LESSON

9 Figurative Language

Read the passage and answer the questions.

Visions of Jellyfish
Meg and her father stepped through the doors of the aquarium. This
was the first day of a jellyfish exhibit. Meg had been looking forward to
seeing it for weeks. “Come on, Dad,” she said.
They approached the first of several tall tanks. Inside, jellyfish
transparent as ghosts floated through the water. Their long tentacles were
party streamers trailing behind.
“Look at these,” Meg whispered, moving to the second tank. “They are
little brown parachutes!”
“Those are Pacific sea nettles,” her dad said. You wouldn’t want to swim
with one of those. They have a sting that feels like you’ve been touched by fire.”
“Look at this one!” Meg said. She pointed to a tank that had a long, oval jellyfish. Rows
of plates that looked like combs ran along its body. “It’s a comb jelly. Look at all the different
colors, like a rainbow. It’s beautiful,” she breathed.
Circle the letter of the best answer.
1. The jellyfish’s long tentacles are 3. “They have a sting that feels like
described as “party streamers” you’ve been touched by fire” means
because they— that the sting—
A. were made of paper. A. gives a sharp, hot pain.
B. were sharp and dangerous. B. is caused by touching fire.
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C. were graceful and flowing. C. occurs only in the summer.

D. were taped onto the jellyfish. D. leaves you feeling really tired.

2. What does Meg compare Pacific sea 4. In the sentence, “Look at all the
nettles to? different colors, like a rainbow,”
which word suggests there is
A. rainbows
figurative language?
B. comb jellies
A. at
C. brown parachutes
B. like
D. the tanks in the aquarium
C. colors
D. rainbow

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Word Power Antonyms
• Recognizing antonyms can help you determine the meanings of unknown words.
• Antonyms are word pairs that have opposite or nearly opposite meanings. The
word pairs hot/cold and big/small are antonyms.
• If you read an unfamiliar word, look for an antonym that acts a a clue word near
it. If you know the meaning of the clue word, you can figure out the meaning of its
antonym. In the example The mountain pass is safe in the summer but treacherous
in the winter, knowing the meaning of safe helps you figure out the meaning of
treacherous, its antonym.

As You Read
Use a graphic organizer. Write the unfamiliar word in the center. Write the antonym on the left.
Then use what you know about the meaning of the antonym to figure out the meaning of the
unfamiliar word. Write the meaning on the right.
Here, rain almost never falls. But a fog invariably rolls in off the sea at dawn.

Antonym Meaning
never always

Word

invariably

Try It
Find a word that has the opposite meaning of clamorous. Then write a definition
for clamorous.

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On the way, we heard the notes of a jazz band, soothing as a lullaby, playing
against the clamorous chatter of spectators.

Antonym Meaning

Word

clamorous

120 • Lesson 9: Figurative Language

 Ladders TO
SUCCESS 2
Level 1
Introducing Figurative Language
When an author makes a comparison that creates a picture in the reader’s mind, the author
is using figurative language. Two kinds of figurative language are simile and metaphor. In a
simile, the word like or as is used to compare two things: The clouds looked like pillows. In
a metaphor, two things are compared without those clue words: The clouds were pillows.
You can use these tips to interpret similes and metaphors:
• Ask yourself what two things are being compared.
• Ask yourself what is similar about those two things.
• Then form a picture in your mind.
CL ue As you read, look for the clue words like or as in a comparison to identify
W o RDS a simile.

Think About It
Read the paragraph below. Identify the figurative language and think about
what it means.

These striking pillars are the subject of many beautiful paintings. When you see
their red shapes outlined against the sky, bright as a robin’s blue egg, you might just
want to paint a picture of them, too!

1. Which clue word do you see? ______________________

2. What is being compared to a robin’s blue egg? ______________________

3. What does the simile mean? ______________________

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Use a Strategy
Monitor and Clarify
When you monitor and clarify, you make sure you understand what you read.
• Monitor, or check, your understanding by stopping to think about what
you have read.
• Clarify, or make clear, what you have read by restating ideas in your own words.
• If something is unclear to you, go back and reread that part of the text.

121
Use What You Learned
Read the passage. Use the notes on the side to help you. Then answer the questions
on the next page.

Hoodoo You Think They Are? Monitor

Ask yourself if what
Here, stone pillars seem to grow like trees. There are pillars you are reading
everywhere. Some pillars are the height of a person. Others stand as makes sense to you.
tall as a ten-story building. This is Bryce Canyon, Utah. The stone
pillars are hoodoos.
Bryce Canyon is in a desert. Many mornings, frost drapes the
canyon like icing on a cake. By afternoon, the canyon warms up and Clue Words
the frost melts away. This freezing and thawing helped to create the Look for the clue
words like and as
hoodoos. Water erosion helped, too. The hoodoos are made up of to help you identify
layers of rock. The layers are colorful ribbons wrapped around the similes.
stone. Different kinds of rock wear away at different speeds. These
differences result in the hoodoos’ strange shapes. Some, called spires,
are like great big arms reaching upward. Others are solid and broad,
like a castle wall. These striking pillars are the subject of many Clarify
beautiful paintings. When you see their red shapes outlined against Reread parts of the
the sky, bright as a robin’s blue egg, you might just want to paint a text that are not clear
to you.
picture of them, too!

