1. Fun with Figurative Language
Mrs. Read
2011

2. What is figurative language?
Language that uses words or expressions with a meaning that is different from the literal interpretation
Ex: The runner was as fast as a rocket blasting into outer space
Why do authors use figurative language?

3. What are some examples of figurative language?
Similes
Metaphors
Personification
Alliteration
Assonance
Idioms
Onomatopoeia

4. Super Similes What is a simile? A comparison using LIKE or AS
Similes compare two objects that aren’t alike except in one way
Finish this sentence:
The apple was as shiny as __________
Think about what the author is trying to say in each example…

5. Similes cont…
In the following sentences, what two things are being compared?
Sam waited impatiently for his older brother to calm down. “Bill, I think you are acting like a baby,” he said.
Karen was offended when I said that she was as flaky as a snowstorm.
Be careful when you go out. The sidewalk is as slippery as greased glass.

6. Similes cont… Try these too…
I’m not comfortable about this situation. I feel like a bug sitting under a magnifying glass.
I hoped our play would be a success and last for many performances. However, I guess it will last as long as a balloon in a roomful of kittens.
I really like Patty. Her heart is as soft as a feather pillow.
Cheryl’s smile is as sweet as a lullaby.

7. Mighty Metaphors What is a metaphor?
A comparison that does not use LIKE or AS
It is similar to a simile, however it states that something IS something else
Finish this sentence:
The strong wind was _____________
Once again, think about what the author is trying to say by using a metaphor

8. Metaphors cont…
In the following sentences, what two things are being compared?
Brian was a wall, bouncing every tennis ball back over the net.
We would have had more pizza to eat if Tammy hadn’t been such a hog.
Cindy was such a mule. We couldn’t get her to change her mind.
The poor rat didn’t have a chance. Our old cat, a bolt of lightning, caught his prey.

9. Awesome Alliteration What is alliteration?
The repetition of beginning sounds in words
Ex: Billy baked a blueberry for his beautiful Bertha

10. Alliteration cont… Rules for alliteration:
Alliteration is not necessarily the repetition of letters, but a repetition of consonant sounds
Ex: fish and physics
Alliteration is not just repeating consonant sounds at the beginning of words; it is also used on the strongest, stressed syllable of a word
Ex: above and belt 

11. Alliteration cont… Why do authors use alliteration?
Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers…
Is this more silly or serious?
The whistling wind was winding down the wooden path

12. Alliteration cont…
Can you create a silly sentence using alliteration with the letter “C”?
Can you create a serious sentence using alliteration with the letter “S”?

13. Perfect Personification
“The stars danced playfully in the moonlit sky”
“The first rays of sunshine tiptoed through the meadow”
“Time flew, and before I knew it, it was time for me to go home”
“The thunder grumbled like an old man”

14. Personification cont…
What is personification?
Personification is giving human qualities and characteristics to things that are not human.
Can stars really dance?
Can sunshine really tiptoe?
Can time really fly?
Cam thunder really grumble?

15. Personification cont…
Why do authors use personification?
To make something clearer to the reader
“The flowers waltzed in the gentle breeze”
To emphasize a point
“When the DVD went on sale, it flew off the shelves”

16. Personification cont... Can you personify a tornado?
Can you personify the clouds?
Can you personify a car?
Try and find examples in a book you are reading!

17. Huge Hyperbole “I’m so hungry I could eat a horse!”
Can I really eat a horse?
“My backpack weighed a ton!”
Does it really weigh a ton (2,000 pounds)?
“It took forever to get to the beach”
Did it really take forever?

18. Hyperbole cont… In all of those examples, what was the author doing?
Exaggerating!
Hyperbole is a statement of extreme exaggeration
Why do authors use hyperbole?
To emphasize something
To get a point across

19. Sarah Cynthia Sylvia Stout Would not take the garbage out
Sarah Cynthia Sylvia Stout Would not take the garbage out! She’d scour the pots and scrape the pans, Candy the yams and spice the hams, And though her daddy would scream and shout, She simply would not take the garbage out. And so it piled up to the ceilings: Coffee grounds, potato peelings, Brown bananas, rotten peas, Chunks of sour cottage cheese. It filled the can, it covered the floor, It cracked the window, it blocked the door… The garbage rolled down the hall, It raised the roof, it broke the wall. . . At last the garbage reached so high That finally it touched the sky. And all the neighbors moved away, And none of her friends would come out to play. And finally Sarah Cynthia Stout said, “OK, I’ll take the garbage out!” But then, of course, it was too late. . . The garbage reached across the state…

