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4th grade · English Language Arts · Unit 3 of 20

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.

New York State Learning Standards learning standard: 4L5; 4R4 · 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 New York

In the New York State Learning Standards, this is unit 3 of 20 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: New York State Education Department (NYSED)

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 is the difference between a simile and a metaphor?

    • A metaphor uses “like” or “as”; a simile does not
    • 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

  2. Question 2

    Which sentence uses alliteration?

    • Leo ran like a cheetah to catch the bus.
    • Tiny turtles tumbled toward the tide.
    • The trees waved their arms in the storm.
    • Grandpa's garden is a rainbow of flowers.

  3. Question 3

    What kind of figurative language is in this sentence?

    Lena likes lemon lollipops.

    • alliteration
    • onomatopoeia
    • personification
    • metaphor

  4. Question 4

    Which sentence uses onomatopoeia?

    • The flowers nodded their heads in the rain.
    • The onions sizzled in the pan.
    • The lake was as smooth as glass.
    • The fog was a gray blanket over the town.

  5. Question 5

    What does this metaphor mean?

    The fog was a gray blanket over the town.

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

  6. Question 6

    What kind of figurative language is in this sentence?

    Grandpa's garden is a rainbow of flowers.

    • personification
    • metaphor
    • alliteration
    • onomatopoeia

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