A lesson about Similies

A lesson about.....

Elicit what the animal is and what it is doing.

Confirm: the animal is a hare. A hare is like a rabbit, but it is slightly larger and

with longer ears. Normally hares are quiet animals, and are difficult to see in the

countryside, but in spring, mating season, their behaviour changes, and they can

be seen running round the fields, jumping and fighting. Because this is such a

huge change in behaviour, people say that hares in March are mad – and so

someone can be described with ‘as mad as a March hare’.

"As mad as a March hare"

as + adjective + as + noun

Elicit the form (as adjective as + noun).

Lesson focus

Tell students that you will be looking at how English uses the structure ‘as

+adjective + as + noun’ (technically: a simile) to describe people. In the

lesson, students will be building their range of descriptive vocabulary. 

Task 

1

Task 1: 

- do you recognize all the words?

Match the two columns together.

Show students the worksheet and ask them to read it. 

Ask students to check unfamiliar words using a dictionary.

(possible checking: a rake, a beetroot, stubborn, a post

Students complete the task individually first, then peer check their

answers

Synonyms

Task 2:

Use synonyms to develop the meaning.

As good as gold:

As cool as a cucumber:

Feedback/checking as whole class

Ask the students for some synonyms to develop the meanings: as good

as gold = well-behaved; as cool as a cucumber = calm and relaxed in

manner, unaffected by pressure).

Why?

Task 3:

Critical thinking:

Why?

As deaf as a post?

As cool as a cucumber?

Encourage some critical thinking: why

‘as deaf as a post’? why ‘as good as gold’? (because of the duplication of

the sound; same in ‘pretty as a picture’.)

In Dutch

Task 4 :

Comparing to your own language

Which of the simile are also used in your own language?

(Mono- or multilingual classes: what simile does your first language use to

express the same idea?

1. Your nephew’s as __________. Is he eating enough?
2. You’ll need to speak up for grandma: she’s _______________.
3. I promise not to disturb you if I come in late. I’ll be ______________.
4. His suitcase wasn’t heavy: it was _________________.
5. Maria was so embarrassed, her face turned as ________________

Practice 1

To help students use the newly-learned items in context, give them

students some gapped sentences to complete. Show these one at a time.

Compare answers to each one before moving onto the next

1. Your nephew’s as thin as a rake. Is he eating enough?
2. You’ll need to speak up for grandma: she’s as deaf as a post.
3. I promise not to disturb you if I come in late. I’ll be as quiet as a mouse.
4. His suitcase wasn’t heavy: it was as light as a feather.
5. Maria was so embarrassed, her face turned as red as a beetroot.

Practice 1

To help students use the newly-learned items in context, give them

students some gapped sentences to complete. Show these one at a time.

Compare answers to each one before moving onto the next

Practice 2:

Ask students to engage with the rest of the similes by discussing the

vocabulary at a personal level (see below). Encourage them to expand

answers and ask their partner(s) questions

Use the wheel to choose the question that student can talk about in their group.

Reflection

• What similes were new to you?
  
• Which ones are particularly memorable and why?
  

 For more examples go to:

https://www.englishgrammar.org/simile/

https://speakspeak.com/english-grammarexercises/intermediate/similes