The Getting Started section explicitly states that The Pearl is based on a Mexican folktale and the Parable of the Pearl of Great Price from the Bible, identifying a clear biblical/literary allusion. Vocabulary example sentences include words with religious connotations (e.g., "consecrated," "intercession") taken from the text, exposing students to context where religious language appears. Discussion prompts ask students what they think The Pearl will be about, which could invite consideration of source material or allusions.

Students are asked in Question #3 to explain the effect of Steinbeck's phrases such as "vagueness of a dream," "things of the imagination," and "more illusions than realities," which requires interpreting figurative language in context. In the Wrapping Up discussion, students are prompted to interpret the simile "for the minds of people are as unsubstantial as the mirage of the gulf." The Life Application/Questions to Discuss ask students to interpret the passage about pearls that "raised the King of Spain," which invites students to interpret a historical/literary reference in context.

Students are asked in Question #1 to describe what Steinbeck means by a simile comparing the town to a colonial animal, requiring them to interpret that figure of speech in context. Activity 3 directs students to create a "Stylistic Devices" log and to locate at least three examples of similes, metaphors, imagery, and irony, selecting phrases they find meaningful and effective. Activity 2 asks students to write songs that include stylistic devices (alliteration, simile or metaphor, symbolism, imagery) and to consider how beat, tempo, and rhythm reflect meaning.

Students are asked to determine the figurative meaning of phrases and to analyze how an author's language creates imagery, appeals to the senses, and suggests mood (Skills section). Students are directed to be on the lookout for effective stylistic devices and list them in a journal as they read Chapter 4. Students complete a symbolism web that requires them to brainstorm and explain at least five different ideas for what the pearl symbolizes in the story.

Students are asked to record and share "stylistic devices" in a log and to "add sentences and phrases to your stylistic device log in your journal," which directs them to notice language choices. The prompt tells students to "consider how each one affects the reader," requiring reflection on the effect of language in context. The parent plan also instructs parents to ask the child to share stylistic devices he recorded, implying student practice identifying devices during reading.

Students are asked to interpret Kino's line, "The pearl has become my soul...if I give it up I shall lose my soul," and to explain whether Kino "loses his soul" when he gives up the pearl (Question #1). Students are asked what the pearl symbolizes at the end of the story and to discuss moral implications and character descriptions, requiring interpretation of symbolic language. Students are also prompted to "Add examples of effective stylistic devices from the final chapter to your log," which asks them to identify and consider figurative language and other stylistic choices in context.

Students read four parables (The Parable of the Pearl, The Good Samaritan, Wo and Jah, and a South African parable) and are asked to explain the moral or lesson of each story. The Parent Plan explicitly interprets the Parable of the Pearl as a metaphor for the kingdom of heaven and prompts students to compare that parable to Steinbeck's The Pearl, asking how the biblical image may be used as a literary allusion or ironic reference. The Wo and Jah dialogue uses metaphorical language (carrying a burden of firewood) and students are asked what lesson the story teaches, prompting interpretation of figurative meaning in context.

Students are asked to "experiment with figurative language and speech patterns" in the Skills section, indicating practice with figurative devices. The Parable Rubric explicitly asks whether there is "evidence of a variety of stylistic devices in the story? (Similes and metaphors, figurative language, lively verbs)," which directs students to use and produce figures of speech. The writing tasks require students to compose a parable and consider voice/word choice, which gives students opportunities to apply figurative language in their own writing.

Students are asked to interpret a quotation from Mark Salzman: "If you do all that work of figuring out exactly how writing is done, then it's available to you at any time, and you can build on it. It's like the difference between shooting one hoop and having it go in by accident and saying later, 'I shot a basket,' — and practicing so much you can do it whenever you want.'" The prompt asks students, "What do you think the author means in this quotation? Write your thoughts in your journal or discuss them with a parent," which requires interpreting the simile in context.

The lesson includes a discussion question asking "What was Nhamo's totem? (The lion) What do lions represent? (Answers might include: power, strength, leadership, ferociousness, untamed, etc.)," which asks students to articulate symbolic meaning. Students are also prompted to discuss the baboon Nhamo found and describe its characteristics, encouraging interpretation of character-related symbolism and representation.

Students are assigned the role of a "Figurative Language Finder" and told to identify at least three examples of figurative language (similes, metaphors, hyperbole, imagery, personification, alliteration) in Chapters 28–30, record them in a journal, and read them aloud to a parent. The revision checklist in the Style section asks students to consider the "Use of figurative language and strong verbs," prompting attention to figurative language in their own writing.

Students are asked to "analyze the effects of figurative language" and "determine the figurative meaning of phrases," which appears in the skills list. Students reread the riddles exchanged between Bilbo and Gollum and follow step-by-step pages that ask them to identify and create similes, metaphors, hyperbole, and personification. Students use charts to list associated words and synonyms and then write and revise riddle clues using figurative language and sensory details.

The Wrapping Up section states that the Arkenstone "becomes a symbol of temptation and power for Thorin, just as the ring had been for Gollum," which links a concrete object to a figurative meaning. The Parent Plan lists analyzing conventions in myths and epic tales, including "extended simile," which names a specific figure of speech. Several discussion prompts ask students to explain how elements (like the Arkenstone and the ring) affect theme and to justify character choices, which invites interpretive explanation of symbolic and figurative meanings.

Students are asked to discuss and explain the line: "The work of a human, the work of nature; clay from the earth, a branch from the sky," prompting them to interpret its meaning and emotional effect. The Parent Plan questions explicitly prompt students to explain why looking at a vase with a branch gives Tree-ear a kind of peace, which requires interpreting the figurative comparison in context.

