The "Things to Know" list explicitly defines metaphor and simile and the reading list includes an "M is for Metaphor" entry for students to read. The "Poetry Techniques" student page directs students to identify onomatopoeia and alliteration in poems and to make metaphors or similes for given objects, and the synonym and visual imagery activities ask students to find synonyms for words from poems and to illustrate imagery heard in a poem. The activities require students to locate and label poetic devices in texts and to produce their own figurative language.

Students are asked to interpret meaning directly in QUESTION #3, which asks "What does this mean?" about the stanza from "Washington D.C.," prompting them to determine the sense of a phrase in context. The lesson prompts students to consider how "figurative language and word patterns affect a poem and the reader/listener," and students record nouns and adjectives that create "visual imagery," which requires attending to word meaning and descriptive effect. Students also analyze strong action verbs in a poem, identifying words that convey specific actions and images.

Students are asked to identify a metaphor in Question #3 (they name that the author compares the cornfield to the sea). Students locate and list onomatopoetic words in Activity 2 and answer why the author repeats words and how the poem makes them feel. Students record adjectives and the nouns they modify in Question #2, and the Parent Plan prompts review of the definition of onomatopoeia.

Students are prompted to identify metaphors in the poem "March in New Mexico" by completing comparisons ("_____ is compared to _____"). Students are asked to write three metaphors of their own and illustrate them, and to distinguish metaphors from similes in the wrap-up. Students are also asked to locate the line using personification in "Desert" and explain how personification is used in "Cactus," and to name the words that create vivid images in a poem.

Question 3 asks students to record the simile in the poem "Skier" and provides the quoted line, so students locate and identify figurative language. Question 4 asks students to describe the most vivid image a poem creates, prompting students to interpret imagery. Question 5 asks students to state the mood of a poem, prompting inference about tone and emotional effect. The Activity 3 prompt to examine an illustration that accompanies a poem asks students to relate visual art to the poem's words and images.

Students are asked to "analyze" two Robert Frost poems and to "read it very closely and think about its meaning," which directs them to consider how words and lines create meaning. The Frost Poems activity asks students questions about specific lines (for example, what "promises" the narrator has "to keep" and to identify a favorite line and explain why), prompting interpretation of phrases in context. The Venn diagram and activity prompts explicitly list "use of metaphor" as a comparison point and the skills list references figurative language, connecting student work to recognition of literary techniques.

The Parent Plan explicitly lists as a skill: "Define figurative language (e.g., simile, metaphor, hyperbole, personification) and identify its use in literary works." The Things to Review section reminds students that figurative language, such as metaphors and personification, helps make poems effective. Students practice word-level features by listing onomatopoetic words from pages 31–34 and by choosing descriptive words and phrases to create picture poems that convey imagery.

Students are asked to define figurative language and identify types (e.g., simile, metaphor, hyperbole, personification) in the Skills section. Students complete a "Book of Poetry" activity where they record titles, words from poems, and figurative language phrases to identify uses in texts. Students answer a comprehension question asking for the meaning of the word "inspired" in context and are prompted in parent notes to discuss word choice and use of figurative language aloud.

Students are asked in Question #3 to "List a metaphor you found in this section of the book," which requires identification of figurative language. The compare activity and Student Activity Page direct students to note similarities and differences between "Love That Dog" and "Love That Boy," and parent notes explicitly point out similes in specific lines for comparison. The "Ideas to Think About" prompt asks how poets appeal to the senses, encouraging attention to language that creates imagery.

Students are asked to interpret meaning in Question #3 (Day 2): "What did Noah mean when he said that each of his gifts kept on giving?" which requires them to determine a nonliteral meaning from context. The parent-plan skills list includes "Interpret speakers' messages and perspectives," and several comprehension questions (e.g., Tillie's comment about the "decline of Western Civilization") prompt students to explain what a character means. Activities ask students to distinguish fact and opinion and to explain characters' actions, which engages basic contextual interpretation.

