Visualize the Idiom: Literal Picture, Real Meaning
Draw the literal image, then state the figurative meaning -- the contrast is what makes the idiom stick.
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
Draw badly and fast, then explain. The picture is a joke and the explanation is the work — the gap between the literal image and the real meaning is what makes an idiom memorable, and the drawing makes that gap concrete. The bring-your-own card is the most valuable and should be set as something to notice between sessions rather than answered on the spot.
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 idioms to draw literally and then explain: it's raining cats and dogs; he threw me under the bus; she's on thin ice; I'm swamped; that cost an arm and a leg; he spilled the beans; let's break the ice. The last card asks the student to bring one they heard themselves this week, which is where the skill leaves the room.
What to listen for
Listen for the explanation being specific. Threw me under the bus means blamed me is close; blamed me to protect himself is right, and the extra clause is what a student needs to use it correctly. Notice whether the student can say when they would use it, which is a step beyond knowing what it means.
Carrying it home
Idioms come up constantly in ordinary talk and on television. Asking what someone actually meant, when one goes past, is a normal question rather than a lesson.
What's in this activity
- Draw 'It's raining cats and dogs' literally. Then say what it really means.
- Draw 'He threw me under the bus' literally. Then say what it really means.
- Draw 'She's on thin ice' literally. Then explain the real meaning and when you'd use it.
- Draw 'I'm swamped' literally. Then explain the real meaning.
- Draw 'That cost an arm and a leg' literally. Then explain it.
- Draw 'He spilled the beans' literally. Then explain it.
- Draw 'Let's break the ice' literally. Then describe a real situation where you'd say it.
- Pick an idiom you heard this week. Draw the literal picture, then explain what the speaker meant.
Questions
- What grades is this for?
- Sixth through twelfth, using expressions students hear rather than workbook examples.
- Do I need an account?
- No, all eight tasks are free to use here.
- Why draw them?
- Because the contrast is the memory hook. The literal picture is funny and wrong, and that gap between it and the real meaning is what makes an otherwise arbitrary expression stick.
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.