Similes

Objectives

To recognise and create simple figurative language, including similes.

Resources

📄 Rainbow similes resource | Plain paper

Today's Lesson

Spelling

Use the Practice/Test on Spelling Frame link to review this week's words.

Main Activity

Explain that some similes have been used so much in English that they have become popular sayings. Read these together:

As solid as a rock
As tall as a giraffe
Cries like a baby
Runs like the wind
As wise as an owl
Swims like a fish
Fights like cat and dog
As clear as mud

Your student may well have found some popular similes in Lesson 2. Add the above list to their collection from Lesson Two if needed!

Next, ask your student to explain what each of these similes mean. If something is as solid as a rock, for example, this means that it is something really hard, sturdy, or even reliable. If something is as tall as a giraffe, it is very tall! If they fight like cat and dog, they don’t get on at all, just like cats and dogs usually don’t! If something is as clear as mud, it is not easily understood, as mud isn’t clear!

Access the resource, and discuss the rainbow. Discuss the colours of the rainbow. Make a list of the colours on a separate sheet of paper, and name lots of nouns or noun phrases that are each colour, e.g. red - tomato, rosy cheeks, blood, peppers, etc. Then, choose some of these nouns to complete the rainbow similes. There are three copies of the rainbow simile template, so encourage your student not to be satisfied just with their first attempt, but to improve and redraft their ideas. Finally, complete a final draft of the rainbow similes.

Citations

[1] spellingframe.co.uk