Students are asked to use a dictionary to write definitions of six vocabulary words on note cards for the Vocabulary Cube activity. Students review the sentences in the book where those vocabulary words are used and then practice using each word correctly in original sentences during the cube game. The Parent Plan also directs students to locate meanings, pronunciations, and derivations of unfamiliar words using dictionaries.

Students are asked to interpret the line, "Inside of me there was a lot of best friendship that no one was using," with a parent note providing the intended meaning (she was lonely and wanted to share her friendship). The plan directs students to discuss differences in word choice between Nadia's and Noah's voices (for example, Noah's frequent use of the word "fact" and his advanced vocabulary). The reading comprehension questions require students to cite textual details about characters and relationships, which involves attention to how words and phrases convey meaning in context.

Students are asked to translate and match idioms from the novel to their meanings in Activity 3, and the Things to Know section defines idioms for students. Question #2 asks students to explain what the author meant by a specific phrase ("Now what?" vs. "So what?"), and Question #4 asks for interpretation of a figurative comparison about "mental mileage." The idioms activity also asks students to write two other idioms and interpret them, giving students practice determining phrase meanings from context.

Students are given an explicit definition of similes and metaphors in the "Things to Know" section and guided to find metaphors and similes in the text. In Activity 2 and its Student Activity Page, students identify what two things are being compared in specific quoted similes/metaphors from the book and then write their own examples. The Friendship writing task requires students to include at least one simile or metaphor in a descriptive paragraph, reinforcing use and creation of figurative language.

Students are asked to interpret meaning directly in Question #1, which asks what Ms. Olinski meant by a specific quoted statement, requiring them to determine the phrase's meaning in context. Question #2 asks students to explain the difference between "mischief" and "malice," which requires students to determine word meanings and nuance from the text.

Students are asked to include at least one idiom and one simile or metaphor in their invitations. The rubric explicitly assesses "Use of similes or metaphors" and "Inclusion of an idiom." A Parent Plan entry instructs caregivers to "Review examples of idioms, similes, and metaphors, and discuss what it means to use strong verbs."

The lesson explicitly defines hyperbole under "Things to Know" and lists "Recognize and use figurative language techniques" in the Skills section. Activity 3 directs students to find three examples of hyperbole in "Bess Call" and to invent hyperboles related to each main character, requiring identification and creation of that figurative form.

Students are asked to identify and translate figures of speech from the stories in Activity 2, including three quoted similes from Susanna and Simon (e.g., "easy as climbin' a greased pole," "happy as a jay bird"). Option 2 requires students to use figures of speech they know in context, writing sentences that show meaning. The Parent Plan explicitly includes defining figurative language (simile, metaphor, hyperbole, personification) and identifying its use in literary works, and directions tell parents to check translations and discuss any phrases the child did not understand.

Students are asked to interpret a figurative phrase when they answer Question #4 about John Henry's remark, "I've got a man's heart in here. All the machine has is a metal engine," which prompts them to determine what the line means. Activity 4 (Author's Language) asks students to list three sentences that helped bring John Henry to life, requiring them to attend to how language conveys character. The Skills section explicitly tells students to consider how language brings characters to life and enhances plot development, linking language choices to meaning.

Students read texts that include figurative language and are asked to explain meaning: after reading "Sister Fox and Brother Coyote," students respond to the question about the phrase "...brains could often get the better of brawn," explaining what it means. Students also encounter tall-tale hyperbole (for example, Pecos Bill "wrestled a tornado") as part of the readings, exposing them to nonliteral language in context.

Part 2 explicitly states that folktales use a lot of hyperbole when describing events or characters, calling attention to a type of figurative language. Students are instructed to record details about setting and to describe characters, which could involve choosing descriptive words and phrases. The rubric and editing steps ask students to check ideas and mechanics, but do not require analysis of word meaning in text.

