Figurative Language Lesson Plans

Explore figurative language with your secondary students. Extending a language arts unit, the lesson plan prompts middle schoolers to examine how an author's word choice establishes a story's tone, possibly using metaphors, similes, onomatopoeia, alliteration, and personification. They can then develop their own plots using sensory language. 

Young scholars interpret figurative language.  In this language lesson, students are read the poem "I Love the Look of Words" by Maya Angelou and are to find examples of hyperbole and personification in the poem.  Young scholars then rotate among three small groups to complete activities that practice interpreting figurative language.

Students read and identify three types of figurative language. They read and analyze "My Father's Body" by Christopher Buckley and "Song of Myself" by Walt Whitman, identify the elements of figurative and descriptive language, and write an original poem or short biography.

Figurative language, sensory details, and academic language are all targeted.while reading chapter 2 of Go Free or Die. First, learners engage in an exercercise to practice describing with detail. Then, partners work to identify and explain the meaning of figurative language from the book using a chart. Assessment and worksheet links are provided.

Ninth graders identify figurative language in poetry and analyze its effect on the meaning. They apply the meaning of poetry to real life situations. They write about a goal that wasn't achieved and relate that to Langston Hughes' poem "Harlem."

Tenth graders complete writing practice for descriptive and narrative writing. In this writing lesson, 10th graders listen to audio clips and write sentences for what they hear. Students also read excerpts from writing pieces to analyze sensory writing and figurative language. Students create their own sensory sentences to describe sounds. Students also complete a five senses handout.

In order to read and respond to Toni Morrison's A Mercy in this figurative-language instructional activity, students discuss the differences between a literal and a figurative interpretation of a text.  They explore figures of speech using a Visual Thesaurus, and keep a log of figurative language used by Morrison throughout the text.

Tenth graders analyze the use of figurative language and themes used in selected poems and prose. They read four different literature works and define various literary devices such as symbolism, metaphor, personification, and simile. Learners also identify examples of the figurative language and devices used in the works. Lastly, they discuss the theme of each work and the universality of the themes.

Young scholars identify figurative language and symbolism in poetry as well as prose. In this literary elements activity, students read and discuss the role of symbolism in Yellow Man by Moonlight, A Christmas Carl, The House of Wings, and Hatchet. Young scholars use KWL charts and Think Pair Share strategies in this activity.

Eighth graders identify figurative language in children's poetry and create their own children's poetry to post to a class wiki. In this poetry and language lesson, 8th graders search a library web browser for children's poetry. Students read several poems and identify a simile, a metaphor, personification, hyperbole, and pun. Students create their own children's poetry and identify the figurative language in classmates' poetry to analyze its effects on  the poem.