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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.

Minnesota K-12 Academic Standards benchmark: 4.1.8.1 · telling literal from figurative language

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 Minnesota

In the Minnesota K-12 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: Minnesota Department of Education (MDE)

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

    Which sentence uses onomatopoeia?

    • The fog was a gray blanket over the town.
    • The onions sizzled in the pan.
    • Tiny turtles tumbled toward the tide.
    • The moon peeked out from behind a cloud.

  2. Question 2

    What kind of figurative language is in this sentence?

    The fog was a gray blanket over the town.

    • personification
    • metaphor
    • simile
    • alliteration

  3. Question 3

    What is the difference between a simile and a metaphor?

    • A simile uses “like” or “as”; a metaphor does not
    • A simile is about sounds; a metaphor is about colors
    • A simile is always funny; a metaphor is always sad
    • A metaphor uses “like” or “as”; a simile does not

  4. Question 4

    What kind of figurative language is in this sentence?

    The fire crackled and popped all night.

    • personification
    • onomatopoeia
    • alliteration
    • metaphor

  5. Question 5

    What does this metaphor mean?

    The fog was a gray blanket over the town.

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

  6. Question 6

    Which sentence uses alliteration?

    • The flowers nodded their heads in the rain.
    • Woof! Our dog heard the doorbell.
    • The kitten's fur felt like warm velvet.
    • Fluffy feathers floated from the fence.

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