Mississippi College- and Career-Readiness Standards:
L.8.5a
Interpret figures of speech (e.g. verbal irony, puns) in context.
North Carolina - Standard Course of Study:
L.8.5.a
Interpret figures of speech in context based on grade 8 reading and content.
New York State Next Generation Learning Standards:
8L5a
Interpret figures of speech including irony and puns in context.
Wisconsin Academic Standards:
L.8.3
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 specific word choice on meaning and tone, including analogies or allusions to other texts.
Arizona Academic Standards:
8.L.5.b
Common Core State Standards:
Literacy.L.8.5b
Georgia Standards of Excellence (GSE):
ELAGSE8L5b
Kentucky Academic Standards (KAS):
L.8.5.b
Mississippi College- and Career-Readiness Standards:
L.8.5b
New York State Next Generation Learning Standards:
8L5b
Use the relationship between particular words to better understand each of the words.
Arkansas Academic Standards:
8.V.6
Demonstrate an understanding of figurative language in context, including verbal irony and puns.
8th 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).
Verbal Irony
While using verbal irony, the speaker says the opposite of what he or she means.
Example: “I am having a marvelous time, dear,” Mother said as she continued her fights with the endless number of mosquitoes.
Pun
The humorous use of a word or phrase to suggest its different possible meanings. It is also a play on words; the words are alike or nearly alike in sound but different in meaning.
Example: I was on pins and needles at the acupuncture clinic. (play on the words pins and needles)
8th Grade Writing - Figures of Speech Lesson