Go Figure!

Figurative Language

Language Types

We’re going to look at two types of language:

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figurative language

and literal language

Recognizing Literal Language

Literal language is language that means exactly what is said.

Most of the time, we use literal language.Most of the time, we use literal language.

For Example:

� If I tell you to sit down!

� I mean it literally: “sit down,” as in: “sit in your

seat now, please.”

What is figurative language?

�Whenever you describe something by comparing it with something else, you are using figurative language.

To be figurative is to not mean what you say but imply something else.

For example:

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I’m not suggesting we get into the freezer.

For example:

If, I tell you: “let’s go chill!”

Figurative continued

“let’s go chill” …

…means let’s relax

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It has nothing

to do with temperature.

…means let’s relax together and do something fun.

Types of Figurative Language

� Imagery

�Simile

�Metaphor

Alliteration�Alliteration

�Personification

�Onomatopoeia

�Hyperbole

� Idioms

Onomatopoeia

�The use of words that mimic sounds.

Example: The firecracker made a loud ka-boom!loud ka-boom!

Onomatopoeia is the use of words

whose sounds make you think of their

meanings.

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For example; buzz, thump, pop.

Many comic strips use onomatopoeia.

Onomatopoeia

Examples of the onomatopoeia:

�Bang, went the gun!

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�Swoosh went the basketball

through the hoop.

Activity (Homework if not finished)� You will be given a list of onomatopoeia words and a

sheet of paper.

� You need to use 15 of the words on the list. Cut them

out and place them wherever you would like on the out and place them wherever you would like on the

sheet.

� You need to use them in sentences. If you want to

draw pictures with sentences then go for it.

� Have Fun! Figurative Language is fun!

Personification

� human characteristics are given to nonhuman things.

Example: “The wind yells while blowing." Example: “The wind yells while blowing."

The wind cannot yell. Only a living thing can yell.

� You can personify objects:

� The lights blinked in the distance.

� The moon is a harsh mistress.

� Your computer hates me.

� You can personify concepts:

� Time marches on.

� It’s not nice to fool Mother Nature.

� You can personify animals:

� The birds expressed their joy.

� The groundhog hovered indecisively

Examples: What do they mean?

� The wind sang her mournful song through the falling leaves.

� The microwave timer told me it was time to turn my TV dinner.

� The video camera observed the whole scene.

� The strawberries seemed to sing, "Eat me first!“

� The rain kissed my cheeks as it fell.

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� The rain kissed my cheeks as it fell.

� The daffodils nodded their yellow heads at the walkers.

� The water beckoned invitingly to the hot swimmers.

� The snow whispered as it fell to the ground during the early

morning hours.

� The china danced on the shelves during the earthquake.

� The car engine coughed and sputtered when it started during

the blizzard.

Partner Practice� You will be given an item to personify.

� Write 1-2 sentences giving the item a

‘persons’ quality‘persons’ quality

Activity� You will get a feeling to personify.

� Write a paragraph for each one.

� Publish a copy.

SillySillySillySilly

Silly is a class clown. He always stumbles into class late with a goofy grin on his face. His best friend is Jolly. Together he and Jolly see how much they can make he and Jolly see how much they can make their teacher, Grouchy, laugh. Silly wears polka dots and stripes to school. In his spare time Silly loves to hang out with his Uncle Chuckle.

ConfusedConfusedConfusedConfused

Confused is never on time because she can’t figure out what time it is! She is often lost. Her favorite food is…she doesn’t have one. Confused is friends with baffled and bewildered. Confused is friends with baffled and bewildered. She wears dresses to school and jeans and a tee shirt to dances. Confused spends most of her time trying to figure out her homework. It’s very frustrating being confused.

The SeaBy James Reeves

The sea is a hungry dog,

Giant and grey.

He rolls on the beach all day.

With his hungry teeth and shaggy jaws

Hour upon hour he gnaws

The rumbling, tumbling stones,

And ‘Bones, bones, bones, bones!’

But on quiet days in May and June,

When even the grasses on the dune

Play no more their reedy tune,

With his head between his paws

He lies on the sandy shores,

So quiet, so quiet, he scarcely

snores.And ‘Bones, bones, bones, bones!’

The giant sea-dog moans,

Licking his greasy paws.

And when the night wind roars

And the moon rocks in the stormy cloud,

He bounds to his feet and snuffs and sniffs,

Shaking his wet sides over the cliff,

And howls and hollos long and loud.

snores.

Idioms

An idiom is an expression that has a meaning apart from the meanings of its individual words.

� It’s raining cats and dogs. Its literal meaning suggests that cats and dogs are falling from the sky. We interpret it to mean that it is raining hard.

� To stick your neck out is to say or do something that is bold and a bit dangerous. A similar idiom that is used for slightly more dangerous situations is to "go out on a limb." In both idioms, the dangerous situations is to "go out on a limb." In both idioms, the idea is that you put yourself in a vulnerable position.

