Simile and metaphor

Ages 9 to 12 Read alone or together · about 25 minutes

Read together

A simile compares with like or as: “brave as a lion”. A metaphor says one thing is another: “The Lord is my shepherd.”

These pictures help us feel and understand ideas.

Do it

1. Find two similes and two metaphors in a poem, a Psalm (such as Psalm 23) or a song.
2. Say what each one compares, and what feeling or idea it adds.
3. Write your own simile and metaphor about rain, a friend or home.
4. Share them and guess each other's meaning.

Talk about it

• What is being compared?
• Which is stronger, the simile or the metaphor?

For the grown-up

The Bible is full of figurative language. Reading it well means noticing when something is a picture and not a plain statement. Psalm 23 is a standard example.

Mark as done

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Where this comes from

• National Governors Association Center for Best Practices and Council of Chief State School Officers, Common Core State Standards for English Language Arts (2010), standard L.4.5 (figurative language)
• Alter, R., The Art of Biblical Poetry (Basic Books, 1985)

Written with AI assistance and checked against the sources listed. Please read it before sharing it with a child.