Figurative Language Anchor Chart

About this resource

A poster on the wall helps, but children remember a kind of figurative language when they can see a picture of it and keep their own small copy. This kit gives you six posters to post (simile, metaphor, idiom, personification, hyperbole and onomatopoeia), each with its own drawn picture, a clue box and three examples that say what they mean. Add six small charts for each child's notebook and practice in six formats, from circle-one to a short story and a page to write and draw your own.

EVERYTHING INSIDE (36 pages)

• 6 posters, one for each kind, each with a picture drawn for this file, a short definition, a clue box ("Look for like or as"), three examples with what each one means, and a contrast line (pages 6 to 11)
• 1 at-a-glance poster with all six kinds, what each does, its clue and a short example (page 12)
• 1 notebook page (page 13): 6 small charts to cut apart and glue into a notebook or binder
• 11 student practice pages in 6 formats: Simile or Metaphor? (2 sets), Name the Type (2 sets), Match the Meaning (2 sets), Sort It (a sort mat with six boxes and 2 cut-and-glue sets of 12 pieces), Find It in a Story, and Write Your Own
• 34 invented sentences for the child to read, plus 24 sort pieces, none repeated across the practice pages
• 1 short story with 6 figures of speech, one of each kind, to find and name
• 3 answer keys, generated from the same data as the student pages
• 1 tracker, 1 class progress grid, 1 family note, 1 whole-class mini-lesson page
• 1 filled example (an invented student), 1 phrase bank (13 starters), 1 binder cover, 6 divider tabs and a spine label to cut out
• Start Here, a how-to-read-a-page page and a contents page with every page number

The Six Practice Formats

1. Simile or Metaphor? (1 dot) — six sentences a page with the figure in bold; circle Simile or Metaphor. These are the two kinds children mix up most.

2. Name the Type (2 dots) — six sentences a page, one of each kind; circle which kind from all six.

3. Match the Meaning (2 dots) — five phrases and five plain-words meanings; write the letter that fits.

4. Sort It (2 dots) — cut 12 pieces and glue each in the box for its kind. Pieces are printed in lowercase with no end mark. Two sets.

5. Find It in a Story (3 dots) — a short story with six numbered figures; write the kind and what it means, with handwriting lines.

6. Write Your Own (3 dots) — write a simile, a personification and a hyperbole on handwriting lines, then draw each one.

Built For The Child Holding The Page

A big "My name" line, one short instruction, large rounded letters, real room to write, and dots (not words) to show the level. Every cut page has 12 or 6 pieces in a block, edge to edge, so each cut is one straight line. Each kind keeps its own color on the poster, the notebook chart and the sort mat, and the name is always printed too, so a black and white copy works.

Every Sentence Is Invented

All sentences are plain classroom prose. No real child is named. The filled example names an invented student and says so on the page.

Type In, Or Print

The name and date lines, tracker, class grid, family note and mini-lesson page are type-in fields in any PDF reader. The student pages are pencil work. This is a fillable PDF; it is not a Google Slides or PowerPoint file.

Who This Is For

Teachers of grades 3-5: general education, resource room and self-contained classrooms, and anyone who wants figurative language posters plus practice in one file. The mini-lesson page is for teaching the whole class from a poster; the family note sends the skill home.

What This Is, And What It Is Not

Figurative language posters, notebook charts and practice, with the record-keeping around it. It is not a screener or a scored test, and it makes no claim about any student's level or rate of progress. There is no IEP goal language in the file.