= Partner SiteFigurative Language
Figurative language is the use of language to give words meaning beyond their literal definitions. For example, a simile is a comparison of two things using the words “like” or “as.” “Her heart is as soft as a cloud.” is a simile. Other figurative language includes metaphor, personification, hyperbole, and alliteration. Check out our figurative language anchor chart resources too!
The moon has a face like the clock in the hall; She shines on thieves on the garden wall, On streets and fields and harbor quays, And birdies asleep in the forks of the trees. The squalling cat and the squeaking mouse, The howling dog by the door of the…
John Muir (1838 – 1914) was an American naturalist and conservationist. Shortly after he arrived in California in 1868, he was hired to oversee shepherds taking a flock of sheep to summer pasture in the Sierra Nevada mountains. He kept a diary of his trip, and he published it in…
It was a beautiful day. The sun was shining, and the birds were singing. Children were playing at the park. They were swinging, jumping and having fun. The little cloud could hear their laughter and wanted to get closer to see them. As he did, he covered up the sun,…
This editorial from The (New York City) Sun was first published in 1897. It is in response to a real letter received by the newspaper. —————————————- Is There a Santa Claus? We take pleasure in answering at once and thus prominently the communication below, expressing at the same time our…
The March sisters in Little Women are growing up during the middle of the 1800s. At that time, there were no phones, email, or Internet. In order to keep up with friends, women made “calls,” or visits to each other’s houses. In this passage, younger sister Amy has convinced her…
Mrs. Grady welcomed her class back inside the warm cheerful room. The children settled down at their desks, still chatting about the activities they had enjoyed over the winter break. It took a few minutes for Mrs. Grady to get their full attention. “I’m so glad you’re all back. I’m…
“C’mon, Sweetie. Time to get up.” James nudged his sleeping daughter, tangled in her floral blanket, her worn stuffed bunny still under one arm. She sighed and sat up with bleary eyes. Her hair stood out in all directions as if she’d been rubbing balloons on it. “It’s too early,…
John Muir wrote a series of essays on the U.S. national parks. A noted naturalist, his essays were published in 1901. Muir was the founder of the Sierra Club which organized in 1892. He would come to be known as “the Father of the National Parks.” The Muir Woods near…
Jack traded the family cow for magic beans. The beans grew overnight all the way to the sky. Jack climbed the beanstalk and found the house of an ogre and his wife. There he stole a bag of gold from the ogre. He and his mother lived on the gold…
Ryker Middle School was so small everybody knew everybody there. So when a new boy showed up one Tuesday morning just before the first bell rang, he stood out like a sore thumb. Well, maybe not like a sore thumb. He was too good looking for that. He was more…
