Grade 5 · English Language Arts · Unit 3 of 10

Figurative Language

Similes, metaphors, idioms and more

What your child practises

Spotting similes, metaphors, personification, hyperbole, onomatopoeia and alliteration, and explaining what common idioms really mean.

NWT Curriculum learning standard: Literary devices: simile, metaphor, personification, hyperbole, idiom, onomatopoeia and alliteration

Sample questions

A taste of this unit. In the app, questions change every time and get easier or harder to match your child.

Question 1
What kind of figurative language is this?
The old map was as fragile as a dry leaf.
- hyperbole
- alliteration
- onomatopoeia
- simile
Question 2
What does this hyperbole really mean?
Noah's homework took about a thousand years to finish.
- Noah's homework was finished quickly.
- Noah's homework was very easy.
- Noah's homework took a very long time.
- Noah's homework was about history.
Question 3
What does the idiom “once in a blue moon” mean in this sentence?
It snows here only once in a blue moon.
- when the moon is full
- every winter
- every night
- very rarely
Question 4
What kind of figurative language is this?
Splash! Lena jumped into the pool.
- simile
- alliteration
- personification
- onomatopoeia
Question 5
What does the idiom “cost an arm and a leg” mean in this sentence?
Those concert tickets cost an arm and a leg.
- were very expensive
- caused an injury
- were free
- were hard to find
Question 6
What kind of figurative language is this?
I'm so hungry I could eat a mountain of pancakes.
- personification
- alliteration
- hyperbole
- simile