The Figurative Language Art Show: gallery walk posters

Setting up the gallery walk

  1. Print one poster per exhibit (letter or tabloid size, color if possible) and tape them around the room at eye level, spread out.
  2. Print the Gallery Walk Viewing Guide PDF for each student.
  3. Make groups of 3–4. Start each group at a different poster.
  4. Set the lesson presenter timer for 4 minutes per poster. At the signal, groups rotate clockwise.
  5. At each poster, students find every numbered detail, read the placard, and write I see / I think / I wonder.
  6. After the walk (about 20 minutes), students open The Figurative Language Art Show on devices to solve each exhibit's challenge, or discuss the "After the walk" question as a class.
Exhibit AThe Figurative Language Art Show · 5.RC.11–5.RC.14

Morning Rush

Painting of a busy kitchen

the "snail" bus"zooms like a rocket"123

Look closely

  1. Simile: "Zooms through the kitchen like a rocket" compares the brother to a rocket using like.
  2. Simile with "as": "As slow as a snail" compares the bus to a snail using as.
  3. Why use it?: Similes help readers picture how fast or slow something is.

Placard

My brother zooms through the kitchen like a rocket,
His shoes untied, a waffle in his pocket.
Mom says the bus is as slow as a snail,
But today it came early, so he flew like a gale.

A simile compares two different things using like or as.

Exhibit BThe Figurative Language Art Show · 5.RC.11–5.RC.14

The Classroom Zoo

Friday afternoon

Our classroom IS a zoo!clock = turtleMaria = parrotbell = key123

Look closely

  1. Metaphor: "Maria is a parrot" says she IS a parrot, without like or as. She chatters a lot.
  2. Metaphor: "The clock is a turtle" shows time moving slowly.
  3. Metaphor: "The bell is the key that sets us free" shows the bell ends the school day.

Placard

Our classroom is a zoo on Friday afternoon.
Maria is a parrot, chattering out a tune.
The clock is a turtle crawling toward three.
And the bell, at last, is the key that sets us free.

A metaphor compares two things by saying one thing is another, without using like or as.

Exhibit CThe Figurative Language Art Show · 5.RC.11–5.RC.14

The Old House

A winter night

The windows stare. The stairs complain.123

Look closely

  1. Personification: "Its windows stare" gives the house human eyes and actions.
  2. Personification: "The house groans when the wind blows" gives it a human sound.
  3. Mood: Giving the house human feelings makes the poem feel spooky and mysterious.

Placard

The old house groans when the winter wind blows,
Its windows stare at the drifting snows.
The stairs complain with every step,
And the attic keeps secrets it has always kept.

Personification gives human actions or feelings to something that is not human.

Exhibit DThe Figurative Language Art Show · 5.RC.11–5.RC.14

Grandpa's Sayings

Four idioms, drawn literally

spilled milkhit the hayon the ballbreak a leg= Good luck!123

Look closely

  1. Idiom: "Don't cry over spilled milk" means don't get upset about small things that already happened.
  2. Idiom: "Hit the hay" means go to bed, not punch hay!
  3. Literal vs. real meaning: An idiom's meaning is different from its words: "break a leg" means good luck.

Placard

When I worry, Grandpa says, "Don't cry over spilled milk."
When I'm nervous before a game, "Break a leg, kid."
When he's tired, he says, "Time to hit the hay."
And when I finally understand, "Now you're on the ball!"

An idiom is a saying whose meaning is different from the literal meaning of its words.

Exhibit EThe Figurative Language Art Show · 5.RC.11–5.RC.14

The Judges' Table

Scorecards and speech bubbles

"I've told you a million times!""This backpack weighs a ton!"10109123

Look closely

  1. Hyperbole: "A million times" is an extreme exaggeration for effect.
  2. Hyperbole: "Weighs a ton" exaggerates to show the backpack is heavy.
  3. Judge it: Ask: is it a comparison (simile, metaphor), human action (personification), a saying (idiom), or exaggeration (hyperbole)?

Placard

The judges have one last challenge. Identify the type of figurative language in each line. Remember hyperbole: an extreme exaggeration, like "I've told you a million times!"