AusVELS Levels: 5&6
Year: 2014 Term: 3
Duration of Unit: Lessons 7
1 of 7: Making Comparisons with Similes and Metaphors
I know how to distinguish between
simile and metaphor.
A friend is like a mystery
still to be discovered
wanting to be figured out
A friend is like a book
always very clever
waiting to be read
WHAT’S A SIMILE?
WHAT’S A SIMILE? WHAT’S A METAPHOR?
WHAT’S A SIMILE? WHAT’S A METAPHOR?
Similes and metaphors are poetic techniques that let us compare two different things
in a descriptive way.
WHAT’S A SIMILE? WHAT’S A METAPHOR?
Similes and metaphors are poetic techniques that let us compare two different things
in a descriptive way. Here are some examples.
WHAT’S A SIMILE? WHAT’S A METAPHOR?
Similes and metaphors are poetic techniques that let us compare two different things
in a descriptive way. Here are some examples.
Similes
WHAT’S A SIMILE? WHAT’S A METAPHOR?
Similes and metaphors are poetic techniques that let us compare two different things
in a descriptive way. Here are some examples.
Similes
• I was standing perfectly still, like a statue.
• The cafeteria stew was as tasteless as mud.
• By tomorrow, our house will be as clean as a whistle.
WHAT’S A SIMILE? WHAT’S A METAPHOR?
Similes and metaphors are poetic techniques that let us compare two different things
in a descriptive way. Here are some examples.
Similes
• I was standing perfectly still, like a statue.
• The cafeteria stew was as tasteless as mud.
• By tomorrow, our house will be as clean as a whistle.
Metaphors
WHAT’S A SIMILE? WHAT’S A METAPHOR?
Similes and metaphors are poetic techniques that let us compare two different
things in a descriptive way. Here are some examples.
Similes
• I was standing perfectly still, like a statue.
• The cafeteria stew was as tasteless as mud.
• By tomorrow, our house will be as clean as a whistle.
Metaphors
 My sister likes to go to bed early, but I’m a night owl.
 You’re such a chicken.
 Life is a roller coaster of emotions.
Have you noticed the difference between similes and
metaphors?
Have you noticed the difference between similes and
metaphors?
A simile uses the word “like” or “as” to help make the
comparison. (You can remember this by how the word simile
looks like the word “similar.”)
Have you noticed the difference between similes and
metaphors?
A simile uses the word “like” or “as” to help make the
comparison. (You can remember this by how the word simile
looks like the word “similar.”)
On the other hand, a metaphor directly compares two things by
saying that one actually is the other.
EXERCISE 1:
Read each poem excerpt. Underline the comparative
phrase, and tell whether this comparison is a simile or a
metaphor.
For example (don’t write this one in your book)Sea-Fever (by John Masefield)
I must go down to the seas again, to the vagrant gypsy life,
To the gull’s way and the whale’s way, where the wind’s like a
whetted knife
EXERCISE 1:
Read each poem excerpt. Underline the comparative
phrase, and tell whether this comparison is a simile or a
metaphor.
For example (don’t write this one in your book)Sea-Fever (by John Masefield)
I must go down to the seas again, to the vagrant gypsy life,
To the gull’s way and the whale’s way, where the wind’s like a
whetted knife
EXERCISE 1:
Read each poem excerpt. Underline the comparative
phrase, and tell whether this comparison is a simile or a
metaphor.
For example (don’t write this one in your book)Sea-Fever (by John Masefield)
I must go down to the seas again, to the vagrant gypsy life,
To the gull’s way and the whale’s way, where the wind’s like a
whetted knife (simile)
EXERCISE 1:
The Base Stealer (by Robert Francis)
Poised between going on and back, pulled
Both ways taut like a tightrope-walker…
I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud (by William Wordsworth)
I wandered lonely as a cloud
That floats on high o’er vales and hills…
Hope is the Thing with Feathers (by Emily Dickinson)
“Hope” is the thing with feathers
That perches in the soul—
And sings the tune without the words—
And never stops—at all…
EXERCISE 2:
EXERCISE 2:
Write 5 different similes about yourself. Here is
one example:
EXERCISE 2:
Write 5 different similes about yourself. Here is
one example:
When it’s time for dinner, I’m as hungry as a tiger!
EXERCISE 2:
Write 5 different similes about yourself. Here is
one example:
When it’s time for dinner, I’m as hungry as a tiger!
Then, change your similes into metaphors. Your
example might look like this:
EXERCISE 2:
Write 5 different similes about yourself. Here is
one example:
When it’s time for dinner, I’m as hungry as a tiger!
Then, change your similes into metaphors. Your
example might look like this:
Last night at dinner, I was a tiger attacking my food!
Look at the similes and metaphors that
you created in EXERCISE 2.
Which of your ideas works best as a
metaphor?
Which ones work best as a simile?
Explain why you think so.