1. Figurative Language= Fun Figures of Speech
hyperbole
alliteration
simile
Figurative Language= Fun Figures of Speech
personification
onomatopoeia
idiom
metaphor

2. literal and figurative.
Literal vs. Figurative
To understand figurative language, we must understand the difference between
literal and figurative.

3. Literal To be literal is to mean what you say.
For example: If I tell you, “Sit down in your seat.” I mean it literally: “Sit down in your seat.”
My meaning is exactly what I say. There is no other interpretation.

4. Figurative To be figurative is to not mean what you say.
For example: If I tell you, “Let’s go chill.” I do not mean it literally. I don’t want us to get inside a freezer.
“Let’s go chill” means let’s relax together and do something fun. It has nothing to do with temperature.
Other examples?

5. Figurative as imaginary or exaggerated
Confused?
Think of it this way:
Literal as real
Figurative as imaginary or exaggerated

6. Figurative Language Defined as: Descriptive language that should
not be taken literally
Techniques to make your writing more interesting, vivid, and dramatic!
We will be looking at 7 techniques (also known as figures of speech).
Ex: Simile, Metaphor, Alliteration, Onomatopoeia, Hyperbole, Personification, and Idiom.

7. Technique 1: Alliteration (Review from Poetry)
ALLITERATION: The repetition of initial sounds; wonderful words that certainly sound super
ex: Sheep shouldn’t sleep in a shack. Sheep should sleep in a shed.
ex: Great Green Gorillas Growing Grapes in a Gorgeous Glass Greenhouse.
ex: A big black bug bit a big black bear, making the big black bear bleed blood.

8. Animalia Away From Home Tongue Twisters New Kid on the Block
Literature Examples of Alliteration (available for independent reading)
Animalia
Away From Home
Tongue Twisters
New Kid on the Block

9. Technique 2: Simile
SIMILE: a comparison between two unlike things using like or as
ex: The young child was quiet as a mouse.
ex: She eats like a pig.
ex: His temper was as explosive as a volcano.

10. Technique 3: Metaphor
METAPHOR:  a comparison of unlike things by suggesting that one thing is something else
Note: A simile says that one this is like another thing. A metaphor says one thing is another thing.
ex: She is a graceful swan.
ex: The unhappy baby was a screaming siren.

11. Swamp Angel Owl Moon Seven Blind Mice
Literature Examples of Similes & Metaphors (available for independent reading)
Swamp Angel
Owl Moon
Seven Blind Mice

12. Technique 4: Onomatopoeia
ONOMATOPOEIA: “Sound words”; Words that imitate the sounds they represent
ex: drip
ex: squeaky

13. The Great Pumpkin Switch Listen to the Rain
Literature Examples of Onomatopoeias (available for independent reading)
The Great Pumpkin Switch
Listen to the Rain

14. Technique 5: Personification
PERSONIFICATION: when human qualities are assigned to non-human things (animals, objects, ideas, etc.)
ex: The flowers danced in the wind.
- Sentence associates the human
ability to dance with flowers.
ex: The tree branch tapped at my window asking to come in from the rain.
- We may ask to come in from the rain…
but can trees?

15. Call Me Ahnighito The Little House
Literature Examples of Personification (available for independent reading)
Call Me Ahnighito
The Little House

16. Technique 6: Hyperbole
HYPERBOLE (an overstatement): an extreme exaggeration used for effect
Note: This is a four-syllable word
pronounced hye-PER-buh-lee.
ex: We have a ton of homework.
-Fact or fiction?
-A ton is a thousand pounds…

17. Literature Examples of Hyperboles (available for independent reading)
Where the Sidewalk Ends
Ex: “WHO” (pg 63)
There Was an Old Lady Who Swallowed a Bat!

18. Technique 7: Idiom
IDIOM: an expression or phrase that means something different from what its words actually mean
ex: It’s raining cats and dogs.
ex: He is down in the dumps.

19. Literature Examples of Idioms (available for independent reading)
Punching the Clock
Mad as a Wet Hen