Similes

What are similes?? Similes are a way to compare two things using ‘like’ or ‘as’. For example, if I want to say that somebody swims well, I can say they swim like a fish because fish swim well.

Pattern 1 verb + like + noun Examples She swims like a fish. He looks like an ogre. He plays like a professional. He walks like a duck. She acts like a clown.

Pattern as + adjective + as + noun Examples He is as tall as a giant. She is as fast as a rocket. He is as graceful as a swan. She is as sneaky as a fox. He is as quiet as a mouse.

How could I say that somebody: runs fast ___________________________________________ is pretty ___________________________________________ jumps well ___________________________________________ is strong ___________________________________________

How could I say that something: is hard _________________________________________________ feels soft _________________________________________________ is sweet _________________________________________________ feels rough _________________________________________________ is heavy _________________________________________________ sounds noisy _________________________________________________ is light __________________________________________________

As fast as a horse We use similes to describe things by comparing them to other things. For example, if I want to say someone is fast, I can say she is as fast as a horse. Here are some examples of similes: She's as fast as a horse. He's as strong as an elephant. She's as silly as a monkey. It's as cold as ice. It's as light as a feather.

Now it’s your turn. Try to make some similes using the adjectives below. softheavyhotbigpretty

Complete the simile sentence. 1. Without his glasses, he's as ____________ as a bat. 2.That's a pretty dress! It's as ___________ as a rainbow. 3. Be quiet. You are as ______________ as a herd of elephants. 4. Are you feeling sick? You are as __________ as a ghost. 5. Her hands are dirty. They are as __________ as night. 6. She's quick. She's as _______________ as lightning.

7. After he squashed it, it was as ____________ as a pancake. 8. I can't grab it. It's as ____________ as an eel. 9. She is so skinny. She's as ____________ as a toothpick. 10. Don't touch that broken glass. It's as _______ as a razor. 11. It doesn't weigh much. It’s as _________ as a feather. 12. He's really smart. He's as___________ as an owl.

Improving Similes If you want to say a kid is very noisy you can say: He is as noisy as an elephant. That is an ok simile, but we can improve it by thinking of something even noisier than an elephant. Well, what is noisier than an elephant? A whole herd of elephants. And so a better simile might be: He is as noisy as a herd of elephants.

If you want to say something is old you could say: It's as old as the pharaoh. Some pharaohs are 5000 years old after all. But, how can we improve that? By thinking of someone even older than the pharaoh like the pharaoh's grandmother. So we can improve this simile like this: It's as old as the pharaoh's grandmother

Try to improve the following similes. It's as smelly as socks. It's as dangerous as a shark. It's as cold as a milkshake.

Describing something with similes. As scary as a shark. Eyes like diamonds. Teeth as sharp as razors. As fast as a rocket.

Try to create your own simile story The moon was as bright as _________. I walked quickly through the dry grass that crunched like __________. Trees as tall as ___________ towered over me. As quick as ________ a huge animal ran towards me. My heart felt like a _________ beating in my chest. I ran like a ___________ to get home safety, my legs were as wobbly as __________. The windows of my house were as yellow as ___________ showing me I was finally safe.

Activity: Simile Poem Think of something in your head. Create a simile poem to describe it. See if your friends can guess what it might be.

What am I? I’m as ____________ as ____________________. What am I? Draw a picture of what it was you were thinking of.

My Family My mom is like a fire. She's always warm, but sometimes she gets too hot. My brother is like a tornado. He always moves fast and spreads destruction wherever he goes. My sister is like a snowstorm. She's pretty to look at and icy at times, but with a little bit of sunshine, that iciness melts. Together we are like a partly cloudy day. We have our moments of darkness and gloom, but the sun always peeks through.

Some excellent sites for similes. similes.html similes.html simile-activity simile-activity