20. Sarah Cynthia Sylvia Stout Would not take the garbage out
Sarah Cynthia Sylvia Stout Would not take the garbage out! She’d scour the pots and scrape the pans, Candy the yams and spice the hams, And though her daddy would scream and shout, She simply would not take the garbage out. And so it piled up to the ceilings: Coffee grounds, potato peelings, Brown bananas, rotten peas, Chunks of sour cottage cheese. It filled the can, it covered the floor, It cracked the window, it blocked the door… The garbage rolled down the hall, It raised the roof, it broke the wall. . . At last the garbage reached so high That finally it touched the sky. And all the neighbors moved away, And none of her friends would come out to play. And finally Sarah Cynthia Stout said, “OK, I’ll take the garbage out!” But then, of course, it was too late. . . The garbage reached across the state…

21. Hyperbole cont…
What is being exaggerated in the following examples, and what does the author mean?
My teacher is so old, she remembers when the dinosaurs died.
My brother is so tall, he has to duck to walk under the telephone lines.
I nearly died laughing.
I tried a thousand times to do a cartwheel.
My mom’s lecture on cleaning my room lasted for a year.

22. Imaginative Idioms
I am head over heels in love with donuts. I have such a sweet tooth! Trying to avoid eating donuts is a major pain in the neck, but sometimes if I buy too many, it costs me an arm and a leg.
What idioms do you see in this paragraph??

23. Idioms cont… Head over heels in love Sweet tooth Pain in the neck
Very much in love
Sweet tooth
Like sweet foods very much
Pain in the neck
Something that bothers a person
Costs an arm and a leg
Very expensive

24. Idioms cont… What is an idiom?
A sentence/phrase that means something different from its literal translation
Why would idioms be difficult for someone who does not speak English?
You can’t just look up the definition in a dictionary. It means something completely different!

25. Idioms cont…
*Zip your lips *Fishing for a compliment *Cat got your tongue? *Couch potato *Cut it out *Falling in love *Feeling blue *Raining cats and dogs *A piece of cake
*Can’t speak
*Feeling a strong attraction to someone
*Looking for something nice to be said
*Raining very hard
*Very easy
*Stop it
*Be quiet
*Sad
*Lazy

26. Amazing Assonance What is assonance? Here’s your clue:
Cheap dreams of sleeping people
Dead in the middle of little Italy, little did we know that we riddled two middle men who didn’t do diddly
I must confess that in my quest I felt depressed and restless

27. Assonance cont… So what is assonance?
The repetition of identical or similar vowel sounds in neighboring words
What vowel sound is being repeated?
Cheap dreams of sleeping people (long E)
Dead in the middle of little Italy, little did we know that we riddled two middle men who didn’t do diddly (ih)
I must confess that in my quest I felt depressed and restless (eh)

28. Assonance cont… So why do authors use assonance?
It creates an effect that allows the writing to move forward differently, giving rhythm to the words!
Isn’t it the same as rhyming?
No! Only the vowel sound stays the same. The other sounds can change (ex: happy cat – happy and cat do not rhyme, but they have the same vowel sound)

29. Assonance cont… Let’s try and think of our own examples.
Pick a word, any word
Ex: Light
Now think of some words that have that same VOWEL sound
Ex: kite, dime, sigh, try, fly, my, climb, slime, fry
Now put some of your words together to make a sentence
Ex: The light kite sighed as it tried to fly in the sky but instead was fried in slime

30. Outstanding Onomatopoeia
Onomto-what??
What is Onomatopoeia?
Words that attempt to recreate the sound they represent
Can you give some examples?
Crash Ring Boom
Bang Bam Swish
Squeal Zip Pow

31. Onomatopoeia cont…

32. Onomatopoeia cont…

33. Onomatopoeia cont…

34. Onomatopoeia cont… What word might you put with this picture?

35. Onomatopoeia cont… What word might you put with this picture?

36. Onomatopoeia cont… Why do authors use onomatopoeia?
It makes the text more realistic
It appeals to the 5 senses – we can imagine exactly what is happening based on the word
It makes the writing fun!

37. Onomatopoeia cont… There are several types of onomatopoeia: Mechanical
Click, buzz, clunk
Musical
Rattle, boom, tap, jingle
Fighting
Pow, smash, bam, kaplow
Fast motion
Woosh, zoom, boing, vroom
Animal
Woof, meow, oink, moo