Activity 6 asks students to match boat names (Destroyer, German U-boat, Schooner, Lifeboat, Oil Tanker) with pictures and descriptions, requiring students to identify the meanings of those terms. The opening note explicitly teaches the pronunciation and origin of the word "Cay," telling students how to say the word and its relation to "key." Several research activities (e.g., Exploring Curacao) require students to read informational text and write paragraphs, which may involve learning word meanings in context.

Students are asked to read vocabulary words in context (Activity 1), write definitions based on that context, and then look up and compare dictionary definitions. The Parent Plan lists skills including inferring word meanings from roots, prefixes, and suffixes and identifying and interpreting authors' word choices. Activity 2 has students record the book's first sentence, identify the two things compared in the simile (German submarines to hungry sharks), and explain why the author used that simile as a hook.

Students practice determining the meaning of nonstandard words and phrases in Activity 3 ("Timothy's Voice") by translating Timothy's dialect into standard English, and an answer key is provided for checking translations. The lesson explicitly defines dialect in "Things to Know" and directs students to look up the word prejudice in a dictionary or discuss it with a parent (Question #2), which asks them to determine a word's meaning from a reference or discussion.

Students read Chapters 5 and 6 of The Cay and answer comprehension questions that require interpreting language from the text. Question #2 asks students to determine what Phillip meant by the phrase "His [Timothy's] eyes were becoming mine," and the provided answer explains the figurative meaning in context. The Skills section also lists drawing inferences and supporting them with text evidence, which connects to determining meaning of phrases from the text.

Students read Chapters 13 and 14 where sensory language and a simile appear (for example, the answer to Question #5 quotes "the sea fired like a rifle"). Students are asked to write journal entries using sensory words (Activity 2) and to use descriptive adjectives and strong verbs (Parent Plan checks). Students compare hurricane and tornado descriptions in Activity 1, practicing interpretation of descriptive, nonliteral differences in how the storms affect objects.

Students are asked to identify the words and phrases the author used to describe the storm (e.g., "splintering sound, driving rain, raging whitecaps"), and they answer a question defining "the eye of the hurricane" as "the calm part in the center of the storm." The student activity pages prompt students to record main ideas and supporting details from Chapters 15–16, which includes noting descriptive language about events and characters.

Students read or listen to Martin Luther King Jr.'s "I Have a Dream" speech and are prompted to discuss its meaning. One discussion question specifically asks students to explain what King means by "Let us not seek to satisfy our thirst for freedom by drinking from the cup of bitterness and hatred," which asks students to interpret a figurative phrase. The parent plan also asks students to read part of the speech aloud so they can hear how it sounds, supporting interpretation of word choice and tone.

The lesson requires students to create a picture map for vocabulary from the novel and instructs them to look up each definition in a dictionary, reinforcing word meanings tied to the text. The Parent Plan lists a skill to "identify key words and discover their meanings and relationships through a variety of strategies." A discussion question asks students to interpret Dina's mother's line, "As much as you hate sewing, Dina, that's how much the needle and thread love you," which prompts students to determine the meaning of a figurative phrase.

Students are asked to list interesting adjectives and strong verbs from specific pages and to sort the author's words and phrases according to the five senses (Seeing, Hearing, Tasting, Smelling, Feeling). Student directions and parent notes prompt students to record sensory phrases and vivid imagery (e.g., "sun beating down...", "the smell of great sides of beef wafted out"). Students are directed to write a paragraph using their sensory descriptions and to point out words that create mental images.

Students are given specific vocabulary words with the sentence contexts from the book (e.g., coarse: "The coarse brown fabric...", whir: "I heard the whir of wings...") and are instructed to make vocabulary cubes that include a definition, an illustration, a sentence, synonyms/antonyms, and root/prefix/suffix. The Parent Plan and activities direct students to use a dictionary and a thesaurus and to consult online reference links to clarify meanings and usage. Students are asked to roll the cubes and identify the word from clues or use the word in a sentence, practicing application of word knowledge.

Students are asked to interpret figurative language in Question #2, which asks what Johann meant by "Your eyes light up when you talk about making the hat." The Parent Plan lists skills such as "Speculate and interpret," "Draw conclusions and support them with text evidence," and "Analyze characters' motivations," which require students to determine meanings from the text. The activities ask students to answer interpretative and open-ended questions about characters and events, prompting students to use context to explain ideas.

