Figures of Speech

As an educational subject, Language Arts contains a plethora of topics that easily allow for student
engagement and creativity. One such topic is figurative language. Teaching a unit like this can lead to some of
the most satisfying and innovative educational experiences for teachers and students alike.
As figures of speech are centered on imaginative connections and ideas, you can apply this topic to any sort of
literature (especially poetry), speech or verbal expression, or any type of media. The rest of this lesson
describes ideas for activities and games to use when teaching figures of speech. Remember, any of these ideas
can be modified to cover a wide variety of resources or learning goals you have for your particular classroom.
Activities
Hyperbole Challenge
This activity focuses on using hyperbole, or extreme exaggeration, which is something many students are
already good at. This activity capitalizes on the natural tendency of kids to exaggerate regular daily
occurrences.
To participate in this activity, have each student quickly jot down a list of mundane things that they did this
morning. Examples could include eating cereal for breakfast or loading up their backpack. Next, they
brainstorm hyperbolic phrases they could use to exaggerate their morning routine. Ultimately, each student
will write a short story or poem describing this event, using as many hyperbolic expressions as they can. When
finished, students can share their writings with the class, which is sure to provide endless humor for your
classroom.
Finish the Simile
This is the perfect activity for students who are just learning figurative language. Similes are usually easy to
spot, as most students look for the words 'like' or 'as.' However, this activity takes it a step further from simple
identification.
Provide a list of only half of a simile. It can be the end or beginning, but leave a blank for one of the objects
being compared. The object of this activity is for students to come up with the second half of the simile, while
at the same time making sense within the context of the situation. Here are some examples:
Silly as a _
Tall like a _
_ as a lion
_ like a demon
You can provide a short story or a poem that contains the unfinished simile. Advanced students could even
write their own story or poem to use the similes. However you decide to set up the writing, be sure to clarify
requirements, like what types of words they have to use in the blanks or how many of the similes they need to
use. This will get your students thinking about how to use a simile to appropriately describe a specific
situation.
Figurative Language Scavenger Hunt
When you want to practice identifying all the types of figures of speech you have taught your students, set up
a scavenger hunt. For this activity, provide resources containing various forms of literature. If you have
focused mainly on poetry, use a poetry anthology. On the other hand, most literature textbooks will have a
variety of poetry and short stories for this activity.
The next step is to provide a handout with the required types of figurative language students must find. Here
is an example.
Three similes involving animals.
Two metaphors for happiness.
Three examples of onomatopoeia
A hyperbole with a negative connotation.
Create a list with a difficulty level appropriate for your class. Finally, give a time limit, and the hunt is on! You
can make this a team activity or an individual one, but whoever finds the most examples wins!

A figure of speech is a word or phrase that has a meaning other than the literal meaning. It can be
a metaphor or simile that's designed to further explain a concept. Or it can be the repetition of alliteration or
exaggeration of hyperbole to give further emphasis or effect. There are many different types of figures of
speech in the English language. We will give you examples of some of the most commonly used types here.

Top 20 Figures of Speech

Using original figures of speech in our writing is a way to convey meanings in fresh, unexpected ways.
Figures can help our readers understand and stay interested in what we have to say.

1. Alliteration: The repetition of an initial consonant sound. Example: She sells seashells by the
seashore.
Alliteration is the repetition of the beginning sounds of neighboring words
2. Anaphora: The repetition of the same word or phrase at the beginning of successive clauses or
verses. Example: Unfortunately, I was in the wrong place at the wrong time on the wrong
day.
Anaphora is a technique where several phrases (or verses in a poem) begin with the same word or
words.

 We shall not flag or fail. We shall go on to the end... we shall never surrender - Winston Churchill
 I came, I saw, I conquered - Julius Caesar

3. Antithesis: The juxtaposition of contrasting ideas in balanced phrases. Example:As Abraham

Lincoln said, "Folks who have no vices have very few virtues."

4. Apostrophe: Directly addressing a nonexistent person or an inanimate object as though it were a

living being. Example: "Oh, you stupid car, you never work when I need you to," Bert sighed.

5. Assonance: Identity or similarity in sound between internal vowels in neighboring

words. Example: How now, brown cow?
Assonance is the repetition of vowel sounds in words that are close together.

