Interpreting Figurative Language

"What happens to a dream deferred?
Does it dry up like a raisin in the sun?"
-Langston Hughes
This simile asks the reader...

• If you leave your raisins in the sun, will they dry up?
• Whether or not Langston was dreaming about raisins.
• If you daydream in the sun, are your dreams deferred?
• If you put off your dreams, do they fade away?

Tags

CCSS.RL.8.4

CCSS.RL.8.10

CCSS.RL.8.5

CCSS.RL.9-10.10

CCSS.RL.9-10.9

Winter had wrapped a white blanket over the city.
The author is implying that...

• Spring was finally coming
• It had snowed
• The buildings appeared brighter in the winter
• It was so cold that people needed blankets

Tags

CCSS.RI.8.1

CCSS.RL.8.1

CCSS.RI. 9-10.1

CCSS.RL.7.1

CCSS.RL.9-10.2

Marcy became a waterfall when she saw the D on her report card.
The author is saying...

• Marcy screamed
• Marcy began to cry
• Marcy poured water in her report card
• Marcy fell down

Tags

CCSS.RI.8.1

CCSS.RL.8.1

CCSS.RI.9-10.1

CCSS.RL.11-12.1

CCSS.RL.9-10.1

The boy across the street has a heart as big as all outdoors.

• The boy has an enlarged heart
• The boy is very selfish and mean
• The boy loves hiking and fishing
• The boy is very kind and giving

Tags

CCSS.RL.8.4

CCSS.RI.8.4

CCSS.RI.9-10.4

CCSS.RL.11-12.4

CCSS.RL.9-10.4

She had eyes like coffee saucers.
What is the author implying?

• She had perfectly round eyes.
• She had large eyes.
• She often thought that she saw UFOs
• She had gotted coffee in her eyes.

Tags

CCSS.L.3.5A

CCSS.RL.3.4

She made a fatal mistake when she signed the agreement.
The phrase implies that the girl...

• died soon after signing
• signed her name incorrectly
• made a very bad mistake
• signed someone's death certificate

Tags

CCSS.L.3.5A

CCSS.RL.3.4

Jill's brilliant contribution threw some new light on the problem.
This sentence implies that:

• Jill was upset that her new light had problems.
• Jill brought a light to the room which made it easier to see.
• Jill thre her light out as she got a new one.
• Jill's suggestion helped them see things in a new way.

Tags

CCSS.L.3.5A

CCSS.RL.3.4

His life was full of struggling that wore him down like a snowman in the spring.
The author is saying...

• His life became easier like flowers blooming in the spring.
• He became constantly more exhausted from his life.
• His difficult life made him begin to melt.
• He struggled all of his life to make a perfect snowman.

Tags

CCSS.RL.8.4

CCSS.RI.8.4

CCSS.RI.9-10.4

CCSS.RL.11-12.4

CCSS.RL.9-10.4

The shattered water made a misty din.
Great waves looked over others coming in.
"Once by the Pacific" by Robert Frost
Line 2 of this poem...

• makes waves seem human
• compares the waves to one another
• makes the reader hear the waves
• exaggerates the size of the waves

Tags

CCSS.RL.8.4

CCSS.RL.8.10

CCSS.RL.8.5

CCSS.RL.9-10.10

CCSS.RL.9-10.9

I wandered lonely as a cloud That floats on high o'er vales and hills, When all at once I saw a crowd, A host, of golden daffodils; Beside the lake, beneath the trees, Fluttering and dancing in the breeze. 
What did the author see?

• people dancing beneath the trees
• flowers being moved around the breeze
• clouds blowing by
• a crowd of people floating in a lake

Tags

CCSS.L.4.5

CCSS.L.5.5

CCSS.L.6.5

CCSS.L.7.5

CCSS.L.8.5