English · Year 7

Active learning ideas

Figurative Language: Simile, Metaphor, Personification

Active learning lets students experience the power of figurative language firsthand. Moving from abstract definitions to concrete creation reinforces how similes, metaphors, and personification shape meaning and emotion in writing.

• ACARA Content Descriptions
• AC9E7LA08
• AC9E7LT02

• 20–35 min
• Pairs → Whole Class
• 4 activities

Activity 01

• RAFT Writing
• 25 min · Pairs

Pairs: Simile-Metaphor Swap

Provide pairs with poetic lines containing similes. They rewrite each as a metaphor, then swap with another pair to compare imagery impact and vote on the stronger version. Discuss differences in class.

Compare the impact of a simile versus a metaphor in conveying an image.

Facilitation Tip

During Simile-Metaphor Swap, circulate and listen for pairs justifying their choices—pause any pair whose reasoning relies on 'it sounds better' and redirect them to compare impact on the reader.

What to look for

Present students with three short poetic excerpts. For each, ask them to identify the primary figurative language device used (simile, metaphor, or personification) and write one sentence explaining their choice.

• Apply
• Analyze
• Create
• Social Awareness
• Self-Awareness

Activity 02

• RAFT Writing
• 35 min · Small Groups

Small Groups: Personification Puppets

Groups select everyday objects and create puppet skits using personification to express feelings. Perform for the class, who identify traits and effects on poem mood. Reflect in journals.

Analyze how personification can bring inanimate objects to life and deepen meaning.

Facilitation Tip

When guiding Personification Puppets, emphasize physicalization: ask performers to show the object’s human trait (e.g., a clock swaying impatiently) before they speak their line.

What to look for

Provide students with a common object, like a 'cloud'. Ask them to write one sentence using a simile, one using a metaphor, and one using personification to describe it. Collect these to gauge understanding of each device.

• Apply
• Analyze
• Create
• Social Awareness
• Self-Awareness

Activity 03

• RAFT Writing
• 30 min · Whole Class

Whole Class: Hyperbole Chain

Start with a simple emotion prompt. Each student adds a hyperbolic line, passing to the next. Read the chain aloud, analyse how exaggeration builds intensity, then edit collaboratively.

Construct an example of hyperbole that effectively emphasizes a poetic idea.

Facilitation Tip

In Hyperbole Chain, model how to revise an exaggeration so it still feels true emotionally but not literally true, then have students do the same with each new link.

What to look for

Pose the question: 'When is it more powerful to say something *is* like something else (simile), versus saying it *is* something else (metaphor)?' Facilitate a class discussion using student-generated examples to explore the impact of directness versus suggestion.

• Apply
• Analyze
• Create
• Social Awareness
• Self-Awareness

Activity 04

• RAFT Writing
• 20 min · Individual

Individual: Understatement Flip

Students rewrite a hyperbolic poem excerpt using understatement. Share one example per person, class discusses how minimisation heightens irony or tension.

Compare the impact of a simile versus a metaphor in conveying an image.

Facilitation Tip

For Understatement Flip, give students three starter sentences and have them write understated versions that still reveal the emotion beneath.

What to look for

Present students with three short poetic excerpts. For each, ask them to identify the primary figurative language device used (simile, metaphor, or personification) and write one sentence explaining their choice.

• Apply
• Analyze
• Create
• Social Awareness
• Self-Awareness

A few notes on teaching this unit

Teach figurative language through cycles of noticing, creating, and revising. Start with short, vivid examples and ask students to identify the device and the effect. Avoid front-loading definitions; instead, let patterns emerge through discussion and trial. Research shows that students grasp nuanced differences best when they first create their own examples and then compare them with mentor texts.

Students will confidently distinguish between simile, metaphor, and personification, use each device purposefully in their own writing, and explain how these choices affect a reader’s experience. Lessons move from recognition to creation to critique.

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Watch Out for These Misconceptions

• During Simile-Metaphor Swap, watch for students who treat similes and metaphors as interchangeable and simply swap 'like' for 'is' without considering impact.

  Pause the pair and ask them to read both versions aloud. Then prompt: 'Which version makes the image sharper in your mind? Why? What does one version make you feel that the other doesn’t?' Guide them to notice how metaphors assert identity, while similes suggest possibility.

• During Personification Puppets, watch for students who animate only animals or people and ignore objects or abstract concepts like 'fear' or 'Monday morning'.

  Display a list of non-human nouns including objects and abstractions. Ask each group to pick one that hasn’t been chosen yet. If a group picks an animal, challenge them to find a less obvious noun from the list and try again.

• During Hyperbole Chain, watch for students who create exaggerations that feel untrue or silly rather than intentionally vivid.

  Show a strong example: 'I’ve told you a million times not to leave your shoes in the hallway.' Ask students to revise their exaggeration to match this emotional intensity while still feeling like an exaggeration, not a lie.

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Methods used in this brief

• RAFT Writing