
Title: Fig. Language & Shades of Meaning
 DO
NOW
In one paragraph explain what you did
during winter break? Please be sure to
write in complete sentences and make
your paragraph descriptive!
DRAMA:
Students will read plays and
dramatic text to identify figurative
language, shades of meaning,
character actions, images, setting,
and plot.

1.
2.
3.
4.
Please add these to your glossary:
drama: a story that is written to be
performed
identify: to recognize something or
discover exactly what it is
interpret: to explain the meaning of
something
meaning: the thing or idea that a word,
expression, or sign represents
1.
2.
3.
4.
Identify and interpret figurative language
Understand and identify “shades of meaning”
Practice!
Drama-
◦ You’re a Good Man, Charlie Brown
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Figurative language is language that
means something different from what
it says.
Figurative language can be in many
forms:
◦
◦
◦
◦
Words with multiple meanings
Similes
Metaphors
Personification

What is a simile?
◦ A comparison of two unlike things using “like” or
“as”

What is a metaphor?
◦ A comparison of two unlike things without using
“like” or “as”

Can you help me identify some similes,
metaphors, and personification?
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
His laugh was like thunder
The storm was an angry giant
The cake smelled like a chocolate factory
The car bravely struggled to get up the hill
He is a bear in the morning

Let’s take a look at an example:
◦ If we say that the kitten danced around the ball of
yarn, we know that the kitten is not really dancing
like humans dance, but is
moving around the toy quickly and
with grace.
This is also a form of
personification

Before we play a quick whiteboard
challenge, I want to show you a trick I
use to help me answer questions that
have words with multiple meanings:
◦ It’s called the tree branch method and
when ever I am confused, I pause and do
this quickly and it helps me find my
answer 
◦ So how do you use this trick?

Let’s say the word I’m trying to solve
for is plain and I need to make sure I
choose the correct answer that uses
the word plain correctly. Here is what I
would do to find my answer:
plain


I’m going to pass out whiteboards. Please
take out a dry-erase marker!
I want you to help me choose the letter of the
correct meaning of each underlined word
not fancy
B. level
C. clear
D. homely
A.
A.
B.
C.
D.
logic
money
aroma
feeling
*Pause: do you know what logic means?
logic = a way of thinking about something that
seems correct and reasonable
A.
B.
C.
D.
go after
use as a model
observe and copy
listen to and comprehend
A.
B.
C.
D.
good manners and taste
growing environment
ideas, customs, skills, and arts
microorganisms
A.
B.
C.
D.
sketching
preventing
outlining
getting
A.
B.
C.
D.
a
a
a
a
pleasant melody
band playing loudly
welcome sound
warning signal
Shades of meaning is a phrase used to
describe the small, subtle differences in
meaning between similar words or
phrases; 'kid' and 'youth' both refer to
young people, but carry differing views
and ideas about young people
= Shades of meaning describe words that
have slightly different meanings. They
may seem similar.




jump and hop = are similar, but slightly
different
The police seized the stolen goods = The
police grabbed the stolen goods
If you wanted to give a positive impression
of someone who is young = youthful (you
would not say: immature, babyish, childish)

Tucked in = can mean either to “put a child
into bed” or something that fits between two
things
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Another way to think about “shades of meaning”
are to think of them as synonyms.
Does anyone know what a synonym is?
◦ Synonym: a word with the same meaning as
another word in the same language
◦ Example: shut is a synonym for closed.
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Can you help me find a different “shade of
meaning” for the following words?

◦
◦
◦
◦
◦
Happy
Sad
Hungry
Destroy
Fancy
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What is the most positive way to say a person
is “sweet”?
A.
B.
C.
D.
kind
encouraging
thoughtful
giving
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Which of the following could be shades of
meaning for “run?”
A. walk, jog, sprint
B. crawl, roll, wheel-barrow
C. skip, trot, bounce
D. yellow, pink, brown

An example of words with different shades of
meaning is:
A. night and day
B. laugh and giggle
C. fast and slow
D. right and wrong
 Study
for a quiz on Wednesday on
the following:
1. Figurative language (metaphor,
simile, personification, words with
multiple meaning)
2. Shades of Meaning
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Let’s take a look at drama!
As we mentioned earlier, drama is a story that
is written to be performed.
Drama relies on figurative language and
“shades of meaning” to convey events in a
story
Dramas have characters, a setting, and a plot
that evolves around conflict. We will focus on
these elements at the end of this week.

What makes a drama different from a
short story?
◦ A drama uses dialogue = words spoken by
characters
Katrina: I can’t believe you said that!
William: I was only kidding
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As we read the drama today, look for
ways that the characters’ personalities
and beliefs are developed through
dialogue. You can tell a lot by what a
character is saying:
 Conflict
 Feelings and emotions

You will receive a graphic organizer that has
two sides:
1. Side one will focus on “Learning About Drama” so
we have a better understanding of what drama is
2. Side two will help us analyze the drama after we
read You’re a Good Man, Charlie Brown
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Please keep this taped in your notebook

Turn to page 790 in your Literature
Textbooks.