11 Creative Figurative Language Lesson Plans for Middle Schoolers

Teaching figurative language can be a delightful way to spark creativity and enhance comprehension in middle school students. For homeschool families, especially those working within a homeschool group or co-op, incorporating engaging figurative language activities can foster collaboration, critical thinking, and fun. In this guide, we’ll explore practical and exciting figurative language activities tailored for homeschool settings, ensuring they work whether you’re teaching one child or a small group.

Why Teach Figurative Language?

Figurative language enriches writing and reading experiences by helping students understand deeper meanings, make connections, and think creatively. It has long been an integral part of a quality English Language Arts curriculum. Understanding figurative language is also essential for mastering literary devices commonly encountered in middle school, high school, and beyond. Whether you’re teaching a group of students or engaging in direct instruction with just your own child, the lesson plans you create will have a strong impact on your child’s comprehension skills. Plus, you’ll help them develop their writing skills, too, by showing them the most effective use of figurative language.

Figurative language is the use of words or expressions to convey meanings that go beyond their literal interpretation. It allows writers to paint vivid pictures, evoke emotions, and make abstract ideas more relatable. Using tools like metaphors, similes, personification, and hyperbole, students can craft language that captivates and engages readers. For example, metaphors such as “time is a thief” illustrate abstract concepts by comparing them to familiar ideas, while similes like “as brave as a lion” create vivid imagery. Personification brings inanimate objects to life, as in “the wind whispered through the trees,” and hyperbole adds dramatic flair, as in “I’ve told you a million times.”

These elements are crucial not only in literature and poetry but also in everyday communication, where they help convey complex emotions and ideas with clarity and creativity. Mastering figurative language enhances your child’s ability to think critically, analyze text, find deeper meaning, and express themselves with nuance and depth.

To help you further understand the concept of figurative language, I will share an example of figurative language that you might encounter while teaching your middle school student.

List of Figurative Language Examples

Metaphor: “Life is a journey, not a destination.”
Simile: “She is as graceful as a swan.”
Personification: “The stars danced playfully in the moonlit sky.”
Hyperbole: “I am so hungry I could eat a horse.”
Onomatopoeia: “The bees buzzed angrily around the hive.”
Alliteration: “Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers.”
Idiom: “It’s raining cats and dogs.”
Oxymoron: “The silence was deafening.”
Symbolism: “A red rose often symbolizes love and passion.”
Irony: “The fire station burned down last night.”

The impact of a specific word choice, the deeper meaning of words, helps middle school homeschoolers understand not only how language can evoke emotions and imagery but also how it shapes the tone and theme of a story or poem, encouraging them to think critically about an author’s intent and their own creative expression.

Lesson Plans & Activities for Figurative Language

1. Analyzing Song Lyrics

Activity Overview: Song lyrics are a great way to introduce figurative language. Many songs use metaphors, similes, and hyperbole to convey emotions and tell stories.