Hidden Comparisons - Metaphors

Summary
The reading introduces the children to the concept of metaphors and can be used in small group or paired discussions. The activities are suitable for individual work or to be completed in pairs.

Objectives
• The children will be able to distinguish metaphors from literal statements.

• The children will be able to identify and interpret metaphors.

Suggested Grades
4th Grade
5th Grade

Excerpt
?That man scares me, he has a smile like a shark and
piercing eyes.?

Can you pick out the simile and the metaphor in the sentence above? Similes are quite easy to find, they all start with ?like? or ?as? which tells us that a comparison is coming. Metaphors also use comparisons but we have to be more clever about identifying them because they don?t give us any clues. This is why we call it a hidden comparison. In the sentence ?a smile like a shark? is a simile and ?piercing eyes? is a metaphor. Here is a simile and a metaphor using the same comparison:

Continued...