Cornell Notes
Topic/Objective: SWBAT interpret figures of speech
Name:
Class/Period:
in context.
Date:
Essential Question: How do readers construct meaning from text?
Questions:
What is a figure of speech?
Notes:
A writing or speech not intended to be taken literally
Types:
Personification
A non-human thing is given a human trait or characteristic
"snowdrifts swallowed up automobiles"
human trait
non-human thing
"the old engine cough[ed] and choke[d]" human trait
non-human thing
Simile
Uses like, as, or than to make a direct comparison between two unlike ideas or things
"[Doris] lying there, like stone, still exhausted"
Two unlike things being compared
Tells the reader that this comparison is a simile
Summary:
Questions:
metaphor
Notes:
A comparison of two unlike things where one becomes the other
Differs from simile because a metaphor does not use like or as
Ex. Mrs. Hynes is a bear today. (Metaphor) Comparison of two unlike things: Mrs.
Hynes and a bear, where one becomes the other.
Ex. Mrs. Hynes looks like a bear today. (Simile) Comparison of two unlike things:
Mrs. Hynes and a bear, using like.
Both have the same figurative meaning: Mrs. Hynes is in a bad mood.
Hyperbole
Extreme exaggeration or overstatement
Ex. It’s (the sweater) maybe a thousand years old. (Eleven)
Steps to understanding
Figures of speech
1. Show how the figure of speech meets the definition of the type.
Draw and label.
2. Picture in your mind what the figure of speech would look like if you read
The words exactly as they appear. (LITERAL MEANING)
3. Go back to the story and find the figure of speech. Reread the figure of
speech in context. What does the author want the reader to understand?
(FIGURATIVE MEANING)
Summary: