Voices and Visions: Advanced Literacy and Communication · 6th Year

Active learning ideas

Exploring Simile and Personification

Active learning works well for similes and personification because these devices rely on sensory detail and emotional connection. When students physically sort, draw, or compose examples together, they internalize how figurative language creates vivid pictures in the reader's mind more deeply than passive reading or worksheet exercises can achieve.

• NCCA Curriculum Specifications
• NCCA: Primary - Exploring and Using
• NCCA: Primary - Understanding

• 25–40 min
• Pairs → Whole Class
• 4 activities

Activity 01

• Trading Cards
• 30 min · Pairs

Pairs: Simile Match-Up

Provide cards with emotions and objects; pairs draw one of each and create a simile linking them, such as 'anger like a volcano.' Partners swap cards to revise and improve the similes. Share three strongest as a class.

Compare the effect of a simile versus a metaphor in describing an emotion.

Facilitation Tip

During Simile Match-Up, circulate with a focus on listening to pairs justify their matches, not just checking for correct answers.

What to look for

Present students with five sentences, three containing similes and two containing personification. Ask them to identify each figure of speech and briefly explain why it fits the definition. For example: 'The wind whispered secrets through the trees. Is this a simile or personification? Why?'

• Remember
• Understand
• Apply
• Create
• Self-Management
• Relationship Skills

Activity 02

• Trading Cards
• 35 min · Small Groups

Small Groups: Personification Pictionary

Groups list abstract concepts like 'time' or 'hope'; one student draws a personified version while others guess and write example sentences. Rotate drawers and discuss best sentences afterward.

How does personification make abstract concepts more relatable?

Facilitation Tip

For Personification Pictionary, provide sentence stems to guide groups who stall, such as 'The ______ (object) ______ (action) because ______ (emotion).'

What to look for

Students write two sentences: one using a simile and one using personification to describe a common emotion like 'excitement' or 'sadness'. They then exchange their sentences with a partner. The partner identifies the figure of speech in each sentence and suggests one way to make the imagery stronger.

• Remember
• Understand
• Apply
• Create
• Self-Management
• Relationship Skills

Activity 03

• Trading Cards
• 40 min · Whole Class

Whole Class: Poem Relay

Start a poem on the board with an emotion; students add lines one by one using simile or personification, passing a marker around the circle. Vote on the most effective lines and revise as a group.

Construct a short poem using at least two examples of personification.

Facilitation Tip

In Poem Relay, assign roles so everyone contributes, for example, a reader, a writer, and an illustrator for each line.

What to look for

Pose the question: 'How does giving human actions to an inanimate object, like 'the angry waves crashed against the shore,' help us understand the power of nature better than simply saying 'the waves were strong'?' Facilitate a class discussion focusing on relatability and emotional connection.

• Remember
• Understand
• Apply
• Create
• Self-Management
• Relationship Skills

Activity 04

• Trading Cards
• 25 min · Individual

Individual: Sensory Simile Journal

Students spend five minutes observing their surroundings, then write three similes for sights, sounds, and feelings using 'like' or 'as.' Pair up briefly to read and suggest one tweak each.

Compare the effect of a simile versus a metaphor in describing an emotion.

What to look for

Present students with five sentences, three containing similes and two containing personification. Ask them to identify each figure of speech and briefly explain why it fits the definition. For example: 'The wind whispered secrets through the trees. Is this a simile or personification? Why?'

• Remember
• Understand
• Apply
• Create
• Self-Management
• Relationship Skills

A few notes on teaching this unit

Teachers approach this topic best by modeling how figurative language feels in the body and voice. When you read a simile aloud, pause to let students notice the rhythmic pause before 'like' or 'as.' Avoid overloading lessons with too many terms at once; focus on the purpose of imagery first, and the labels will follow naturally. Research shows that students grasp figurative language faster when they practice revising weak descriptions into stronger ones with clear visuals.

Successful learning looks like students using precise comparisons with 'like' or 'as' for similes and giving clear human traits to non-human subjects in personification. You will hear students discussing why a particular image fits the definition and see them revising their own sentences to make the imagery stronger and more specific.

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Watch Out for These Misconceptions

• During Simile Match-Up, watch for students confusing similes with metaphors because both compare unlike things.

  Have pairs convert their matched similes into metaphors using the sentence stem '______ is ______' and compare how the feeling shifts when the comparison becomes direct.

• During Personification Pictionary, watch for students limiting personification to objects or animals only.

  Ask each group to brainstorm a list of abstract nouns before drawing, then require at least one personification of an emotion or concept like 'time' or 'fear' in their scene.

• During Poem Relay, watch for students adding figurative language everywhere, assuming more is always better.

  After the relay, conduct a class vote on which lines felt most vivid and which felt overdone, then revise one line together to show how restraint sharpens impact.

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Methods used in this brief

• Trading Cards