RIC-20249 Primary Grammar and Word Study Year 6 – Figures of Speech

Similes and metaphors
A simile compares one thing with another using
the words as or like.
For example: ‘as white as snow’, ‘like peas in a pod’
A metaphor is also a comparison. It says one
thing is something else.
For example: ‘Her eyes were diamonds.’
Forgotten
To those who hurriedly pass him by
He is a shadow, a pile of old rags
His face is weathered like a forgotten apple
He’s as useless as torn shopping bags
Camouflaged in dirt like a soldier
He’s a rat in the gutters and streets
He shuffles from one bin to another
Like a hungry child, he swiftly eats
1. Read the poem. Underline the four similes in red. Underline the three metaphors in blue.
2. ‘He’s a rat in the gutters and streets.’
(a) Which things are being compared?
(b) Explain the literal meaning of the metaphor. (What the author is trying to say?)
(c) Why is it a metaphor and not a simile?
(d) Rewrite the line as a simile.
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3. Read the statements and write S for simile or M for metaphor in the box.
(a) My memory is a cold foggy night. (b) The steak was as tough as old leather.
(c) The bride was as radiant as a rose. (d) The stars are like pinpricks in the sky.
(e) He was a giant striding across the land. (f) His face was an old weathered map.
4. Explain the metaphor: ‘Education is the key to a good job’.
5. (a) On the back of this sheet, write at least five similes related to the beach (the waves, the sand, the sun etc.).
(b) Rewrite the similes as metaphors.
(c) Combine the similes and metaphors to create a beach-themed poem.
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Primary grammar and word study