Figurative Language: Similes, Metaphors, and Words That Aren't Literally True
A 45-minute vocabulary lesson on language that means something other than what it literally says, using one reliable test — could this actually be true, or is the writer comparing two things — to catch it every time.
Vocabulary
Subject
Grades 3-5
Grade Level
45 minutes
Duration
Figurative Language
Topic
On this page: Materials · Warm-Up · Direct Instruction · Guided Practice · Independent Practice · Assessment · Closure · Related Resources
Learning Objectives
By the end of this lesson, students will be able to:
- Explain the difference between literal and figurative language
- Identify a simile by finding like or as
- Identify a metaphor by finding a comparison with no like or as
- Explain what a simile or metaphor is really saying about its subject
- Identify onomatopoeia and explain how it is different from a simile or metaphor
Materials
- Types of Figurative Language Worksheet — one copy per student
- Similes and Metaphors Worksheet, for the core practice
- Onomatopoeia Worksheet, for the third device
- A set of sentence cards, some literally true and some figurative, mixed together
- A two-column chart on the board headed Literally True and Figurative
Vocabulary
- Literal — the actual, real meaning of the words
- Figurative — a meaning that is not literally true, used to make a comparison
- Simile — a comparison using like or as
- Metaphor — a comparison that says one thing IS another, with no like or as
- Onomatopoeia — a word that sounds like the thing it names, like buzz or crash
Preparation
Write the sentence cards in advance and mix literally true sentences in with figurative ones deliberately — the sort only teaches something if some cards genuinely could go either way at first glance.
Head the two-column chart before the lesson. Sorting sentences live, with the class arguing over a genuinely ambiguous one, is where the actual thinking happens.
Pick your own classroom or school for the modeling examples where possible — "the cafeteria was a zoo at lunch" lands harder than an example about a place the class has never seen.
Warm-Up
5 minutes. Put up the sentence The classroom was a zoo. and ask whether it is true. Some children will say no immediately; some will hesitate, picturing an actual zoo and getting confused.
Ask what the sentence IS saying, if it is not literally true. The class will get there — it was loud, or messy, or chaotic, like a zoo.
Say plainly where the lesson is going: a huge amount of everyday language is exactly this — sentences that are false on purpose, because false is sometimes the fastest way to say something true.
Direct Instruction
12 minutes. Give the class one test and make it the only thing they need: could this actually be true, or is the writer comparing two things? Run three sentences through it — the dog barked (literal), the wind howled like a wolf (figurative, comparing sound), it rained all afternoon (literal).
Now split figurative language into two kinds, with one mechanical test each. A simile uses like or as — find the word and you have found the simile. Do three examples, circling the word each time.
A metaphor makes the same kind of comparison but SAYS one thing IS another, with no like or as. The classroom was a zoo is a metaphor. Put a simile and a metaphor about the same idea side by side — the classroom was AS LOUD AS a zoo next to the classroom WAS a zoo — and let the class see that only the words connecting them changed.
For each example, ask the follow-up question that actually uses the figure rather than just labeling it: what is the writer really telling you? A zoo is loud and chaotic, so that is what the classroom sentence is saying about the classroom — not that there are literal animals in it.
Introduce onomatopoeia as the different kind of trick: instead of lying on purpose, it tries to SOUND like the thing it names — buzz, crash, sizzle. Contrast it directly: a simile and a metaphor make you picture something else; onomatopoeia makes you hear the real thing.
Guided Practice
13 minutes. Pairs sort the mixed sentence cards into the two-column chart — Literally True and Figurative — and for every figurative card, they label it simile, metaphor, or onomatopoeia using the tests from direct instruction.
Save the two or three deliberately ambiguous cards for a whole-class discussion once pairs have made their first pass. The disagreement is the point: work through the like/as test together and let it settle the argument rather than settling it yourself.
For every simile or metaphor the pairs sort, add the second job: say in their own words what the figure is really claiming about its subject. A card correctly labeled "simile" with no explanation has only done half the work.
Circulate with one question: could this actually happen, or is it a comparison?
Pairs then start the Types of Figurative Language worksheet together.
Independent Practice
10 minutes. Students complete the Types of Figurative Language worksheet, then move to the Similes and Metaphors worksheet.
Add one writing item: write one original simile and one original metaphor about the same subject, the way the direct-instruction example did with the classroom. Producing both forms about the same idea is what shows the distinction is understood rather than memorized as two separate rules.
Assessment
3 minutes. Exit ticket, three items. Is this sentence literal or figurative: Her smile was as bright as the sun. Simile or metaphor? Then: rewrite this metaphor as a simile: "Time is a thief."
The third item is the one that discriminates. Labeling an example correctly can be done by spotting a keyword; converting between the two forms requires actually understanding what changes and what stays the same, which is the real skill behind the labels.
Closure
2 minutes. Go back to the classroom-as-zoo sentence one final time and ask the class to state, in one sentence, what test settles whether language is literal or figurative. Close on the rule: could it actually be true, or is the writer comparing two things — and if it is a comparison, look for like or as to tell you which kind.
Differentiation and Accommodations
- Extra support: work with similes only for today, using the like/as test exclusively, and save metaphors for a second lesson. Finding the keyword reliably is a real result on its own before the no-keyword case is added.
- Extension: the onomatopoeia worksheet is a lighter, faster page for students who found similes and metaphors easy, and personification — giving a thing human actions, like "the wind whispered" — is the natural next figure to introduce.
- Common difficulty: a student who calls every metaphor a simile because they are looking for a comparison and not checking for the keyword specifically. Have them point to the exact word doing the comparing — like, as, or IS — every single time, until the check becomes automatic.
- Watch for: a student answering the literal-vs-figurative test correctly but unable to say what the figurative sentence actually means. Being able to LABEL a metaphor and being able to EXPLAIN it are different skills, and the explanation is the one worth checking for.
Extension Activities
Alliteration is a good next figure precisely because it works on SOUND rather than meaning, the same axis onomatopoeia opened up — it is worth grouping the sound-based figures together against the meaning-based ones.
Hunt for similes and metaphors in a book the class is already reading. Finding one in real text, rather than in a prepared sentence card, is the genuine test of whether the skill transfers.
Keep a running class list of the best student-written similes and metaphors on the wall. Figurative language is one of the few grammar-adjacent skills that gets more fun the more a class practices it, and a visible list keeps that momentum going.
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