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GO ON

122 • Lesson 9: Figurative Language

 Ladders to Success 2 • Level 1

Example
Choose the correct answer. Use the Step-by-Step
steps at the right to help you answer
the question. 1. Ask yourself what two things are
being compared.
In the first paragraph, the author
compares some pillars to a ten-story I see that some pillars are compared to
building to show— a ten-story building.

A. how tall the pillars are. 2. Ask yourself what is similar about the
pillars and a ten-story building.
B. how well built the pillars are.
C. how people could live in the pillars. I see that the author writes these pillars
“stand as tall as” a ten-story building.
D. how the pillars are in the shape of a
building. So I know the pillars and a ten-story
building both have great height.
3. Form a picture in your mind of the
pillars.
I see pillars that are really tall, like an
office building.

Now read each question. Circle the letter of the best answer.
1. Near the beginning of the second 3. The author compares spires to “great
paragraph, frost is compared to— big arms reaching upward” because the
spires—
A. hoodoos.
B. mornings. A. are long and thin.
C. the desert. B. seem to have sleeves.
D. icing on a cake. C. can be used to grab things.
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D. always have the same shape.

2. How are layers of rock and colorful
ribbons alike? 4. In the phrase “solid and broad, like a
castle wall,” which word is a clue that
A. They are both easily broken.
suggests this is a simile?
B. They are both strong and sturdy.
A. a
C. They are both long stripes of color.
B. like
D. They are both used to make
something. C. broad
D. castle

123
 Don’t Get Too Close!
Posted by Reading for Real
Never get too close to a live
tarantula. Take it from one man
who learned this lesson too late.
One day, a tarantula owner
was cleaning his pet’s cage.
When he moved his face too
close to the tarantula, he saw it
rub its back legs against its body.
This released a lot of tiny hairs,
like a fine spray, into the owner’s
face. He did not think this was
harmful, but weeks later, his eyes
were red and sore. He sought help from doctors. They found tiny barbed hairs
attached like hooks to his eyes.
It seems the tarantula was protecting itself. What a “hairy” experience for
the owner!

What do you think of

C o MM e NT the tarantula’s way
of defending itself?

Write About It

Duplicating any part of this book is prohibited by law.

Now you will practice interpreting figurative language using a blog. Complete the
graphic organizer. Write what is being compared to barbed hairs and how the two
things are alike.

First Thing Compared Second Thing Compared How They Are Alike

barbed hairs

124 • Lesson 9: Figurative Language

 Ladders TO
SUCCESS 2
Level 2
Recognizing Figurative Language
Review what you learned about figurative language. Remember that when an author makes
a comparison that creates a picture in the reader’s mind, he or she is using figurative
language. Two kinds of figurative language are simile and metaphor.
To identify figurative language:
• Ask yourself what two things are being compared.
• Ask yourself what picture this comparison creates in your mind.
• Look for the clue words like or as in a comparison to identify a simile.

Read the following passage. As you read, circle the simile and underline the
metaphors. Notice how metaphors use comparisons to help create a picture
in your mind.

During reading time, our classroom was quiet as a library. Ms. Le interrupted
the silence. “I have an exciting announcement. Next Tuesday is National Kazoo
Day. In honor of this event, I will hand out kazoos for everyone, and there will
be lots of activities.” The next Tuesday, our class was a hive of activity. Some kids
decorated the room. Others practiced their kazoos. At 2 p.m. sharp, Ms. Le raised
her arms. We all looked up. She started waving her hands, and the class began
to play. We were a symphony. What we created was not Remember to
Beethoven. But it was music—sort of. “Wonderful!” Ms. Le Monitor and Clarify!
gushed as we finished our song. “Happy National Kazoo Day!”

Use this graphic organizer to interpret a metaphor. Ask yourself what two things
are compared and how they are alike.
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First Thing Compared Second Thing Compared How They Are Alike

the classroom a hive

125
Use What You Learned
Read the passage. Then answer the questions to identify figurative language. On a
separate sheet of paper, make a graphic organizer to organize your thoughts.

It is early morning in the Namib desert. Here, rain almost never falls. But fog
invariably rolls in off the sea at dawn. A Namib beetle waits patiently. When fog
spreads out like a blanket on the desert, the beetle leans forward and spreads its
wings against the breeze. It is an aircraft ready to take off. But this plane does not
fly. Instead it takes a drink. What does this desert beetle drink? Morning dew.
This amazing insect’s hard wings have a series of bumps that attract water. In the
morning fog, water drops condense on these bumps. The water drops grow bigger
until they roll down into a series of channels coated in wax, which are also on the
beetle’s wings. Because the wax sheds moisture, the drops of water roll through the
channels and down toward the beetle’s mouth.
In the Namib Desert, water is scarce. Yet thanks to the Remember to
hills and valleys on its wings, this tiny desert beetle survives Monitor and Clarify!
without rainfall.

