Idioms Teens Hear: Choose the Meaning
Figurative expressions from group chats, hallways 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
Do not remove the literal options. They are the point: a student who consistently chooses them is telling you something specific about how they process figurative language. When one is chosen, ask what in the sentence makes the literal reading unlikely — with the coach is what rules out ice skating — since that reasoning transfers to idioms not on this board. Twelve minutes covers the sixteen.
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
Sixteen multiple-choice items on current teen idioms: he threw me under the bus; 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. Each offers a literal option — he gave me a ride, she is ice skating, I'm flooded out of my house — which is what makes the item a real test rather than a prompt.
What to listen for
Watch for near-miss answers. Threw me under the bus offered as he warned me is a plausible social reading that misses the betrayal, and it is more informative than a literal answer because it shows the student is reasoning socially and getting it slightly wrong. Notice whether errors cluster on the workload idioms or the blame ones.
Carrying it home
When a student misreads a situation socially, an idiom is sometimes the cause. Asking what they heard, rather than explaining what happened, occasionally turns up a misunderstanding nobody suspected.
What's in this activity
- 'He threw me under the bus' means ___.
- He gave me a ride
- He warned me
- He blamed me to protect himself
- He shoved me
- 'She's on thin ice with the coach' means ___.
- She is close to being in trouble
- She is the best player
- She is ice skating
- She is cold
- 'I'm swamped this week' means ___.
- I'm flooded out of my house
- I'm going camping
- I'm bored
- I'm extremely busy
- 'Let's play it by ear' means ___.
- Listen to music
- Decide as we go
- Repeat what I say
- Practice an instrument
- 'He dropped the ball on his part of the project' means ___.
- He failed to do his part
- He plays sports
- He is clumsy
- He finished early
- 'That's a stretch' means ___.
- That's flexible
- That's hard to believe
- That's a long walk
- That's a warm-up
- 'She's got a lot on her plate' means ___.
- She eats a lot
- She is at dinner
- She has many responsibilities
- She is greedy
- 'I'll take a rain check' means ___.
- I want an umbrella
- No, never
- Not now, but another time
- I need a refund
Questions
- How does this differ from the teen idiom flashcards?
- That set supplies the expressions for discussion. This one asks the student to choose the meaning against literal distractors, which tests comprehension rather than teaching it.
- Do I need an account?
- No, all sixteen items play free in the browser.
- What grades is it for?
- Sixth through twelfth.
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.