Figurative Language in Lyrics and Media
Identify and interpret metaphor, simile, hyperbole and personification in real media language.
Session summary (SOAP)
Stays on this screen. Nothing is saved or sent.
Mark a card Correct, Correct with cue or Incorrect and the summary writes itself here.
How to run it
Ask what it means before asking what it is called. A student who says my heart's a battlefield means they feel torn has understood; one who says it is a metaphor and stops has labelled. The two ships item is the hardest and the most worth doing — it requires knowing the idiom, and a student who reasons it out from the image is doing exactly the right thing. Fifteen minutes covers the eight.
Cueing ladder
Start at the top. Add support one step at a time.
- IndependentPresent the item and wait 5 seconds of quiet before helping.Log as correct
- HintReread the key sentence, or point back to the clue in the text or picture.Log as cued
- Two choicesOffer the literal meaning and the intended one, and ask which the speaker means.Log as cued
- ModelThink aloud: say how you worked it out, then the student says the answer and why.Log as cued
Adjust it
Read it aloud to the student and offer two choices from the start.
Ask the student to say which words gave them the clue, not just the answer.
Matching IEP goal
Given short texts or spoken prompts, Student will explain the intended meaning of figurative language in 8 of 10 opportunities across 3 consecutive sessions, given no more than an indirect cue.
Send it home through the parent portal →About this activity
Eight lines from the language teenagers actually meet: My heart's a battlefield — metaphor or simile, and what does it mean; The city never sleeps; I've told you a million times — what is the literal truth; Her silence was louder than the argument; The camera loves her; We're just two ships passing. Every question asks for meaning as well as a label, because naming a device is not understanding it.
What to listen for
Listen for literal interpretations. The city never sleeps read as a claim about sleep is the characteristic error, and it tends to travel with other comprehension difficulties rather than appearing alone. Watch whether the student can generate an example — asking for another way to say I've told you a million times separates understanding from recognition.
Carrying it home
Song lyrics are full of this and students are already listening to them. Asking what a line means, rather than what device it is, is a normal conversation rather than homework.
What's in this activity
- 'My heart's a battlefield.' -- metaphor or simile, and what does it mean?
- 'He runs like his shoes are on fire.' -- what is being compared?
- 'The city never sleeps.' -- what kind of figurative language is this?
- 'I've told you a million times.' -- hyperbole. What is the literal truth?
- 'Her silence was louder than the argument.' -- explain it.
- 'Time is money.' -- what does the speaker value?
- 'The camera loves her.' -- personification. Explain it.
- 'We're just two ships passing.' -- what is the relationship?
Questions
- What grades is this for?
- Ninth through twelfth, using media language rather than textbook examples.
- Is it free?
- Yes, all eight items play with no account.
- Why use lyrics rather than literary examples?
- Because the student meets them daily and already has an opinion about them. Figurative language taught only through poetry tends to stay in poetry.
Use this board with your caseload
With a free account, every correct, cued and incorrect mark is saved to the student and scored against their IEP goal, with the data written up for you. Assign it as home practice through the parent portal.
Track progress freeFree for SLPs. No card, no trial clock.