FIGURATIVE LANGUAGE
Learning Target:
Identifies Literary Devices within Text
WHAT IS A SIMILE?
A simile is a figure of speech that compares two
things
 Uses the words like or as
Examples:
The snow is like a soft white blanket.
The snow fell, as quietly as a feather drifting to the
ground.
An eraser is like a rewind button for your brain!
Her smile is as dazzling as diamonds in the sun.

WHAT IS A METAPHOR?
A metaphor is a figure of speech that compares
two things WITHOUT using the words like or as
Examples:
The snow is a soft white blanket.
My pencil is my voice on paper.
She was a gazelle, clearing the hurdles with
ease.
The breeze was a soft touch on my cheek.

IN THE BOOKS WE READ…
Authors often use similes and metaphors to
create vivid descriptions
 Writers use similes and metaphors to describe
a character or some important action
 Writers use similes and metaphors when they
want the reader to “see” what is happening.

LET’S TAKE A LOOK…
SONG AND DANCE MAN

The author, Karen Ackerman, describes
Grandpa’s dancing and singing:
“His feet move slowly at first,
while his tap shoes make soft,
slippery sounds like rain on a tin
roof…He does a new step that
sounds like a woodpecker tapping
on a tree. Suddenly, his shoes
move faster, and he begins to
sing. His voice is as round and
strong as a canyon echo…”
I CAN HEAR THE SUN


The author, Patricia Polacco ,uses figurative
language just as the geese return to Lake
Merritt:
“Then they heard a sound in the
darkness. At first, it was a soft
distant symphony of rushing wind,
but it built like summer thunder:
low, deep, and grand.”
JANUARY


Poets use similes and metaphors to create clear images for the reader.
In this stanza from a poem entitled “January,” John Updike presents a
metaphor comparing the sun, a fiery ball of gas, to a short spark, in order to
describe the short days between the long nights of winter.
“The days are short,
The sun a spark
Hung thin between
The dark and dark.”
ACTIVITY

In groups of three, go through each book and
identify examples of figurative language each
author uses. Mark each page with a sticky
note. Be ready to share your examples with the
class.
Learning Target: Identifies Literary Devices
within Text