English Language Arts and Reading.4.9.B

The student is expected to

explain figurative language such as simile, metaphor, and personification that the poet uses to create images;

multiple genres TEKS talk image

Knowledge and Skills Statement

Multiple genres: listening, speaking, reading, writing, and thinking using multiple texts--genres. The student recognizes and analyzes genre-specific characteristics, structures, and purposes within and across increasingly complex traditional, contemporary, classical, and diverse texts.

Provide students with a poem that contains a simile. Task students with working in pairs to read the poem, identify the simile, and explain what the simile means in the context of the poem.

Possible similes to include:

  • Cute as a button
  • Like two peas in a pod
  • Busy as a bee
  • Sweet as pie
  • As tall as a giraffe
  • As wise as an owl
     

Further Explanation

Examining different types of figurative language in poetry is essential in developing students’ understanding of abstract language. In grade four, this includes metaphors and personification as well as similes. Figurative language supports reading as students look beyond the literal meaning of words to more abstract concepts.

justify or make clear an idea by describing it in detail and/or including relevant facts
Figurative language is language that uses words or expressions with a meaning that is different from the literal interpretation. Poets use figurative language to create mental images with words in the hopes of producing a response from the reader. Often, figurative language is used to draw a comparison, making the idea the poet is trying to convey more accessible and relatable to the reader. In other instances, the use of figurative language is meant to appeal to the senses or as a means of emphasizing something in the poem.
a subtle comparison in which the author describes two seemingly dissimilar things using words that are not meant to be taken literally (e.g., Time is a dressmaker specializing in alterations.) An extended metaphor carries the comparison through several lines, parts, or the whole text.
figurative language in which nonhuman things or abstractions are represented as having human qualities or abilities (e.g., “The parched sun crawled across the sand.”)
a figure of speech in which two things that are essentially different are likened to each other, usually using the words like or as (e.g., “O my love is like a red, red rose”)

Research

1. Palmer, B. C., Shackelford, V. S., Miller, S. C., & Leclere, J. T. (2006). Bridging two worlds: reading comprehension, figurative language instruction, and the English-language learner. Journal of Adolescent & Adult Literacy, 50(4), 258+. Retrieved from https://link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/A156736307/PROF?u=tea&sid=PROF&xid=4ec470e1

Summary: Recognizing that figurative language is a challenge for EL students, the authors consider ways to transition students from modeled practice steps in interpreting figurative language when reading to self-assessed interpretations. Specific strategies and examples are provided, including discussing with students about the importance of figurative language and its contexts.

2. McDonough, S. (2013). Playing with poetry: figurative language in action. Practically Primary, 18(2), 27+. Retrieved from https://link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/A334276548/PROF?u=tea&sid=PROF&xid=75cf65b2

Summary: As part of a lesson on myths and lessons, students are asked to produce poems about characters in the myths. In brainstorming exercises, students were given specific prompts to generate figurative language about their characters. The explicit focus is on figurative language as a narrative device.