Students are asked in Activity 1 to identify techniques the author uses to keep the reader interested and to give two examples of descriptive language that make the writing interesting. The Analyzing Writing organizer prompts students to highlight or underline well-written passages and to reflect on how the author conveys a powerful story and creates suspense. The 'Things to Know' statement notes that authors use writing techniques to make writing more vivid, which students are asked to examine through specific questions about craft.

Students are asked to discuss the phrase "land of opportunity" in the Wrapping Up and Questions to Discuss sections, explaining why people might call America that. Students are also asked to reread a specific page and complete "if...then" statements from Dina's point of view, which requires them to interpret conditional phrasing in context.

Students encounter brief, explicit word explanations such as "deciduous trees, which lose their leaves in the fall," and a parenthetical synonym: "great odds (challenges)." These instances present direct meanings of specific words/phrases within the text. The Skills list also asks students to "recognize how the author's perspective or point of view affects the text," which involves some interpretive work with language.

Students read pages 1–20 of My Side of the Mountain and are given a list of vocabulary words with definitions (bough, brood, combustible, furtive, etc.). Students practice those definitions by playing a Vocabulary Memory matching game that requires them to match words with their definitions and to read over the definitions aloud. The lesson also asks students to review vocabulary words during wrapping up and to use the words in oral and written discussion per the skills list.

Students are asked to interpret Sam's line, "I knew how to make fire, and that was my weapon," requiring them to determine the intended meaning of a figurative phrase in context. Activity 2 (Natural Root Words) has students match Greek/Latin roots with meanings, select words that contain each root, and use those words in sentences to infer word meanings. Activity 3 (Forced Analogy) asks students to create comparisons (similes/analogies) between forest nouns and survival, giving practice with figurative language production and comparison. The Parent Plan skills list explicitly includes applying knowledge of word origins and using roots, prefixes, and suffixes to infer word meanings.

Students practice word analysis with a listed set of prefixes (mis-, dis-, in-, re-, un-, pre-) in Activity 2 where they underline prefixes in words, think of other words with the same prefix, and fill or compose sentences using prefixed words. The Parent Plan and wrapping-up prompts have students say each prefix, give its meaning, and provide example words, and the skills section explicitly states students should use roots and affixes to analyze and infer word meanings.

Students are asked to identify and underline suffixes in given words and to write a summary using words that contain the listed suffixes. The Parent Plan explicitly states students will 'know common roots and affixes' and 'infer word meanings from taught roots, prefixes, and suffixes to decode words in text.' The lesson includes review and checking that the student's summary contains at least one example of a word with each suffix.

Students are asked to underline prefixes and suffixes in a paragraph and to write meanings of specific words (Postponement, Insightful, Uninhabitable, Precede, Plentiful) using knowledge of roots, prefixes, and suffixes from context. The Parent Plan and Skills list explicitly state that students will "Infer word meanings from taught roots, prefixes, and suffixes to decode words in text" and to review and explain the meanings of prefixes and suffixes. The activities require students to use morphological analysis without a dictionary and to apply those meanings to words as they appear in sentences from the text.

The Parent Plan 'Skills' section instructs students to know common roots and affixes and to infer word meanings from taught roots, prefixes, and suffixes. Three Think-Tac-Toe activities ask students to make a chart of prefixes/suffixes/roots, create a memory game with definitions, and read a passage from the book to find words containing prefixes/suffixes and include definitions. Question #2 includes a quoted figurative label — Sam calls the nuthatch his "barometer" — showing figurative language appears in the text.

Students are given an explicit vocabulary list with definitions (disembark, quenched, impression, nonplussed, frippery, impulse, infectious, conspicuous) and instructed to review those definitions. Students are directed to use each vocabulary word in a sentence about the first two chapters and to have their sentences reviewed for correct usage. The parent plan and activities emphasize expanding vocabulary through reading and reviewing the words and definitions.