� To break the ice is to be the first one to say or do something, with the expectation that others will then follow. Another idiom that means something similar is "get the ball rolling.“

� To have a chip on one's shoulder is usually an expression to describe a person who acts, as you say, rudely or aggressively, but also in a manner that could be described as "aggressively defensive." The person seems always ready for a fight.

IdiomsAn expression that means something other than the literal meanings

of its individual words.

Feel like a fish out of waterBe like a fish out of water

Meaning:Feel uncomfortable because you are in an unfamiliar

situation.

If you feel like a fish out of water, you feel awkward or

uncomfortable because you are in an unusual or

unfamiliar situation.unfamiliar situation.

Example:I don't like going to the big parties they have. I always

feel like a fish out of water there.

Todd is a country boy raised in a small town in

Northumberland and was like a fish out of water when

he visited bustling London.

Simile

�A figure of speech which involves a direct comparison between two unlike things, usually with the words like or as. like or as.

Example: The muscles on his brawny arms are strong as iron bands.

Metaphor

� A figure of speech which involves an implied comparison between two relatively unlike things using a form of be. The comparison is not announced by like or as. as.

Example: The road was a ribbon wrapped through the dessert.

Hyperbole

Hyperbole

Is an exaggeration. It is an extreme way of

saying something.

Examples:

� She’s said so on several million occasions.� She’s said so on several million occasions.

� We have a ton of homework.

� I nearly died laughing.

� I tried a thousand times.

Hyperbole

�A hyperbole is often compared with a simile or a

metaphor because it compares two objects.

�A Hyperbole is comparing something “normal” to

something really big or extreme. something really big or extreme.

� Hyperboles are often used for a humorous effect.

Many jokes use hyperboles.

� My dog is so ugly, we have to pay the fleas to live on

him.

� My best friend is so forgetful, I have to remind her

what her name is.

� My teacher is so old, she taught the cavemen how to

make fire.

� My friend was so honest, when he got locked in the

grocery store he starved to death.

� My sister has such long legs, she needs to sit in the

backseat to drive.

Hyperbole Joke Competition

� Mrs. White will give out the beginning to a joke.

� Your group has 3 minutes to create the punch line using a hyperbole.

� When the time is over each group will present their punch line.

� The best joke gets a point, and has their joke displayed.

� The team with the most points at the end of the contest doesn’t have homework.

Joke Guidelines� Jokes must be school appropriate.

� Do not use people’s names.

� Must use a hyperbole.

� Jokes that don’t follow these 3 simple rules

will be disqualified and have two homework

assignments.

Our school is so small…Our school is so small…

My uncle is so tall…My uncle is so tall…

My dog is so dumb…My dog is so dumb…

My best friend’s hair is so long…My best friend’s hair is so long…

Mrs. Shutty is so mean…Mrs. Shutty is so mean…

My sister is so skinny…My sister is so skinny…

Mrs. Anlec is so crazy…Mrs. Anlec is so crazy…

This test is so hard…This test is so hard…

This class is so boring…This class is so boring…

My brother’s ears are so big…My brother’s ears are so big…

The garbage smelled so bad The garbage smelled so bad

that…

Alliteration

� Repeated consonant sounds occurring at the beginning of words or within words.

Example: She was wide-eyed and wondering while she waited for Walter wondering while she waited for Walter to waken.

Imagery

�Language that appeals to the senses. Descriptions of people or objects stated in terms of our senses.

• Sight • Sight • Hearing • Touch • Taste • Smell

Figurative Language Resources

� Eye on Idioms (Online PPT)

� Paint by Idioms (Game)

� Alliteration or Simile? (Quiz)

� Similes and Metaphors (PPT)

� The Search for Similes, Metaphors, and � The Search for Similes, Metaphors, and Idioms (PPT)

� Alliteration (PPT)

� Onomatopoeia (PPT)

� Personification (PPT)

� Hyperbole (PPT)

� Idioms (PPT)

� Simile (PPT)

Teaching Similes and MetaphorsTeaching Similes and MetaphorsTeaching Similes and MetaphorsTeaching Similes and Metaphors� Alliteration Lesson Plan and Resources

http://volweb.utk.edu/Schools/bedford/harrisms/1allitera.htm

� Hyperbole- Lesson Plans and Resources http://volweb.utk.edu/Schools/bedford/harrisms/10lesson.htm

� Idiom Lesson Plan http://volweb.utk.edu/Schools/bedford/harrisms/6lesson.htm

� Imagery- Lesson Plans and Resources http://volweb.utk.edu/Schools/bedford/harrisms/imagery2.htm

� Lesson Plan for Puns http://volweb.utk.edu/Schools/bedford/harrisms/5lesson.htm

� Onomatopoeia- Lesson Plans and Resources http://volweb.utk.edu/Schools/bedford/harrisms/9lesson.htm

� Personification Lesson Plans and Resources

http://volweb.utk.edu/Schools/bedford/harrisms/7lesson.htm

� Proverbs- Lesson Plans and Resources http://volweb.utk.edu/Schools/bedford/harrisms/proverbs2.htm