Interpret a figure of speech

Supplied materials

• Paper and pencil, or a browser text area. All named people/events/records are fictional learning inputs.
• Worked case: Line: The path is like a ribbon. Layout: four lines with no blank line. Direction: [whispers]. Narration: I opened the gate.
• Primary check: Line: The lake is a mirror. Layout: two lines, blank line, two lines. Direction: [walks left]. Narration: We opened the gate.
• Original two-stanza poem: A lamp beside the open gate Keeps company while I wait. The wind whispers through the tree; The next small step belongs to me. Original script adaptation: JO: I can see the gate now. LEA: Take your time. [Jo pauses, then steps forward.] The poem’s break separates waiting from deciding. Wind whispers is personification; the script makes a pause and movement explicit.

Learn the idea

A simile compares using like or as; a metaphor directly connects unlike things; personification gives human actions to nonhuman things. A literal line says what happens without that comparison.

Identify what is being compared or given an action. Explain the shared quality instead of treating the figurative line as a factual event.

Example to read or listen to: Line: The path is like a ribbon. Layout: four lines with no blank line. Direction: [whispers]. Narration: I opened the gate. The answer is simile. The relevant input states: Line: The path is like a ribbon. This fits simile. A simile compares using like or as; a metaphor directly connects unlike things; personification gives human actions to nonhuman things. A literal line says what happens without that comparison. A metaphor does not mean an object literally transforms.

1. Read or listen to the worked example. Say what the reading or writing task asks you to find. An adult can help with unfamiliar words.
2. Identify what is being compared or given an action. Explain the shared quality instead of treating the figurative line as a factual event.
3. Check the worked solution: simile. The relevant input states: Line: The path is like a ribbon. This fits simile. A simile compares using like or as; a metaphor directly connects unlike things; personification gives human actions to nonhuman things. A literal line says what happens without that comparison. A metaphor does not mean an object literally transforms.
4. Try the question and the practice questions. Point to the words that helped you choose before checking the feedback.

Check your reasoning

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Take it further

Optional extra practice: Write a four-line original poem in two two-line stanzas, including a simile and personification. Turn one line into a speaker-labeled script line and add a bracketed pause. Explain the differences among poem layout, dialogue and narration. Practice this lesson’s skill as you complete the task. Use this idea to check your work: A simile compares using like or as; a metaphor directly connects unlike things; personification gives human actions to nonhuman things. A literal line says what happens without that comparison.

Nothing here is saved to an account or sent to a teacher. The answer download includes your current choice and any checked feedback. It does not include choices from the separate More practice section. Download that section separately.