

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What Are Metaphors?

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Metaphors are imaginative comparisons between two unlike things in which one thing is said to be another thing. A metaphor does not use like or as.

• The city lights are stars that

twinkle in the darkness.

What Are Metaphors?Metaphors are comparisons between two unlike things in which one thing becomes another thing.

•A metaphor says that one thing is something else.

•A metaphor does not use the words like, as, than, or resembles.

•The dog’s bark was thunder.

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Identify the type of figure of speech used in each of the following items.

1. Her cheerful laugh was a rainbow in a stormy sky.

2. Birds streamed across the sky like black ribbons.

3. The baby’s skin was as soft as rose petals.

4. A librarian’s mind is a treasure chest.

5. His smile was brighter than sunshine.

What Have You Learned?

Simile Metaphor

Metaphor

Simile

Metaphor

Simile

Simile

PersonificationPersonification    

•A figure of speech in which human A figure of speech in which human characteristics are givencharacteristics are givento an animal or an object. Example: My to an animal or an object. Example: My teddy bear gave me a hug.teddy bear gave me a hug.

   

AlliterationAlliteration •The repetition of the same initial letter, The repetition of the same initial letter, sound, or group of sounds in a series of sound, or group of sounds in a series of words.words.Alliteration includes tongue twisters. Alliteration includes tongue twisters. Example: She sells seashells by the Example: She sells seashells by the seashore. seashore.

   

OnomatopoeiaOnomatopoeia

•The use of a word to describe or imitate a The use of a word to describe or imitate a natural sound or the soundnatural sound or the soundmade by an object or an action. Example: made by an object or an action. Example: snap crackle pop. snap crackle pop.

   

HyperboleHyperbole •An exaggeration that is so dramatic that An exaggeration that is so dramatic that no one would believe the statement is true.no one would believe the statement is true.•Tall tales are hyperboles.Tall tales are hyperboles.•Example: He was so hungry, he ate that Example: He was so hungry, he ate that whole cornfield for lunch, stalks and all.whole cornfield for lunch, stalks and all.

   

IdiomsIdioms •According to Webster's Dictionary, an According to Webster's Dictionary, an idiom is defined as: peculiar to itselfidiom is defined as: peculiar to itselfeither grammatically (as no, it wasn't me) either grammatically (as no, it wasn't me) or in having a meaningor in having a meaningthat cannot be derived from the conjoined that cannot be derived from the conjoined meanings of its elementsmeanings of its elements(as Monday week for "the Monday a week (as Monday week for "the Monday a week after next Monday")after next Monday")

   

ClichésClichés   

•A cliché is an expression that has been A cliché is an expression that has been used so often that it has become triteused so often that it has become triteand sometimes boring. Example: Many and sometimes boring. Example: Many hands make light work. hands make light work.

   

Simile, metaphor, idiom, hyperbole, or personification

____ 1. Eric thinks doing schoolwork is one big video game.

____ 2. Lauren has made up her mind to volunteer every Tuesday after school.

____ 3. Thinking about summer camp makes me feel like a bundle of sunshine.

____ 4. As I delivered my speech, my voice sounded as if I’d swallowed rocks and sand.

____ 5. Emma may seem clumsy, but onstage she dances like a gazelle.

____ 6. Jacob expresses many feelings through his photography.

____ 7. My favorite tennis shoes have grown tired and weary.

____ 8. Before the soccer match, both teams attended a sportsmanship program.

____9. I have a ton of paperwork to do before I can enjoy the sun this summer.

____ 10. Sometimes I have to be my little brother’s brain.

_____11. Some students are getting swept out of the library.

_____12. Her brain is the size of a pea.

_____13. That joke went right over my head.

_____ 14. The students caught him with his pants down on Monday. I forgot about the field trip.

_____15. It was a group project, but everyone rode Andrew's coattail.

Choose a personality- Write 3-4 sentences using your two idiomatic expressions.

Illustrate to help the audience understand the idiom. DO NOT DEFINE!