The Student Activity Page directs students to "In your own words, explain each of Crane-man's quotes," providing five figurative quotes (e.g., "the same wind that blows one door shut often blows another open") for interpretation. The Parent Plan gives model interpretations of those quotes, showing that students are expected to explain the nonliteral meanings behind Crane-man's sayings. The sentence-correcting activity includes a simile ("like a giant bird"), so students encounter figurative language in context and attend to its phrasing.

Students read specific myth passages and answer questions that require them to interpret mythological explanations for natural phenomena (e.g., Question #2 explains volcanoes as Typhon under a mountain; Question #3 explains storms as Poseidon striking his trident; Question #4 explains seasons via Persephone and Demeter). Students create or match character cards and write short descriptions of what each god or goddess rules over (Options 1 and 2), which requires students to interpret mythological roles in context. The family tree and discussion prompts ask students to connect myths to cultural beliefs, prompting interpretation of myth content.

Students are asked to study and retell Greek myths, identify conventions of myths, and use imagery and other figurative language devices when writing (e.g., the Skills list names "extended simile" and Part 3 instructs students to "select your words carefully, keeping in mind imagery and other figurative language devices"). The rubric rewards creative language and a unique retelling voice, and activities require students to work with mythological characters and themes (matching gods/goddesses, summarizing famous myths). These items show students engage with figurative language and mythological material in their reading and writing.

Students read Chapters XIII–XX of The Little Prince and answer comprehension questions that require interpretation of figurative language; for example, Question #2 asks which inhabitant the little prince compared to a mushroom and what he thinks of him, and the provided answer explains the simile as meaning the businessman "doesn't do any good for other living things." The lesson also provides a defined vocabulary word (ephemeral) and asks students to write descriptive letters from different viewpoints, which requires interpreting character descriptions in context.

Students are asked directly to interpret figurative language in QUESTION #1, where they explain what it means to be "tamed" according to the little prince and the fox. QUESTION #3 asks students to interpret the fox's secret, "Anything essential is invisible to the eyes," and to justify whether they think it is true. The Wrapping Up prompt asks students to explain the fox's claim about friendship preventing activities from becoming monotonous, requiring students to relate figurative meaning to everyday examples.

Students are asked to answer a comprehension question that requires interpreting a figure of speech: QUESTION #1 asks how the little prince gives the narrator a "gift of the stars," and the provided answer explains that the narrator will "feel like all the stars in the sky are laughing" because the prince is on one of them. The parent plan and activity directions also include quoted figurative language from the text ("I do! It sounds like millions of little bells") that students must explain in their poem/drawing description or persuasive writing to the fox.

Students are directed to read Act 2, Scene 2 to Act 3, Scene 2 with a modern translation and to look at original wording to see how favorite phrases were written. Students are asked to read a PDF about Shakespeare's expressions and then write a poem or short story using at least four of those phrases. Students are prompted to review what an expression is and to read their poem aloud so a parent can identify the Shakespearean phrases used.

Students read Act 4, Scene 2 in both a modern translation (right-hand side) and are invited to look at the original phrasing (left-hand side), which exposes them to archaic and figurative language. Students are asked to discuss the play about Pyramus and Thisbe, a clear mythological allusion included within A Midsummer Night's Dream. The teacher note flags the line that Theseus "wooed Hippolyta by violence," drawing attention to a figurative/character-descriptive phrase.

Students are prompted to "Discuss the meaning of the phrase, 'a picture is worth a thousand words' and how it relates to this activity," which asks them to interpret a nonliteral saying in context. The lesson asks and answers "What is an annus mirabilis?" and gives its Latin meaning, requiring students to interpret a foreign expression. The Things to Know and review sections define words (eccentric, obstinate, hokum, feign) and ask students to review them, providing practice with nuances of word meaning.

The parent discussion prompt asks, "What does the author mean when she says, 'We are seeing ancient history when we look at the sky'?" which requires students to interpret that figurative phrase in context. The Parent Plan immediately provides the intended interpretation (because light takes so long to travel to Earth from distant stars), showing the text identifies this as a meaning to be explained.

Students read Matthew Arnold's "Dover Beach" and answer a question identifying the tide as a natural phenomenon representing passage of time, and they list similes from the poem, showing they interpret similes in context. Day 2 has students read Christina Rossetti and answer which element is personified in "Winter: My Secret," demonstrating interpretation of personification in context. The "Walk Like a Poet" table and Activity 2 require students to label photographs with metaphor/simile, personification, and other figurative language and to write a poem using personification and either a metaphor or simile.

Students are given a definition of allusions in the 'Things to Know' section and an explicit example noting Stillwell's allusion to Dr. Faustus. In the Yeats reading students answer Question #3 asking which mythological and biblical images Yeats alludes to in 'The Second Coming,' requiring them to identify those references. In the Sitwell reading students answer a question about what the repeated line 'Still falls the rain' is supposed to represent, which asks them to interpret a figurative device in context.

Activity 6 asks students to read model analyses (including Tennyson's "Ulysses") and to write a two-paragraph analysis of their own poem, with the first paragraph addressing images and events and what they "allude to, what they represent, or what inspired them." The unit test and lessons also include direct questions and instruction on figures of speech (personification, metaphors vs. similes) and poetic techniques. The timeline and teacher notes identify poets who write about myths and legends, linking poem content to mythological material.