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5th grade · English Language Arts · Unit 2 of 11

Figurative Language

Similes, metaphors, idioms and more

What your child practices

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

Maine Learning Results learning standard: Language 5 · similes, metaphors, idioms and more

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 traits to things. Hyperbole is a huge exaggeration.
  3. An idiom means something different from its words: “over the moon” means very happy.

Example: “Telling a joke helped break the ice.” What does “break the ice” mean? Nobody is breaking real ice. A joke at the start helps people relax. Answer: help everyone feel comfortable together

Figurative Language in Maine

In the Maine Learning Results, this is unit 2 of 11 in 5th grade English Language Arts, after Plot and Conflict and before Purpose and Structure.

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: Maine 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 does this hyperbole really mean?

    Our family stood in that line forever.

    • We are still in line today.
    • We waited a very long time.
    • We left the line right away.
    • We waited a few seconds.

  2. Question 2

    What does the idiom “hit the books” mean in this sentence?

    Ana hit the books all weekend before her test.

    • studied hard
    • returned her library books
    • knocked books off a shelf
    • forgot about the test

  3. Question 3

    What kind of figurative language is this?

    Splash! Lena jumped into the pool.

    • personification
    • onomatopoeia
    • metaphor
    • simile

  4. Question 4

    What does the idiom “on the fence” mean in this sentence?

    Ravi is on the fence about joining the choir.

    • unable to decide
    • already a member
    • sitting outside
    • very excited

  5. Question 5

    What does this hyperbole really mean?

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

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

  6. Question 6

    What kind of figurative language is this?

    The stars winked at us from the dark sky.

    • metaphor
    • simile
    • hyperbole
    • personification

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