Similes

SimilesAsimileis a comparison using like or as. It usually compares two dissimilar objects.For example:Hisfeetwere as big asboats.We are comparing the size of feet to boats.

Using the poem below underline all of the similes. Decide which items are being compared.

Willow and GinkgoEve MerriamThewillow is like an etching,Fine-lined against the sky.Theginkgo is like a crude sketch,Hardly worthy to be signed.Thewillows music is like a soprano,Delicate and thin.Theginkgos tune is like a chorusWith everyone joining in.

Thewillow is sleek as a velvet-nosed calf;The ginkgo is leathery as an old bull.Thewillows branches are like silken thread;Theginkgos like stubby rough wool.

Thewillow is like a nymph with streaming hair;Wherever it grows, there is green and gold and fair.The willow dips to the water,Protected and precious,like the kings favorite daughter.

The ginkgo forces its way through gray concrete;Like a city child, it grows up in the street.Thrust against the metal sky,Somehow it survives and even thrives.My eyes feast upon the willow,But my heart goes to the ginkgo.

Ametaphorstates that one thing is something else.

It is a comparison, but it does NOT use like or as to make the comparison.

For example: Herhairissilk. The sentence is comparing (or stating) that hair is silk

Take a piece of blank white paper and fold it into fourths. In one block, write asimile and illustrate it. In the block immediately to the right, write the same sentence as a metaphor. Do the same for the other two blocks.Decide whether each sentence contains a simile or a metaphor. Write the word SIMILE if the sentence contains a simile. Write the word METAPHOR if the sentence contains a metaphor.

1. The baby was like an octopus, grabbing at all the cans on the grocery store shelves.

2. As the teacher entered the room she muttered under her breath,"This class is like a three-ring circus!"

3. The giants steps were thunder as he ran toward Jack.

Try the rest on your own4. The pillow was a cloud when I put my head upon it after a long day.

5. I feel like a limp dishrag.

6. Those girls are like two peas in a pod.

7. The fluorescent light was the sun during our test.

8. No one invites Harold to parties because hes a wet blanket.

9. The bar of soap was a slippery eel during the dogs bath.

10. Ted was as nervous as a cat with a long tail in a room full of rocking chairs.

JoyJust when you thoughtthat winterwould be here forever,that it could never end,you saw:Amidst the frozen white,a tiny tip of green,first blade of grass,the messenger of spring. TranquilityTime slidesa gentle oceanwaves upon waves,washing the shore,loving the shore.

PeaceThe wind is nowa roaring, smashingmonster of destruction,raking all man's workfrom the valleys,from the vales,and sends them spinning,broken flying -but all of that isnot its core,its center is in trutheternal stillnessbright blue skiesand all you hearare gentle whispersfar awayand unimportant.IdiomsIdioms are word combinations that are idiotic! Crazy!Nuts! etc.

In other words, idioms have meanings that can't be figured out by looking up the words in the dictionary. They have meanings that are understood by people who speak that language, but are very hard to understand for people who don't speak that language.To stick your neck outis to say or do something that is bold and a bit dangerous.

Guess the Idiomgo out on a limb

To break the iceis to be the first one to say or do something, with the expectation that others will then follow.

get the ball rolling

To get long in the toothTo have a chip on one's shoulderIn the next minute write down as many idioms as you can.In the next minute write down the meaning of the idioms you created.

Get into groups of four. Share idioms and meanings for ~ 1 minute. Have the group choose the best (most creative) idiom and read it to the class.Directions: Write the meanings of these frequently used idioms:catch a cold

2. see eye to eye

3. under the weather

4. stuffed to the gills

5. out of the frying pan and into the fire

6. slow boat to China

7. nose to the grindstone

8. on pins and needles

9. fly off the handle

10. toot your own horn

11. pie in the sky

12. head in the sand 13. lay down the law

HW: Copy the following idioms and write downwhat you think they mean.

14. born yesterday15. feel like a million16. just what the doctor ordered17. hold your horses18. cat has your tongue19. going bananas20. bury the hatchet