1. In what way is the fog like a blanket?

2. In the first paragraph, does the author use simile or metaphor to compare a beetle to an
aircraft? Explain how you know.

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3. In the last paragraph, what does the author compare to hills and valleys?

________________________________________________________________________________ .

126 • Lesson 9: Figurative Language

 Ladders TO
SUCCESS 2
Level 3
Interpreting Figurative Language
To understand figurative language, ask yourself what two things are being compared and
how they are alike. Then form a picture in your mind. Sometimes figurative language helps
the reader imagine what the setting, or the place where a story happens, looks like.
• In a simile, the word like or as is used to compare two things.
• In a metaphor, two things are compared directly without clue words.
• An idiom, a third type of figurative language, is an expression that has a certain
meaning in everyday language that is different from what the words in the
expression actually mean. Here is an example: Emily worked against the clock.
You can use a graphic organizer to interpret idioms.
• In the first two boxes, write the idiom and what it is referring to.
• Then write the meaning of the idiom in the last box.

Think About It
Read the sentence below. What does the narrator mean by “could hardly
take my eyes off the street”?

I could hardly take my eyes off the street as my brother Jake and I walked
around.

Idiom What It Refers To Meaning

could hardly take

my eyes off the
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street

Use a Strategy
Visualize
When you visualize, you create a picture in your mind of what the author is describing.
• Look for details that help you create the image.
• Imagine that the story or passage is a movie. Picture the setting, characters,
and events.

127
Use What You Learned
Read the passage. Use the notes on the side to help you. Then answer the questions
on the next page.

Down to a Fine Art Figurative

Language
A sign that read “Annual Chalk Art Festival” hung over the street. What examples of
Already, the sidewalk was a museum. One woman was sketching idioms do you see?
a mountain stream, and a kid not much older than me outlined a
butterfly. I could hardly take my eyes off the street as my brother
Jake and I walked around. One picture caught my eye. An artist
named Kim had sketched a doorway. I hung back, wanting to look at Visualize
Kim’s drawing. Imagine that the
“Come on, Riley,” Jake urged, “I’m so hungry I could eat a passage is a movie.
What does the setting
horse.” I grudgingly followed Jake a few blocks down the street to look like?
a food stand selling popcorn and pretzels. The smell of butter and
salt hung in the air, making my stomach growl. We each wolfed
down a pretzel. Then we headed back toward Kim’s drawing. On the
way, we heard the notes of a jazz band, soothing as a lullaby, playing
Visualize
against the clamorous chatter of spectators. Reread the
When we got back to Kim’s drawing, I could not believe my eyes. description of Kim’s
There in front of me were steps descending into a subway station, drawing. Can you see
the drawing in your
except they were drawn in chalk. And emerging from the station was mind?
a chalk-drawn robot that looked so real I thought it was headed right
for me. This picture was going to win the contest, hands down!

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GO ON

128 • Lesson 9: Figurative Language

 Ladders to Success 2 • Level 3

Read each question. Circle the letter of the best answer.

1. Why is the sidewalk compared to a 4. “We heard the notes of a jazz band,
museum? soothing as a lullaby” is best described
as—
A. because there is artwork to see
B. because the sidewalk is inside a A. a simile
building B. an idiom
C. because the people at the festival C. a metaphor
are very quiet D. a paragraph
D. because you have to buy tickets to
get into the festival 5. In the last sentence, the phrase “hands
down” could be replaced with which
2. Which phrase is an idiom? word?
A. sketched a doorway A. never
B. there in front of me B. maybe
C. sidewalk was a museum C. definitely
D. so hungry I could eat a horse D. tomorrow

3. What does Riley mean when he says 6. On a separate sheet of paper, describe
they each “wolfed down a pretzel”? the setting of the story. Identify two
examples of figurative language that help
A. They ate very slowly.
you visualize this setting.
B. They ate with wolves.
C. They ate very quickly.
D. They ate without forks.
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129
 Picture This!
Posted by Reading for Real
If you visit the village of Inakadate,
Japan in May, villagers are busy planting
rice crops. Go back in September, and
you will see that the rice is nearly ready
for harvest. As you walk through the rice
paddies, you will not notice anything
strange. But if you climb to the top
of one of the buildings in the village
and look out at the fields, you will see
something quite out of the ordinary.
There in front of you, on the canvas of
a rice paddy, might be a picture of a
butterfly or frog. You might even see a likeness of a Japanese warrior.
How is this possible? The villagers painstakingly plant four different kinds
of rice. Each variety has a different color of leaves. With the help of computers,
the sky is the limit in terms of creating intricate designs. The computers are like
artists, helping villagers design pictures and figure out where to plant the rice.
When the rice plants are grown, they create unique murals that can only be seen
from above.

What picture would

C o MM e NT you make in the rice
paddies?

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Interpret what the writer means by using the idiom “the sky is the limit” in this blog.
Write your answer on a separate sheet of paper.

130 • Lesson 9: Figurative Language