1. Figurative Language & Literary Devices
IMAGERY
METAPHORS
SIMILES
ONOMATOPOEIA
ALLITERATION
IDIOMS
OXYMORONS
HYPERBOLES
EXAMPLES &
PRACTICE

2. IMAGERY See Hear Smell Taste Feel
Imagery is writing that helps the reader:
See
Hear
Smell
Taste
Feel

3. Use your five senses to create a vivid description of your assigned place.
School cafeteria during lunch hour
An outdoor concert
A public swimming pool
The inside of a car stuck in traffic
A busy restaurant

4. METAPHORS
A metaphor is an indirect comparison of two objects WITHOUT using “like” or “as”.
My grandfather is my guiding star who gives me direction in life.
When he left his small town and moved to the city, Mark was a fish out of water.

5. “All life is an experiment.” Ralph Waldo Emerson
In your groups, write your own metaphor for life then explain its meaning.

6. SIMILES
A simile is a statement that compares two unlike items using the words “like” or “as”.
My life is like an open book.
Time is like a thief that steals away years.

7. Using the prompts, create your own similes.
Keeping a secret is like…………
My steak was awful; it was like ……….
Fighting through the crowds during the holiday shopping season is like…………
Taking a test on a Monday is like ………………
5. I am as happy as……

8. ONOMATOPOEIA BOOM! BUZZ! Clang! HONK! SWISH!
Onomatopoeia is the use of a word whose sound imitates the sound associated with the object or action the word represents.
BOOM!
BUZZ!
Clang!
HONK!
SWISH!

9. Give a word that represents the following animal sounds.
A parrot
A snake
A frog
A pig
A dog
A hen

10. ALLITERATION
Alliteration is the repetition of consonant sounds at the beginnings of words.
Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers.
She sells seashells by the seashore.

11. Use alliteration as you create endings for the following sentences.
Handsome Harry………………..
Studious students………………….
Clumsy Carol……………………..
Fancy Farah……………..
Tiny Tony……………..

12. IDIOMS
An idiom is a word, phrase, or expression that has meaning beyond the literal meaning of the word(s).
It’s raining cats and dogs!
I think it’s time to bury the hatchet.

13. Write sentences using the following idioms.
Hold your horses
Lay down the law
On pins and needles
Hanging around
Cracks me up

14. OXYMORON Old news Original copy Plastic silverware Jumbo Shrimp
An oxymoron is a figure of speech that brings together two contradictory (opposite) terms.
Old news
Original copy
Plastic silverware
Jumbo Shrimp

15. Match the words below to form oxymorons.
ILL WAR
PEACEFUL OUT
INSIDE IMITITATION
GENUINE HEALTH

16. HYPERBOLE A hyperbole is an extreme exaggeration.
I’ve told you a million times to clean up your room!

17. Create your own original hyperboles.
My dog is so mean……………….
That test was so hard……………..
My friend is so lazy………….
That house is so big………..
It is so hot outside………

18. TEST WILL BE…
STUDY