Students read a personal narrative that contains explicit figurative language (e.g., "When I walked into the Meeting House my face felt as red as fire"). The Parent Plan directs students to read their narrative aloud and to discuss the word choices that "brought the story to life," and the Skills list includes using descriptive sensory details in writing. Students also answer comprehension questions about feelings and reactions in the text, which requires attention to phrasing that conveys emotion.

Students are given a vocabulary list and instructed to make a Vocabulary Picture Dictionary where they write each word and its definition and draw a picture to remember the meaning. Students are told to add unfamiliar words they encounter in the text to the dictionary and to review the words daily. The plan also asks students to use each vocabulary word in a sentence and includes word-study as a stated skill goal.

The Student Activity Page 'An Island Bird' asks students to identify a metaphor used in the passage and to compare the two things in that metaphor, explicitly prompting analysis of figurative language. The same activity asks students to judge whether the comparison is effective and to justify their opinion, requiring students to determine the meaning and purpose of the metaphor in context. Students are also asked to list three ways Kit's time parallels the Jamaican bird, which asks them to interpret the figurative comparison across details in the passage.

Students are given explicit definitions of simile and personification in the 'Things to Know' and 'Parent Plan' sections. In Activity 1 students are instructed to underline similes and circle the phrase that contains personification in a provided passage, and an answer key shows the identified examples. Students are also asked to notice imagery and sensory language and to write three descriptive sentences about their painting, practicing recognition and use of figurative and descriptive language.

Students are given a vocabulary list (decrepit, agitated, automaton, frayed, artificial, disheveled, horologist) with definitions and complete a Part A matching activity to connect words to meanings. Students circle prefixes and suffixes in Part B (-ial, -ist, -ed, auto-) and match each affix to its meaning, and Part C asks them to generate other words containing those affixes. Parent Plan skills and review sections instruct students to use structural analysis of roots and affixes and to review vocabulary definitions.

Students are instructed to locate and record the sentence that contains each vocabulary word, guess the meaning using context clues and knowledge of prefixes and suffixes, and then look up the actual dictionary definition to compare. The Student Activity Pages provide spaces for students to write the sentence from the book, their guessed definition, and the actual definition for words such as dredge, armoire, divert, enveloped, celestial, rediscovered, and sizeable. Parent notes ask caregivers to check how closely students guessed definitions using context clues and prefix/suffix knowledge. The wrapping up section directs students to review vocabulary definitions and the prefixes and suffixes that are part of the words.

Students complete a vocabulary matching exercise that pairs words (boarder, imminent, ravine, arithmetic, ballad, outlaw) with definitions. Students are instructed to look up unfamiliar words in a dictionary and to use reference aids to clarify meanings and usage. Students play a Picture Vocabulary Game where they draw clues for vocabulary words and time a partner guessing them. The parent plan and wrap-up also direct students to review vocabulary words and definitions.

Students practice word meaning by underlining eight words in a paragraph and looking up synonyms using a thesaurus (Activity 1). The lesson reviews the definition of synonyms and asks parents to have children use a thesaurus to find synonyms. A discussion question asks students to interpret Snowshoe's remark, "Know many, trust few, always paddle your own canoe," which invites interpretation of a figurative phrase.

The introducing section tells students to "Discuss what prejudice means," which asks students to define a word used in the historical context. Question #4 and its answer point out that the surname "Freeman" is "symbolic of 'Joe' being a free man in California," which asks students to interpret the meaning or symbolism of a name in the text. Students read Chapters 9 and 10 and answer comprehension questions that include these meaning-focused prompts.

Students are asked to know and define specific vocabulary words (cacophony, vex, varmint, suitor, devour, cajole). Students create vocabulary cubes that require them to write a definition, a sentence with a blank for the word, and a synonym for each word. Students play a game using cube faces that prompts them to give definitions, use words in sentences, or identify words from synonyms or graphic clues.

