Mississippi College- and Career-Readiness Standards:
L.7.5a
Interpret figures of speech (e.g., literary, biblical, and mythological allusions) in context.
North Carolina - Standard Course of Study:
L.7.5.a
Interpret figures of speech in context based on grade 7 reading and content.
New York State Next Generation Learning Standards:
7L5a
Interpret figurative language, including allusions, in context.
Wisconsin Academic Standards:
L.7.3
Demonstrate understanding of figurative language, word relationships, and nuances in word meanings. Determine the denotative, connotative, and figurative meanings of words and phrases used in texts; when words have similar denotations, be able to describe differences in connotation and their impact on meaning and tone. Analyze the impact of rhyme and other repetitions of sound (e.g., alliteration, assonance) in varied texts (e.g., poetry, drama, section of a story).
Arkansas Academic Standards:
7.V.6
Demonstrate an understanding of figurative language in context, including allusions and analogies.
7th Grade Writing - Figures of Speech Lesson
Figurative Language:
Authors use figurative language to create a special effect or feeling. Figurative language helps the reader understand the text better and better imagine the events and the characters.
Here are some examples of figurative language:
Figure of Speech
The meaning of each word separately does not tell the reader what the figure of speech means. An idiom is an example of a figure of speech.
Example: Birds of a feather flock together. (People who are similar hang out together.)
Simile
Compares two, unlike things by using the words “like” or “as.”
Example: Her hair was like a dark cloud. (Her hair was very dark.)
Metaphor
Compares two, unlike things to say one thing is another.
Example: The child was a butterfly. (The child was moving around lightly.)
Personification
Gives nonhuman things human characteristics.
Example: The leaf danced in the gentle breeze. (The way the leaf moved in the wind seemed like dancing.)
Hyperbole
An obvious exaggeration that is not meant to be taken seriously.
Example: He was so tired he could sleep for a century. (He could sleep for a long time.)
Allusion
An allusion is an indirect reference to another text, usually literary work, or well-known characters in literature.
Example:
Ron did not give up his Frankensteinian creative desire, a robot. (Reference to Mary Shelly’s book Frankenstein).
7th Grade Writing - Figures of Speech Lesson