Educational worksheet teaching figurative language with definitions and examples.

Let’s go through the paragraph and find each example of figurative language, then match it to the correct type from the chart.

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Paragraph:

> Thick, black smoke lifted like tar. The spout of burnt toast blew my nostrils and made my eyes water. I gagged for air like a fish out of water. In a panic, I slammed the kitchen window shut. It closed with a bang as if it hit a brick wall. The lights flickered on and off like a disco ball. I could tell I was getting light-headed. I needed to get outside for fresh air! I shouted for my mom, but my voice was ghost. “What’s wrong, Will?” I heard my mom say. The “ghost” I answered. “I was stuck on the highest setting,” she said. The room smelled like a million dead ants! And now my toast is burnt!” I started crying. Mom peeked in the door. The smoke had cleared and the floor looked normal. “This really is distressing in disguise,” Mom said. “Now you can have pancakes for breakfast, instead of toast!”

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Now let’s break it down sentence by sentence:

1. “Thick, black smoke lifted like tar.”
→ This compares smoke to tar using “like”. That’s a simile.

2. “The spout of burnt toast blew my nostrils...”
→ “Spout” is not literal — toast doesn’t have a spout. But this isn’t one of the main types listed (maybe personification? Not quite). Let’s skip for now — actually, this might be hyperbole or just descriptive. Wait — look at next one.

3. “I gagged for air like a fish out of water.”
→ Again, uses “like” → simile.

4. “It closed with a bang as if it hit a brick wall.”
→ Uses “as if” → also a simile.

5. “The lights flickered on and off like a disco ball.”
→ Uses “like” → simile.

6. “my voice was ghost.”
→ Saying voice *was* a ghost — not literally. Giving human thing (voice) a non-human quality (ghost). Actually, this is saying the voice disappeared or became faint — so it’s comparing voice to a ghost without “like” or “as” → that’s a metaphor.

7. “The room smelled like a million dead ants!”
→ Uses “like” → simile. Also, “a million dead ants” is exaggeration → that’s hyperbole too! So this sentence has TWO: simile AND hyperbole.

8. “This really is distressing in disguise,”
→ “Distressing in disguise” — meaning something bad turned into something good (pancakes instead of burnt toast). This is an idiom or metaphorical phrase. But more precisely, it’s giving abstract idea (“distress”) a physical form (“in disguise”) → could be personification? Or maybe metaphor. Actually, “in disguise” suggests hiding true nature — so it’s a metaphor.

Wait — let’s check the chart again:

- Simile: comparison with “like” or “as”
- Metaphor: comparison WITHOUT “like” or “as”
- Idiom: phrase with figurative meaning not obvious from words
- Hyperbole: extreme exaggeration
- Personification: giving human traits to non-human things
- Alliteration: same sound repeated
- Onomatopoeia: sound words
- Imagery: descriptive language appealing to senses

So back to #8: “distressing in disguise” — this is an idiom? Or metaphor? Actually, it’s a common expression meaning “something bad that turns out to be good” — so it’s an idiom.

But wait — the chart says idiom = “a phrase with a figurative meaning that is different from its literal meaning.” Yes — “distressing in disguise” fits that.

Also, note: “ghost” earlier — “my voice was ghost” — that’s missing “a” — probably meant “my voice was a ghost” — which would be metaphor. We’ll treat it as metaphor.

Now, what about “spout of burnt toast”? Toast doesn’t have a spout — so maybe personification? No, spout is usually for liquids. Maybe it’s just poetic description — not clearly one of the 8 types. Skip unless forced.

Another one: “slammed the kitchen window shut. It closed with a bang...” — “bang” is a sound word → onomatopoeia.

And “flickered on and off like a disco ball” — we already called that simile, but “flickered” is also visual imagery → but imagery is broad. The question asks to underline each example — so we should pick the most specific type.

Let’s list all clear examples:

✔ Similes:
- “smoke lifted like tar”
- “gagged for air like a fish out of water”
- “closed... as if it hit a brick wall”
- “lights flickered... like a disco ball”
- “smelled like a million dead ants”

✔ Metaphors:
- “my voice was ghost” (meaning very quiet/faint)
- “distressing in disguise” — actually, this is better classified as idiom

Wait — “distressing in disguise” — let’s confirm: Is it an idiom? Yes — because “in disguise” here doesn’t mean wearing a costume — it means hidden truth. So idiom.

✔ Hyperbole:
- “smelled like a million dead ants” — “million” is exaggeration → hyperbole

✔ Onomatopoeia:
- “bang” — sound of window closing

✔ Personification? Any?
- “toast blew my nostrils” — toast can’t blow — but “blew” might be personification? Weak. Probably not intended.
- “voice was ghost” — ghost isn’t human trait — so not personification.
- Maybe none strong here.

✔ Alliteration? Repeated sounds?
- “black smoke” — b and s — no.
- “burnt toast blew” — b, t, b — not really.
- “fish out of water” — f, o, w — no.
Probably no clear alliteration.

✔ Imagery? Many sentences create images — but since the task is to identify specific types, and imagery is broad, we may not need to mark every descriptive sentence — only if it’s primarily for sensory effect. But the instruction says “underline each example”, so perhaps we should note where imagery is strong.

But looking at the chart, imagery is defined as “words or phrases that appeal to the five senses”. So:

- “Thick, black smoke” — visual
- “blew my nostrils” — smell
- “made my eyes water” — sight/feeling
- “gagged for air” — feeling
- “bang” — sound
- “flickered on and off” — sight
- “smelled like a million dead ants” — smell
- “started crying” — emotion/sight

So many examples of imagery — but since the task likely wants us to focus on the 8 types specifically, and imagery is overarching, perhaps we don’t underline every instance — only when it’s the primary device.

Actually, re-reading the directions: “Read the paragraph and look for examples of figurative language. Grab some crayons and use the colors from the chart above to underline each example...”

So we are to underline each occurrence and color-code by type.

Given that, let’s make a clean list:

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Final List of Figurative Language Examples in Paragraph:

1. “like tar” → Simile
2. “like a fish out of water” → Simile
3. “as if it hit a brick wall” → Simile
4. “like a disco ball” → Simile
5. “like a million dead ants” → Simile + Hyperbole (because “million” is exaggeration)
6. “my voice was ghost” → Metaphor
7. “bang” → Onomatopoeia
8. “distressing in disguise” → Idiom

(Note: “spout of burnt toast” — possibly metaphor or personification, but unclear — omit for safety.)

Also, “I started crying” — not figurative. “Mom peeked in the door” — literal.

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So to summarize for the student:

You should underline these parts and color them according to the chart:

- All the “like” and “as if” phrases → Simile (red)
- “my voice was ghost” → Metaphor (orange)
- “bang” → Onomatopoeia (pink)
- “distressing in disguise” → Idiom (brown)
- “a million dead ants” → also Hyperbole (green) — because it’s exaggerated

Note: One phrase can have more than one type — like “like a million dead ants” is both simile and hyperbole.

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Final Answer:
The figurative language examples in the paragraph are:
- Similes: “like tar”, “like a fish out of water”, “as if it hit a brick wall”, “like a disco ball”, “like a million dead ants”
- Metaphor: “my voice was ghost”
- Hyperbole: “a million dead ants”
- Onomatopoeia: “bang”
- Idiom: “distressing in disguise”