Introducing Similes
Submitted by: Catharine Goralski
School or Affiliation: Saint Joseph College, West Hartford, CT
Date: June 12, 1998
This language arts lesson is created from an idea found in "More Story
S-T-R-E-T-C-H-E-R-S" provided by Gryphon House on-line at http://www.ghbooks.com
Grade Level: 1-2
Central Concept:
A direct lesson about similes and their use to facilitate comprehension of text that
uses similes.
Student Objectives:
Each student will be able to:
Listen to the first reading of the book "Quick as a Cricket".
Participate in the second reading of the book.
Demonstrate the ability to use similes to convey meaning by creating a simile to describe
one trait about him or her self.
Materials:
"Quick as a Cricket" by Audrey Wood paper markers pencils one large piece of
paper
Initiation:
- Ask the students if they have ever been told:
You swim like a fish, or
You hop like a bunny, or
Be as quiet as a mouse, or
You’re as sneaky as a snake, etc.
- Have the students share their own.
- Discuss the meaning that they convey.
- Ask the students if the following statements make sense:
She was as quiet as a thunderstorm, or
He was as small as a whale, etc.
- Have the students make up some more silly phrases.
Procedures:
- Introduce what a simile is and its function:
A simile is a figure of speech in which two essentially unlike things are compared,
often in a phrase that uses the words like or as.
- Point out that all of the phrases discussed so far have been similes.
- Present the book, "Quick as a Cricket" by Audrey Wood, illustrated by Don
Wood.
Tell the students that the book uses similes all through the book.
- First reading:
- Read the story aloud all the way through, showing each picture to the students.
- Ask the students for comments or questions that they want to address during the second
reading.
- Check to see if they all know what each animal is (for example, they may not all know
what a basset or a lark is).
- Second reading:
- Tell the students that they can participate in the second reading by trying to act out
what each sentence is saying (for example, shiver for "I'm as cold as a toad")
or by reading along when they feel comfortable doing so.
- Read each sentence aloud, pause for student participation.
- Ask questions about each sentence.
Examples:
What does it mean to be as "quick as a cricket"?
What other animal could have been used instead to express the same idea?
Does it mean the boy is a cricket?
- At the end of the book, discuss the last sentence, "Put it all together, and you've
got me."Discuss the meaning, that everyone has many characteristics, etc.
Closure:
Ask the students if the use of similes helped us understand how quiet or how wild the
boy is.
Would they have this good of an understanding if the story just said: he was hot, he
was quick, he was large?
Can similes sometimes confuse us? When?
Evaluation:
Have each student think of a simile describing a trait about him or herself. Write them
on the board.
For example, Cathy is as timid as a mouse. (They may have difficulty with this. To help
them get started, use the word "sometimes".)
Next, have the students create a visual representation of their trait using paper,
markers, pencils, etc. They can add words to the picture if they would like.
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