Figurative language means words used in a way that goes beyond their literal meaning to create a picture, a feeling or a sound. A simile compares two things using like or as (as quiet as a mouse). A metaphor compares them directly, saying one thing is another (the classroom was a zoo). Personification gives human actions or feelings to something that is not human. Hyperbole is deliberate exaggeration, an idiom is a fixed phrase whose meaning is not literal, onomatopoeia is a word that imitates a sound, and alliteration repeats the first consonant sound in nearby words.
The Common Core standards L.6.5a and RL.6.4 ask sixth graders to interpret figures of speech in context and explain how word choice affects meaning and tone. Naming the device is the first step; the stronger skill is saying what it shows. Calling a test “a mountain” tells us it felt huge and hard to climb. Every example sentence below is original, so read each one closely before you choose.
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Answer: B) metaphor
It says the snow WAS a blanket, a direct comparison without like or as, so it is a metaphor.
Answer: simile (also accepted: a simile)
The comparison uses as, so it is a simile.
Answer: C) personification
Coughing and wheezing are things people do. Giving a car human actions is personification.
Answer: hyperbole (also accepted: a hyperbole, exaggeration)
Nobody has really said it a million times. The exaggeration adds emphasis, so it is hyperbole.
Answer: B) The bacon sizzled in the pan.
Sizzled imitates the sound of frying, so it is onomatopoeia. The others are a simile, a metaphor and personification.
Answer: alliteration
The s sound is repeated at the start of nearby words, which is alliteration.
Answer: D) It is raining very hard.
This is an idiom. Its meaning, very heavy rain, cannot be worked out from the words themselves.
Answer: idiom (also accepted: an idiom)
Idioms are fixed phrases with a meaning people learn through use. Break a leg means good luck.
Answer: C) A simile compares using like or as; a metaphor compares directly.
Both compare two unlike things. Similes use like or as; metaphors say one thing is the other.
Answer: personification
Wind cannot whisper or keep secrets. Giving it human actions is personification.
Answer: A) The backpack is very heavy.
This is hyperbole. The writer exaggerates to show the backpack feels very heavy.
Answer: buzz
Buzz imitates the sound the alarm makes.
Answer: C) Time is a thief.
Time is a thief compares directly with no like or as. The others are a simile, onomatopoeia and personification.
Check for like or as first. If the comparison uses either word, it is a simile. A metaphor says one thing IS another.
“Break a leg” means good luck, not an injury. An idiom's meaning comes from use, not from its individual words.
Alliteration repeats beginning sounds (slippery snakes slid). Rhyme repeats ending sounds (cat, hat).
On tests, explain what the figurative language shows: a feeling, a mood or a vivid image. That earns the higher score.
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Open the student portal →Yes. “The thunder grumbled and growled” uses personification (grumbled) and alliteration (the repeated g sound). Name each one you can find.
No. Hyperbole is exaggeration that nobody is meant to believe literally, used for emphasis or humor, such as “I'm so hungry I could eat a horse.”