Description
Reinforce literary analysis vocabulary with these figurative language posters! These posters double as figurative language worksheets by having students locate definitions and examples for each literary device term. Use their work to create a word wall anchor chart on your classroom bulletin board!
Included with these Figurative Language Posters:
- 11 Figurative Language Worksheets – Digital & Print
- These templates can be completed by students before displaying them on your bulletin board
- Detailed Answer Key with Figurative Language Examples
- Features diverse authors and examples from popular culture
- Answer key can also be used as ready-to-print figurative language posters
- Figurative Language Posters in Color and Grayscale Format
- Teacher Instructions for using this resource
How to use this Figurative Language Posters:
These Figurative Language Posters will solidify essential terminology to support your students during literary analysis. By providing visually engaging definitions and examples, these posters create an effective reference tool that students can use throughout your literature units. Understanding figurative language is crucial for interpreting deeper meanings in texts, and these posters serve as an ongoing classroom anchor chart to reinforce these key concepts. Displaying these Figurative Language Posters on your bulletin board not only enhances your classroom environment but also promotes independent learning, allowing students to reference them when analyzing literature. Whether used as a learning aid for close reading assignments or as part of a collaborative vocabulary-building activity, these posters help students internalize literary devices in a meaningful way.
These word wall worksheets can be used as either a collaborative activity or an individual assignment, providing flexibility in classroom instruction. By engaging with figurative language terms through hands-on activities, students will deepen their understanding of literary devices while developing a strong foundation in literary analysis. The versatility of this resource allows teachers to integrate it into various lesson structures, ensuring that students can apply these concepts in multiple contexts.
To use this resource as a collaborative activity, assign a specific figurative language term to each student or group of students. This approach encourages peer interaction and cooperative learning, making it an excellent way to engage students actively in the lesson. Students can use online resources, textbooks, or prior knowledge to define their assigned literary device and explore why authors use these techniques in writing. Understanding authorial intent is a key skill in literary analysis, and this activity prompts students to consider how figurative language enhances storytelling, tone, and meaning. Additionally, students will illustrate their term with examples drawn from literature, media, and everyday language. Encouraging students to incorporate examples from pop culture—such as song lyrics, movie dialogue, or viral social media quotes—makes these literary devices more relatable and memorable. Through this process, students move beyond rote memorization and engage in meaningful application, making it easier to recognize these devices in future readings.
Once students have completed their Figurative Language Posters, you can laminate these pages and display them on the classroom bulletin board as a word wall anchor chart. This visual reinforcement helps students quickly recall key concepts during literature discussions, writing exercises, and assessments. The durability of laminated posters ensures that they can be used year after year, making them a valuable long-term classroom resource. Having a permanent display of figurative language terms also creates an immersive learning environment, where students are continuously exposed to literary vocabulary in a way that reinforces retention.
To use this activity as an individual workbook, you can structure it in two different ways, depending on your teaching style and curriculum needs. One option is to have students work through the figurative language worksheets at the beginning of your literature unit, allowing them to familiarize themselves with key terms before diving into analysis. This frontloading approach provides students with a strong foundation, enabling them to immediately apply these literary devices when encountering them in assigned readings. The second option is to use this resource throughout the course of your literature studies, allowing students to gradually complete the worksheets as they encounter examples of figurative language in the texts they read. This scaffolded approach works particularly well when teaching a novel, poetry unit, or thematic literary exploration, as it encourages students to connect theory with real-world examples. No matter which method you choose, students will ultimately have a comprehensive reference workbook that they can use for future assignments and assessments.
The literary devices explored in this resource include:
✔️ Amplification – Expanding an idea to increase its importance or impact.
✔️ Analogy – Drawing a comparison between two things to clarify meaning.
✔️ Aphorism – A short, witty statement that expresses a general truth.
✔️ Contrast – Highlighting differences between two ideas to create emphasis.
✔️ Extended Metaphor – A comparison that continues throughout a passage or text.
✔️ Imagery – Descriptive language that appeals to the senses.
✔️ Irony – A contrast between expectation and reality.
✔️ Metaphor – A direct comparison between two unlike things.
✔️ Motif – A recurring theme, idea, or symbol in literature.
✔️ Personification – Giving human characteristics to non-human things.
✔️ Simile – A comparison using “like” or “as”.
A completed answer key has also been provided with this resource to consolidate the activity and offer clear examples for each literary device. The figurative language examples used to illustrate each term feature diverse authors and references to popular culture, ensuring that students engage with relevant and recognizable content. By seeing how literary devices are used in different contexts, students will be better equipped to identify and analyze figurative language in the texts they read. Additionally, this answer key can double as a ready-to-print set of Figurative Language Posters, making it an invaluable classroom resource. Whether you use the answer key for direct instruction, self-guided learning, or assessment review, it provides a comprehensive tool for reinforcing figurative language concepts.
By incorporating these Figurative Language Posters into your curriculum, you provide students with an interactive and engaging way to develop their literary vocabulary. Whether used as a collaborative activity, independent workbook, or classroom reference tool, this resource helps students gain confidence in literary analysis while making figurative language accessible and enjoyable. These posters not only enhance classroom décor but also serve as a long-term learning aid, ensuring that students have a solid understanding of figurative language concepts throughout their academic journey.
✨ Kindly note that due to copyright restrictions, this resource is not editable. This is a common practice within the online marketplace in order to protect the clipartists and software providers that have authorized their intellectual property for the development of this resource.
See what other teachers are saying about this Figurative Language Posters:
“This is a great resource. The slideshow is aesthetically pleasing and includes a lot of great information. I really like the gallery walk activity and graphic organizers are already created for the students to use during the walk. The students also really liked this activity. ”
– Erica A.
⭒ For classrooms utilizing Google Classroom® ⭒
To access the digital version of these worksheets, simply follow the instructions within the resource to copy the files directly to your Google Drive®.
