Figurative Language Teaching Resources

You use figurative language in your classroom every day, but if you are on the hunt for figurative language worksheets, chances are you are struggling to find good resources for elementary-level learners. Our teacher-created resource collection has you covered with instructional slide decks about idioms, onomatopoeia writing activities, figurative language anchor charts, and more figurative fun.

Each resource has been reviewed by the teachers on the Teach Starter team to ensure it's curriculum-aligned so students can meet Common Core and state-level standards.

What Is Figurative Language?

Hey, we don't all teach the same classes every year, and between the list of students with peanut allergies and the latest mandate from administration, you've got a lot of information already packed into your brain. Let the expert ELA teachers on our Teach Starter team provide a quick refresher course. (Already know the answer? Feel free to skip right to downloading the printable activities and worksheets!)

Figurative language is the usage of words that aren't literally or strictly true in order to convey meaning. Wait, huh? Think of it this way — if your students say that their homework was a piece of cake, you know they're using an idiom, but you also know what they mean. That's using figurative language!

Figurative language gives meaning to something by referencing something else — in this case, cake — while literal language is more explicit. If that student were being literal, they could have simply said, "That homework was so easy!"

Figurative language can make reading comprehension challenging for students, particularly multi-lingual learners. But children's figurative language acquisition and development aren't just crucial for reading and writing — studies show they're also a core part of social and emotional learning as children learn better ways to express their feelings.

And let's face it — metaphors, hyperbole, idioms, and all types of figurative language make reading and writing more engaging and exciting. In turn, helping us encourage students to develop a lifelong love of reading.

Figurative Language Examples

As you're sitting down to lesson plan and explore this teaching resource collection, we thought a look at the main figurative language examples might help! Here are the types of figurative language our teacher team has covered in this collection, with editable options that allow you to differentiate lessons to meet the needs of each student in your classroom: