Trick or Treat...Teaching Figurative Language with Halloween

Reinforce the concept of idioms by having students dress up for Halloween as an Idiom!

Ah, Figurative Language... similes may be easy enough to teach, but those metaphors and idioms can be tough!  So often our students take what they read literally, when the meaning is actually figurative - this has a huge impact on reading comprehension.

In my 5th/6th grade combo class, I start the year off with figurative language, and don't let up all year. To this end, I use quotes in my classroom in which I have my students determine whether the quote has a literal meaning or a figurative meaning.  If it is figurative they have to tell me what type of figurative language it is and what the symbolism is.  This is tough early in the year, but the students start to see the connections and it gets easier as the year goes on.

I know, this sounds kind of dry and boring, but really it isn't!  I like to keep my classroom fun and engaging, so I work hard at finding interesting quotes to stimulate good conversation.  I also take any other opportunity throughout the year to enhance these skills in a fun way.  Halloween is a perfect example of this...

Yes, it's that time of year again, where your students come to school in their costumes and act like the monsters and aliens that they are dressed up as!  The sugar high doesn't help either!  Not my favorite day as a teacher!  It is hard to maintain a structured learning environment when the students are off in the world of costumes, candy, witches, and goblins!  So why not use it?  All week, I will be posting some of my favorite Halloween activities that are both educational and engaging.

Idea #1:  Idiom Costume

I encourage my students to dress up as an idiom of their choice.  I use my classroom incentive (moolah) to reward the students for their participation.  For this activity, they need to dress up as the literal meaning of their chosen idiom, and then tell the class their idiom, explain their costume and the figurative meaning (what does it really mean.)  I always dress up as an idiom as well!

Last year, I dressed up as the idiom "Smarty Pants."  I bought a package of smarty candies and safety pinned them to the front of my pants.  The kids loved it!  This year I'm thinking of dressing as the idiom, "I'm all ears."

I know that one of my students tells me that she is going to dress as the idiom, "On cloud nine."  She is planning on wearing a white tutu to represent the cloud, and a blue top that says, "I'm on cloud nine!"

Another student tells me that he is going to dress as the idiom, "Dressed to kill."  He is going to wear a tuxedo with some fake blood on it.

Ready for some other ideas?  How about some of these...