Students are given an explicit definition of an idiom and are directed to "Read through the idioms and connect each one with its literal meaning." The Student Activity Page asks students to match idioms (e.g., "Let the cat out of the bag") with their meanings. The Parent Plan lists the skill "Apply knowledge of idioms to determine meanings" and notes that students can "translate [idioms] by locating clues in the text."

Students are asked to analyze vocabulary by circling prefixes and suffixes, guessing word meanings from affixes, and then looking up and recording the actual dictionary definitions (Activity 3). Students complete vocabulary tables with example sentences for words like placidly, judiciously, vulnerable, and inexorable, where they fill in guessed meanings and then the actual meanings. Students review definitions of the vocabulary words during the wrapping up section, reinforcing meaning determination from context and morphological clues.

Students read Chapter 2 and answer a comprehension question that asks, "What do Denny and Sandy mean when they say, 'We know you have a great mind and all, Mother, but you don't have much sense...'," requiring them to determine the meaning of a phrase in context. Students are prompted in the wrap-up discussion to explain what Meg means by, "I do face facts. They're a lot easier to face than people," which asks them to interpret a figurative or idiomatic expression. Several other comprehension questions (e.g., why Calvin went to the haunted house, why Meg struggles in school) require students to infer implied meanings from the text.

Students answer a direct vocabulary question (QUESTION #3) asking what it means to "tesser," requiring them to determine the meaning of a term as used in the text. In Activity 2 the lesson presents a passage rich in imagery and asks students to underline interesting words and phrases that describe the creature and then illustrate it, which asks students to attend to and interpret descriptive/figurative language (e.g., "something like a horse," "wings made of rainbows, of light upon water, of poetry").

Students are given a vocabulary list of targeted words (trepidation, dais, temporal, resilience, talisman, sadist, arrogance, annihilate, ominous, and imperceptible) and instructed to "locate the meanings, pronunciations, and derivations of unfamiliar words." Students complete a Vocabulary Crossword that requires matching words from a word bank to definition clues and then review the crossword answers. The parent prompts ask students to use each vocabulary word in a sentence aloud, reinforcing word meaning and usage.

Students are asked to interpret Meg's line, "Maybe if you aren't unhappy, sometimes you don't know how to be happy," which requires them to determine the meaning of a phrase in context. Students are prompted to discuss why the author chose a brain to represent evil, which asks them to interpret figurative symbolism. Students answer comprehension questions about events and dialogue in Chapters 8 and 9 that require extracting meaning from text.

Students are asked to read Chapter 12 and answer interpretive questions, including "Why do you think Mrs. Whatsit compared the humans' lives to a sonnet?", which requires explaining a figurative comparison. Students also answer text-based meaning questions such as "What did Meg have that IT did not have?" (answer: Love), prompting them to determine the meaning of a key idea as used in the text. The Parent Plan includes an objective to "Interpret text ideas through discussion," which supports student discussion of word/phrase meaning.

Students are asked to locate specified vocabulary words in the chapters, copy the sentence that contains each word, look up definitions, and record the correct definition based on the sentence context. The Parent Plan and activities instruct students to use multiple reference aids (dictionary, thesaurus, synonym finder) to clarify meanings and usage and to review and use each vocabulary word in a sentence orally. The vocabulary activity explicitly requires students to identify word meanings from the text and context.

In Activity 1 (Lincoln's Words) students copy a quote from Lincoln and answer four focused questions, including "Record some phrases that you appreciate" and "Why is the quote effective or meaningful?" The Parent Plan directs a student to read the recorded quote aloud and for parent and child to "Discuss the meaning of the quote and why it was significant." These tasks require students to reflect on phrasing and overall meaning of the quoted text.

Students are instructed to locate glossaries in reference books and to read the definitions of important words related to their topic so they can use them in their report (Activity 3). Students practice finding parts of a book (table of contents, glossary, index) and are directed to find and use definitions from glossaries. Students are also asked to read short passages (the lemurs article), underline information, and restate important information in their own words when taking notes (Activity 4).