Metaphor (Stein)

Activity 1

Check your learners' prior knowledge by asking them to discuss the meaning of the term metaphor and to give examples. This can be done individually, and then check in small groups and/or whole class.

Use the next slide to confirm the learners' answers. Next, ask if the learners can think of any other animal metaphors such as sly fox. Ask learners to share their ideas with each other and the whole class.

Activity 2

Ask learners to copy down the list of common animals, and to make notes on their common characteristics. Next learners try to come up with a metaphor for each animal.

Make sure the learners have the whole list of animals copied down before the next slide. In the following acitivity, learners need to match the animal to the correct metaphor.

Activity 3

Next, introduce the learners to the idea of body part metaphors. Show them the example, and ask if they can think of any others. 

In the next activity, they will fill the gaps in seven sentences with the appropriate body part to complete the metaphor. Ask learners to attempt individually, before sharing with pairs/small groups and checking as a whole class. 

Activity 4

In the final activity, learners will see how many metaphors they can come up with independently. Ask learners to create a mind-map with vocabulary related to plants and trees. Then, ask them to see how many metaphors they can make using these words. Finally, share answers as a whole class. 

This lesson is adapted (with permission) from Words and Meanings: A Systematic Guide for the Teaching of English Vocabulary, by Gabriele Stein.

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