Idioms Teens Actually Hear
Figurative expressions from classrooms, group chats and locker rooms, not from a 1980s workbook.
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 for the situation rather than the definition. Threw me under the bus is not just blamed me — it is blamed me to protect himself, and that extra clause is what a student needs to use it correctly. Ask when the student last heard one of these, which usually produces a real example and tells you whether they understood it at the time. Fifteen minutes covers the eight with discussion.
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 expressions from classrooms, group chats and locker rooms: He totally threw me under the bus. That test was a piece of cake. She's on thin ice with the coach. I'm swamped this week. Let's play it by ear. He dropped the ball on his part of the project. That's a stretch. I'm going to crash — I'm exhausted. Chosen because teenagers hear them, rather than because they appear in a workbook.
What to listen for
Listen for the social content. Most of these are about blame, trouble or workload — the vocabulary of adolescent social life — and a student who misses them is missing information about their own standing. On thin ice with the coach is a warning, and a student who reads it literally has missed a warning.
Carrying it home
These expressions are in ordinary conversation and on every television programme. Asking what someone meant, when one goes past, is a normal question rather than a lesson.
What's in this activity
- I'm swamped this week.
- Let's play it by ear.
- That's a stretch.
- +5 more
Questions
- What grades is this for?
- Sixth through twelfth, using current expressions rather than dated ones.
- Is it free?
- Yes, all eight cards play with no login.
- Why do current idioms matter more than classic ones?
- Because students meet them daily and act on them. An idiom from a workbook is vocabulary; one a coach uses about the student is information they need.
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.