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Figurative Language & Allusion: Writing That Says More

Students deepen their toolkit of figurative language — similes, metaphors, personification, hyperbole, and allusion — learning how each device lets writers say more than the literal words and pack meaning into a phrase.

Grade 7Vocabulary50 minutes1 class periodReading WorkshopExplicit teaching4 StandardsCommon Core
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Lesson at a Glance

Everything you need before the bell rings

Learning Objectives

Students will be able to…

  • ✓Identify simile, metaphor, personification.
  • ✓Recognize hyperbole.
  • ✓Explain an allusion.
  • ✓Interpret figurative language in a text.
Essential Question

When a writer calls someone “a real Romeo” or says they’ve “told you a million times,” they mean more than the words say. How do these devices work?

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Lesson Phases
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Vocabulary Terms
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Standards Aligned
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Interactive Task
Figurative Explorer · Interactive

The Figurative Explorer

Project this and tap each device. Have students learn how it works and find or write their own example.

🎨 Explore figurative language & allusion — tap eachTry it

The Lesson · Reading Workshop (Mini-Lesson · Practice · Share)

50 minutes, five moves

Tap any phase to open the teacher moves and student actions.

1

Connect — More Than the Words

5 min

“I’ve told you a million times” — literally a million?

👩‍🏫 Teacher Moves

  • Read a hyperbole and an allusion.
  • Ask what they really mean.
  • Set the goal: figurative language.

🎒 Student Actions

  • Read the examples.
  • Find the real meaning.
  • Predict the devices.
2

Teach — Five Devices

12 min

Teacher models.

👩‍🏫 Teacher Moves

  • Review simile, metaphor, personification.
  • Add hyperbole (exaggeration).
  • Add allusion (a reference).

🎒 Student Actions

  • Review the basics.
  • Learn hyperbole.
  • Learn allusion.
3

Active Engagement — Explore Together

13 min

Class uses the Figurative Explorer.

👩‍🏫 Teacher Moves

  • Tap each device.
  • Identify devices in a text.
  • Explain the meaning.

🎒 Student Actions

  • Tap each device.
  • Identify examples.
  • Explain meaning.
4

Independent Practice — Independent Practice

15 min

Students analyze devices.

👩‍🏫 Teacher Moves

  • Give passages to analyze.
  • Label each device.
  • Write an example of each.

🎒 Student Actions

  • Label the devices.
  • Explain them.
  • Write examples.
5

Share — Share

5 min

Students share an example.

👩‍🏫 Teacher Moves

  • Invite a favorite device.
  • Explain how it works.
  • Hand out the exit ticket.

🎒 Student Actions

  • Share an example.
  • Explain it.
  • Complete the exit ticket.
Standards Alignment

Built to the standards you report on

Aligned to the Common Core State Standards for English Language Arts.

CCSS
L.7.5

Demonstrate understanding of figurative language, word relationships, and nuances.

CCSS
L.7.5a

Interpret figures of speech in context.

CCSS
RL.7.4

Determine the meaning of figurative language and analyze its impact.

CCSS
L.7.4

Determine the meaning of unknown words using context.

Differentiation

One lesson, every learner

Multilingual Learners

ELL / EMERGING READERS
  • Device cards with examples.
  • Sentence frame: “This is ___ because ___.”
  • Match devices to examples.

Support & Access

IEP / 504
  • Start with simile and metaphor.
  • Provide device definitions.
  • Match example to device.

Stretch & Extend

GIFTED / EARLY FINISHERS
  • Research a famous allusion.
  • Analyze figurative language in a poem.
  • Write a paragraph using three devices.
Materials

What to gather

  • 📽️Projector / board
  • 📓Reading notebooks
  • 💻The Figurative Explorer
  • 📚Poems and passages
  • ✏️Pencils
  • 🎫Exit-ticket slips
Vocabulary

Key terms — hover for a quick definition

figurative languagewords that mean more than their literal meaningsimilea comparison using like or asmetaphorsaying one thing is anotherpersonificationhuman traits given to non-human thingshyperbolean extreme exaggerationallusiona reference to something well knownliteralthe exact meaningimagerydescriptive, sensory language
Evaluate

Exit Ticket

Preview the three formative checks. Tap “Sample answer” to see what mastery looks like — hide them before you print for students.

QUESTION 1
What is hyperbole? Give an example.
An extreme exaggeration for effect — for example, “This backpack weighs a ton.”
QUESTION 2
What is an allusion?
A reference to a famous person, place, event, or work of literature (like calling someone “a Scrooge”).
QUESTION 3
“The stars danced in the night sky” uses which device?
Personification (stars are given the human action of dancing).

Going deeper? Trace an allusion.

Have students find an allusion in a song, book, or ad, and explain what it refers to and why the writer used it. A printable allusion-hunt sheet is in the ELA library.

Study · Flashcards

Study the key terms

Tap a card to flip it, then rate whether you knew it. Built from this lesson’s vocabulary.

🃏 Figurative Language & AllusionFlip
Card 1
Term
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Meaning
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Practice · Quiz

Check your understanding

A quick self-check with instant feedback, drawn from this lesson’s key terms.

📝 Figurative Language & AllusionQuiz
Score: 0
1 / 6
Question 1
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Practice · Worksheet

Printable worksheet

A print-and-go review sheet with a built-in answer key. Tap “Show answer key” to reveal answers, or print the clean version for students.

🖨️ Figurative Language & AllusionPrint
Name: ________________________
Date: ____________

Part A · Write the word that matches each meaning

Word bank: allusion, figurative language, hyperbole, imagery, literal, metaphor, personification, simile
  1. human traits given to non-human things
  2. words that mean more than their literal meaning
  3. saying one thing is another
  4. an extreme exaggeration
  5. the exact meaning
  6. descriptive, sensory language
  7. a reference to something well known
  8. a comparison using like or as

Part B · Show what you learned

  1. What is hyperbole? Give an example.
  2. What is an allusion?
  3. “The stars danced in the night sky” uses which device?
Answer key — Part A: 1) personification · 2) figurative language · 3) metaphor · 4) hyperbole · 5) literal · 6) imagery · 7) allusion · 8) simile
Part B: 1) An extreme exaggeration for effect — for example, “This backpack weighs a ton.” 2) A reference to a famous person, place, event, or work of literature (like calling someone “a Scrooge”). 3) Personification (stars are given the human action of dancing).