How to Teach Metaphors to Children

Teaching children the different figures of Speech is exhausting for teachers. Figurative language is something very intricate and beautiful, but unfortunately, there are not many who truly appreciate the beauty and necessity of it. Among figures of speech, there's one that has quite an amount of confusion associated with it: metaphors!

Q: What is a metaphor?
A: It is an indirect comparison made between two things.

Q: But isn't a simile the same?
A: No, a simile is a direct comparison, while a metaphor is an indirect one.

Q: Examples??
A: Simile Example: She looked as fresh as a flower!

Metaphor Example: She was a fresh flower amongst thorns.

You'll come across such confusions arising in the minds of children often. We will give you some ideas that you can use to teach metaphors to children. Use them right at the beginning, so that there's no room for confusion later on when they get to more complicated figurative language.

As much as we try our best to try to tell kids that similes and metaphors are not the same, we all know that the difference is very, very, slight and understandably a little tricky to understand, especially by children. So, in order to make them understand this slight distinction better, you can first take a few classes to revise similes.

When you revise Similes, you need to highlight the most important point that characterizes a simile: the use of the word 'as' or 'like'. Give them ample examples of similes first, and then, slowly begin to introduce metaphors to them.

With this, they'll get a grasp of what exactly a simile is and when this is fresh in their minds, you can show the difference between a simile and a metaphor more clearly. Let us see examples of Similes and Metaphors that you can give to children.

She was as sly as a fox.

and then, convert it into something like,

The sly fox that she was, she cheated on her test.

You can now make them understand how the meaning remained almost identical, it's just that an indirect comparison is being made instead of using the word 'as'.

Children can be molded in any way you want, if you know how to appeal to them. Teaching them metaphors is also similar to that, in a way. You need to know what exactly will appeal to them and frame your teaching program in a way that is suitable.

So, what you can do is find out some interesting cartoon characters that are the current favorites among the kids. Now, study a character properly and come up with simple metaphors that can be used to associate with this particular character. Once they relate and understand these associations, it will become much easier to teach them.

Children are blessed with a very vivid imagination. A great way to teach metaphors to children can be devised by capitalizing on this vivid imagination that they have. As a class assignment, ask them to come up with a story that has human characters. It can be any kind of story and can be with or without a moral. Just make sure that it has human characters.

After they're done with their stories, you can ask them to use the simple associations that you must have taught them, and simply replace the human characters with other animate or inanimate characters that display or exhibit the same characteristics and traits.

With this, they'll see that the same traits can be attributed to another entity, and thus learn that they are, in their very basic form, metaphors because they are just being indirect to other entities which are the major carriers of those particular characteristics.

If all else fails, then you'll have no choice but to resort to the most widely used method of teaching. You'll have to simply state the definition and explain it to them. Use suitable metaphor examples. Using good examples to explain is the only way that they're going to understand. Be creative, and use funny examples. They're children after all.

Using these methods will definitely help you to get your point across. Be innovative in your approach to the whole concept, and they'll absorb it much faster and understand it better. Happy teaching!