Grade 5 · English Language Arts · Unit 11 of 14
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.
Nova Scotia Curriculum learning outcome: C2 · descriptive and figurative language
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
Show answer
simile
Hint: A simile compares two things using “like” or “as.”
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.
Show answer
Noah's homework took a very long time.
Hint: Nobody lives for a thousand years! The speaker is exaggerating how long it felt.
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
Show answer
very rarely
Hint: A blue moon is something that hardly ever happens.
Question 4
What kind of figurative language is this?
Splash! Lena jumped into the pool.
- simile
- alliteration
- personification
- onomatopoeia
Show answer
onomatopoeia
Hint: Onomatopoeia is a word that imitates a sound, like buzz, crash or sizzle.
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
Show answer
were very expensive
Hint: Arms and legs are very valuable to you. So something that “costs” them must cost a lot!
Question 6
What kind of figurative language is this?
I'm so hungry I could eat a mountain of pancakes.
- personification
- alliteration
- hyperbole
- simile
Show answer
hyperbole
Hint: Hyperbole is a huge exaggeration that isn't meant to be taken literally.