ELA 8 Similes and Metaphors

Poll

My dream vacation would be:

• on the beach

• in the mountains

• in a bustling city

Today's Objective

8.5 The student will read and analyze a variety of fictional texts, literary nonfiction, poetry, and drama.
d) Explain the use of symbols and figurative language.

Figurative Language

• When we use literal language, we are using words in their usual, most basic sense. Think of this as their dictionary definition.

• When we use figurative language, we use words and phrases to mean something other than their literal meaning.

Multiple Choice

Read the following passage.

The first time Angela visited the museum, her head was spinning from all the new sights around her. The museum was full of displays about different animals and plants. The rooms were packed with strange stuffed birds, glass cases full of feathers. She learned so much information about all the weird and wonderful creatures in the world.

Which detail from the passage is an example of figurative language?

• “It was full of displays about different animals and plants.”

• “The first time Angela visited the museum…”

• “The rooms were packed with strange stuffed birds...”

• “...her head was spinning from all the new sights...”

​Similes and Metaphors

• Similes and metaphors are a type of figurative language that creates feelings and vivid images.

• Similes and metaphors both make comparisons but they do it in different ways.

• A simile uses the words "like" or "as" to specify how two things are alike.

• A metaphor doesn’t use "like" or "as." It states the comparison directly.

Metaphors can use imagery to create the mood for the reader.

Look at this image. How can you describe the nighttime using a metaphor that compares night and a cave without using the word like or as?

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Metaphors

Open Ended

Use a metaphor to compare the darkness of night and a cave.

The first draft of the story reads: "The cave was dark."

In the next draft, this sentence was revised: "The night was a cave of darkness."

By calling the night "a cave of darkness," the writer makes us imagine a darkness so deep that it is like a cave. That adds a lot more to the story than the simple, literal sentence, "The night was dark."

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Metaphors

Multiple Choice

Read the following sentence.

The parking lot was hot and empty.

Which of the following revisions uses a metaphor to make the sentence more vivid?

• It was 100 degrees in the parking lot.

• There had never been a hotter place than the parking lot.

• The parking lot was simply scorching.

• The parking lot was a desert.

Not every sentence with the word "like" is a simile. When looking for similes, be sure to find sentences that make comparisons between two different things.

Multiple Choice

Read the following passage.

My new teacher Ms. Grossman could have been a pirate captain in another life. She looks like she is adventurous--I like tall, rugged boots she wears. Sometimes when she stands at the front of the class, I imagine her on a deck or behind a ship’s wheel. To me, her voice is like a loud, rough sea. It’s harsh but also soothing to hear.

Which sentence from the passage contains a simile?

• “My new teacher Ms. Grossman could have been a pirate captain in another life.”

• “And her voice is like a loud, rough sea.”

• “She looks like she is adventurous.”

• “I like the puffy, flowing blouses she wears.”

Tone

• Tone is important to keep in mind when thinking about similes and metaphors.

• Tone is the attitude a writer has toward the subject.

• Tone can be revealed in word choice and imagery.

• An author will use figurative language to match the tone of their writing.

Multiple Choice

If a story has a mysterious tone, which would be the best simile about the wind to include in it?

• I felt the wind blow as gently as a child’s sigh

• I heard the wind dance wildly, like an energetic kitten.

• I felt the wind at my back, like a friendly pat.

• I heard the wind whispering like a ghost through my curtains.

"Pita was all bug-eyed and big-eared, nodding like a ratoncita, nervous as a little mouse sitting precariously on the edge of a wooden trap" (110).

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Summer of the Mariposas

Multiple Choice

Let's Deconstruct!

Pita was all bug-eyed and big-eared,

What do the words "bug-eyed" and "big-eared" suggest?

• Pita is sleepy and ready for bed.

• Pita eyes are wide and she's listening closely.

• Pita has really big ears.

• Pita is afraid of bugs.

Multiple Choice

"Pita was all bug-eyed and big-eared,

nodding like a ratoncita, nervous as a little mouse

sitting precariously on the edge of a wooden trap."

What two things are being compared in this simile?

• Pita and a mouse

• nodding and nervousness

• little and mouse

• A mouse and a rat

Multiple Choice

sitting precariously on the edge of a wooden trap

What does the word "precariously" mean?

• safely

• dangerously

• quietly

• sleepily

Multiple Choice

"Pita was all bug-eyed and big-eared, nodding like a ratoncita, nervous as a little mouse sitting precariously on the edge of a wooden trap" (110).

What does this sentence tell us about Pita as she listens?

• Pita is afraid to go to her grandmother's house.

• Pita can't keep a secret.

• Pita feel anxious about the story.

• Pita has a pet mouse.

Word Cloud

Share two words that describe your spring break plans!