6. Chiasmus: A verbal pattern in which the second half of an expression is balanced against the first
but with the parts reversed. Example: The famous chef said people should live to eat, not eat to live.

7. Euphemism: The substitution of an inoffensive term for one considered offensively

explicit. Example: "We're teaching our toddler how to go potty," Bob said.

Euphemism is a mild, indirect, or vague term substituting for a harsh, blunt, or offensive term.

 'Letting him go' instead of 'firing him'

 'Passed away' instead of 'died'

8. Hyperbole: An extravagant statement; the use of exaggerated terms for the purpose of emphasis or
heightened effect. Example: I have a ton of things to do when I get home.

Hyperbole uses exaggeration for emphasis or effect.

 I’ve told you a hundred times

9. Irony: The use of words to convey the opposite of their literal meaning. Also, a statement or
situation where the meaning is contradicted by the appearance or presentation of the
idea. Example: "Oh, I love spending big bucks," said my dad, a notorious penny pincher.

Irony is when there is a contrast between what is said and what is meant, or between appearance and reality.

 “How nice!” she said, when I told her I had to work all weekend. (Verbal irony)
 A traffic cop gets suspended for not paying his parking tickets. (Situational irony)
 The Titanic was said to be unsinkable but sank on its first voyage. (Situational irony)
 Naming a Chihuahua Brutus (Verbal irony)
 The audience knows the killer is hiding in a closet in a scary movie but the actors do not. (Dramatic
irony)

10. Litotes: A figure of speech consisting of an understatement in which an affirmative is expressed by

negating its opposite. Example: A million dollars is no small chunk of change.

11. Metaphor: An implied comparison between two dissimilar things that have something in
common. Example: "All the world's a stage."

Metaphor compares two unlike things or ideas. Examples are:

 Heart of stone
 Time is money
 The world is a stage

12. Metonymy: A figure of speech in a word or phrase is substituted for another with which it's closely
associated; also, the rhetorical strategy of describing something indirectly by referring to things
around it. Example: "That stuffed suit with the briefcase is a poor excuse for a salesman," the
manager said angrily.

13. Onomatopoeia: The use of words that imitate the sounds associated with the objects or actions
they refer to. Example: The clap of thunder went bang and scared my poor dog.

Onomatopoeia is a word that sounds like what it is describing. Examples are:

 Whoosh
  Buzz
 Oink

14. Oxymoron: A figure of speech in which incongruous or contradictory terms appear side by
side. Example: "He popped the jumbo shrimp in his mouth."

Oxymoron is two contradictory terms used together. Examples are:

 Peace force
 Kosher ham
 Jumbo shrimp
 Small crowd
 Free market

15. Paradox: A statement that appears to contradict itself. Example: "This is the beginning of the
end," said Eeyore, always the pessimist.

16. Personification: A figure of speech in which an inanimate object or abstraction is endowed with
human qualities or abilities. Example: That kitchen knife will take a bite out of your hand if you
don't handle it safely.

Personification is giving human qualities to non-living things or ideas. Examples are:

 The flowers nodded
 Snowflakes danced

17. Pun: A play on words, sometimes on different senses of the same word and sometimes on the
similar sense or sound of different words. Example: Jessie looked up from her breakfast and said, "A
boiled egg every morning is hard to beat."

18. Simile: A stated comparison (usually formed with "like" or "as") between two fundamentally
dissimilar things that have certain qualities in common. Example:Roberto was white as a sheet after
he walked out of the horror movie.

Simile is a comparison between two unlike things using the words "like" or "as." Examples are:
 As slippery as an eel
 Like peas in a pod

19. Synecdoche: A figure of speech in which a part is used to represent the whole. Example: Tina is
learning her ABC's in preschool.

Synecdoche is when a part represents the whole or the whole is represented by a part. Examples are:
 Wheels - a car
 The police - one policeman

20. Understatement: A figure of speech in which a writer or speaker deliberately makes a situation
seem less important or serious than it is. Example: "You could say Babe Ruth was a decent
ballplayer," the reporter said with a wink.

Understatement is when something is said to make something appear less important or less serious. Examples
are:
 It's just a scratch - referring to a large dent
 It's a litttle dry and sandy - referring to the driest desert in the world