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4th grade · English Language Arts · Unit 3 of 13

Figurative Language

Similes, metaphors and more

What your child practices

Spotting similes, metaphors, personification, onomatopoeia and alliteration (plus hyperbole at the stretch level), and explaining what figurative phrases really mean.

Arizona Academic Standards learning standard: 4.L.5 · similes, metaphors and idioms

How we explain it

Children can open this short lesson before they practice.

  1. A simile compares with like or as. A metaphor says one thing is another.
  2. Personification gives human actions to things: the wind whispered.
  3. Onomatopoeia is a sound word (crunch). Alliteration repeats first sounds (silly snakes slide).

Example: “The leaves danced across the yard.” What kind of figurative language is this? Leaves can’t really dance. Dancing is something people do. Giving a thing a human action is personification. Answer: personification

Figurative Language in Arizona

In the Arizona Academic Standards, this is unit 3 of 13 in 4th grade English Language Arts, after Text Features and before Point of View.

Gradelings describes a child's practice on this unit as Beginning, Approaching, Meeting or Exceeding (Four practice steps). That reflects practice, not a report-card mark: the teacher decides the mark.

Source: Arizona Department of Education

Sample questions

A taste of this unit. In the app, questions change every time and get easier or harder to match your child.

  1. Question 1

    What kind of figurative language is in this sentence?

    The lake was as smooth as glass.

    • alliteration
    • onomatopoeia
    • simile
    • personification

  2. Question 2

    Which sentence uses a simile?

    • The fog was a gray blanket over the town.
    • The snow was as soft as a pillow.
    • Seven silly seals slid down the slippery slope.
    • The leaves danced in the autumn breeze.

  3. Question 3

    What does this metaphor mean?

    The fog was a gray blanket over the town.

    • Thick fog covered the whole town.
    • Someone put a blanket over the town.
    • The fog was warm and cozy.
    • The town was painted gray.

  4. Question 4

    What kind of figurative language is in this sentence?

    Buzz! An insect zoomed past my ear.

    • personification
    • onomatopoeia
    • simile
    • alliteration

  5. Question 5

    What does this metaphor mean?

    Maya is a walking dictionary.

    • Maya carries a dictionary everywhere.
    • Maya knows the meanings of many words.
    • Maya walks a lot.
    • Maya writes dictionaries.

  6. Question 6

    What kind of figurative language is in this sentence?

    Seven silly seals slid down the slippery slope.

    • alliteration
    • metaphor
    • personification
    • onomatopoeia

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