The reading questions ask students to describe how the author describes the snow and the sample answer explicitly quotes a simile: "the wall of snow in front of the door was as high as Laura's head." The text also includes descriptive language noted for students (e.g., the snow "glittering" and "sparkled") that could be used to discuss figurative description. Students are asked to write and discuss details from the chapter in multiple activities, which could lead them to notice such language in context.

The lesson includes an example five-senses poem with multiple similes such as "Sundays look like a blank page in a book," "Sundays sound like a fiddle with no strings," and "Sundays taste like a sour apple on your tongue." Students are instructed to write their own five-senses poems using prompts like "look like," "smell like," "feel like," "taste like," and "sound like," and to read their poems aloud. The student activity page explicitly models and prompts the use of comparative language that takes the form of simple similes.

Students are asked in Question #2 to identify what Pa says the sap is ("the blood of the tree") and to explain why he calls it that, which requires interpreting a metaphor in context. Question #3 asks students why Pa called the snow a "sugar snow," prompting them to explain a figurative phrase linked to maple sugar production. These questions require students to explain the meaning of simple figurative expressions as they appear in the chapter.

The lesson text includes the simile "Attean told Matt that he moved fast, like an Indian," presented in the Cause and Effect examples. Students are directed to read through a list of cause sentences (which includes that simile) and write effects based on the story. The simile therefore appears in student reading and in an item they might discuss when completing cause/effect work.

The lesson includes a direct example of figurative language: students are asked how a story describes the white people, with the provided answer quoting the simile "as beautiful and deadly as the black spider." That question asks students to explain why the Indians had a negative view of white people, which prompts students to interpret the simile in context. Another prompt asks what the author means by the Bowhead whale being in "perfect balance with everything around it," which invites interpretation of a figurative phrase in context.

The activity 'Ben's Maxims' asks students to locate each maxim in the book in context and provide their own interpretation. The lesson defines a maxim as an "expression of truth" and instructs students to interpret listed sayings (e.g., "Waste not, want not," "The cat in gloves catches no mice") and to record adults' interpretations and write their own maxim. Students are asked to find each maxim in context and explain its meaning.

The lesson includes a passage description and question that identifies the simile "a nose as sharp as a knife" when asking what words and phrases the author uses to describe the giant. The vocabulary activity instructs students to reread sentences and use context clues to determine word meanings, which shows students practice interpreting language in context.

Students encounter a clear simile in the provided quoted description: "...dead trees stood everywhere like skeletons." In Option 2 students are directed to copy the author's description (which includes that simile) and then illustrate the setting, and in Option 1 they illustrate the same descriptive passage.

Students read dialogue in which characters compare people to tastes (e.g., "Turks taste like turkey," "Panama taste like hats," "people from Denmark taste like dogs"). In the Giant Geography activity, students locate countries on a map, illustrate a person based on how the giant says people from that country "taste," and write what the giant would say about people from their own state. The Quotable Quotes activity has students identify and record meaningful quotes from chapters, which could include these comparative phrases.

Students read the first two chapters and respond to Question #1, which quotes descriptive lines such as plains that look like the sea, hills that look like islands in the sea, and a high empty sky that seems to be singing. Students complete comprehension questions based on those descriptions, requiring them to locate and restate figurative descriptions from the text. The lesson lists 'Extend vocabulary through word study' as a skill, indicating some language-focused activities tied to the reading.

Students are asked to interpret the line, "His muscles and hands weren't the only things that had hardened over the past several weeks. His heart had hardened also," (Question #4), which prompts them to explain a metaphor in context. The wrap-up asks students to describe how Camp Green Lake is changing Stanley and to discuss the irony that the camp is hardening Stanley's heart, reinforcing interpretation of that figurative phrase. These prompts require students to explain the figurative meaning of 'hardened' as applied to the heart rather than literal physical hardening.

The lesson gives students clear definitions of simile and metaphor and distinguishes the two. Activity 1 and the Student Activity Page require students to identify whether each sentence is a simile or metaphor, name the items being compared, and explain the meaning of each figure of speech in context. Activity 2 asks students to find similes/metaphors in songs/poems or to write a poem containing at least two similes and one metaphor and then identify them in writing.

The lesson gives an explicit simile example when comparing two informational descriptions of polar bears; one sentence uses the simile "as fluffy as a pillow." Students are asked to explain why the first, factual description is more appropriate than the second, which contains the simile. This prompt requires students to consider the effect of a simile on meaning and appropriateness in context.

Question #4 asks students to explain what Abel meant when he said the memory of his family had "become shadowy," prompting students to interpret a figurative expression in context. The reading and journal/discussion prompts require students to read Chapters 13 and 14 closely, which may include encountering and thinking about this metaphor in the text.

Option 2 of the Parts of Speech activity includes the sentence "For weeks, his presence was like cement," which is an explicit simile in the text students work with. The skills list includes "Compose original poems," which could involve using figurative language. Students also read chapters and write questions, exposing them to contextual language in Chapters 17–18.

Students read Pedro's journal entry that includes the simile "They are as gray as slate" to describe manatees (Question #3). The reading-and-questions activity asks students to answer comprehension questions about that descriptive language. The manatee discussion directs students to find pictures and discuss the animals' appearance and adaptations, which may draw attention to descriptive comparisons in the text.

Students are given a clear definition of similes and shown examples using 'like' or 'as.' Students identify similes from Pedro's Journal by recording the two things being compared for three in-context passages and complete or create their own similes in written responses. Students also practice explaining idioms from the book, and they are prompted to write similes comparing given objects (ocean, manatee, ship).

The Simile Cube requires students to record three similes from the text and to create three original similes, so students locate and reproduce similes found in context. The lesson's Skills list also includes "Identify and interpret author's use of figurative language," implying students practice recognizing figurative language. The Quotes, Vocabulary, and other cubes require students to work directly with text examples, which supports locating language features.

Students are asked to interpret a figurative line in QUESTION #3: "What do you think Mr. Frisby meant when he said, 'All doors are hard to unlock until you have the key'?" This question requires students to explain the meaning of a metaphor in the context of the chapters they read. Students also read multiple chapters and answer comprehension questions that prompt contextual interpretation.