Figurative Language
Giving Human Traits to non-human things
What is personification?
Willow walked on the field for her first day of baseball practice. She had played basketball before her family relocated, but her new school didn’t have a basketball team. So, she decided to take the plunge and try a new sport! Her cousin, Brett, was on the team and had told her that she would enjoy baseball.
What does relocated me?
a) moved b) changes c) started d) found
What is moved?
Chocolate is my Achilles heel.
What does Achilles heel mean?
What is a weakness?
What type of figurative language is:
The classroom was a zoo.
What is a metaphor?
I am going to die of hunger!!!
What is a hyperbole?
An exaggeration that cannot be true.
What is a hyperbole?
The coach called out the roster of names and each student said “Here!” Then, practice gear was handed out and the team began to talk and stretch. “Cat got your tongue?” a boy said to Willow who was sitting quietly. “Sorry, it is my first day playing baseball. I feel like a fish out of water.” Willow answered. “Don’t worry!” the boy responded. “We will all help you!”
What does the word roster mean?
a) team b) equipment c) schedule d) list
What is d?
Ms. Skiles is a real Einstein.
What does an Einstein mean?
What is smart?
___ helps you determine what an unknown word is in a text.
What is context clues?
My heart danced.
What is personification?
An expression that doesn't really mean what it says.
What is an idiom?
She knew how important it was to get these lines right because the whole cast depended on her. She was Atlas, with the weight of the world on her shoulders. Her castmate Finn could sense her stress. He offered to help her with her lines so that she wouldn’t have to face this on her own.
What do you think depended means and what context clues helped you?
What is relied on?
Clues: Whole cast, important
Don't act like a scrooge.
What does it mean to act like a scrooge?
What is a selfish mean person?
The coach called out the roster of names and each student said “Here!” Then, practice gear was handed out and the team began to talk and stretch. “Cat got your tongue?” a boy said to Willow who was sitting quietly. “Sorry, it is my first day playing baseball. I feel like a fish out of water.” Willow answered. “Don’t worry!” the boy responded. “We will all help you!”
What is the meaning of the idiom, "Cat got your tongue?"
A)Do you have a cat?
B)Do you think it will rain today?
C)Why are you being so quiet?
D)That is a funny joke!
What is C?
What is a simile?
A comparison of two unlike using "like" or "as"
What is a simile?
Christi had landed the lead role in her school play. She had been practicing her lines for weeks and knew them like the back of her hand when she was reciting the lines in her mirror. However, when it came time for rehearsal, she always forgot the last few lines of Act One.
What do you think the word reciting means and what context clue helped you?
What is practicing and reading aloud?
Clues: Lines, in the mirror
She knew how important it was to get these lines right because the whole cast depended on her. She was Atlas, with the weight of the world on her shoulders. Her castmate Finn could sense her stress. He offered to help her with her lines so that she wouldn’t have to face this on her own.
What does it mean when she says, "Atlas, with the weight of the world on her shoulders."?
Atlas was forced to hold up the sky in Greek Mythology. She felt “the weight of the world on her shoulders,” because she knew how important it was that she get her lines right.
The coach called out the roster of names and each student said “Here!” Then, practice gear was handed out and the team began to talk and stretch. “Cat got your tongue?” a boy said to Willow who was sitting quietly. “Sorry, it is my first-day playing baseball. I feel like a fish out of water.” Willow answered. “Don’t worry!” the boy responded. “We will all help you!”
Explain what Willow means when she says she feels like a fish out of water.
Willow felt uncomfortable, in a place that she wasn’t used to, like a fish would feel if it were out of water. She had never played baseball before and was feeling uneasy about this new environment.
It is raining cats and dogs outside today.
What is an idiom?
A casual reference to a famous historical or literal figure or event.
What is an allusion?
Christi and Finn practiced for the next week until she had her lines memorized. Dress rehearsal went seamlessly and opening night came. “Break a leg!” Finn called out to Christi as she took the stage. “I don’t need luck because I had your help, Finn,” Christi replied. “Thank you!”
What do you think the word seamlessly means and what context clue helped you?
What is smoothly?
Context clue: -less, without= no seam
If looks could kill, the icy glare in her eyes would have struck me down where I stood.
What does if looks could kill mean?
Christi and Finn practiced for the next week until she had her lines memorized. Dress rehearsal went seamlessly and opening night came. “Break a leg!” Finn called out to Christi as she took the stage. “I don’t need luck because I had your help, Finn,” Christi replied. “Thank you!”
What does he mean when he says "break a leg"? Use text to support your answer.
Finn means good luck. This is a common saying in theater. Christi replied, “I don’t need luck”, which shows that this is what he meant.
She had the weight of the wold on her shoulders as she prepared for her performance.