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Grade 5 · English Language Arts · Unit 3 of 10

Figurative Language

Similes, metaphors, idioms and more

What your child practises

Spotting similes, metaphors, personification, hyperbole, onomatopoeia and alliteration, and explaining what common idioms really mean.

BC Curriculum learning standard: Literary devices: simile, metaphor, personification, hyperbole, idiom, onomatopoeia and alliteration

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 this?

    The old map was as fragile as a dry leaf.

    • hyperbole
    • alliteration
    • onomatopoeia
    • simile
    Show answer

    simile

    Hint: A simile compares two things using “like” or “as.”

  2. Question 2

    What does this hyperbole really mean?

    Noah's homework took about a thousand years to finish.

    • Noah's homework was finished quickly.
    • Noah's homework was very easy.
    • Noah's homework took a very long time.
    • Noah's homework was about history.
    Show answer

    Noah's homework took a very long time.

    Hint: Nobody lives for a thousand years! The speaker is exaggerating how long it felt.

  3. Question 3

    What does the idiom “once in a blue moon” mean in this sentence?

    It snows here only once in a blue moon.

    • when the moon is full
    • every winter
    • every night
    • very rarely
    Show answer

    very rarely

    Hint: A blue moon is something that hardly ever happens.

  4. Question 4

    What kind of figurative language is this?

    Splash! Lena jumped into the pool.

    • simile
    • alliteration
    • personification
    • onomatopoeia
    Show answer

    onomatopoeia

    Hint: Onomatopoeia is a word that imitates a sound, like buzz, crash or sizzle.

  5. Question 5

    What does the idiom “cost an arm and a leg” mean in this sentence?

    Those concert tickets cost an arm and a leg.

    • were very expensive
    • caused an injury
    • were free
    • were hard to find
    Show answer

    were very expensive

    Hint: Arms and legs are very valuable to you. So something that “costs” them must cost a lot!

  6. Question 6

    What kind of figurative language is this?

    I'm so hungry I could eat a mountain of pancakes.

    • personification
    • alliteration
    • hyperbole
    • simile
    Show answer

    hyperbole

    Hint: Hyperbole is a huge exaggeration that isn't meant to be taken literally.

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