English · Stage 5
Writing with Images
Writing — paint a picture for your reader by crafting your own similes and metaphors that are fresh and fitting, not clichéd
✦ English📘 Stage 5 · S5⏱ ~13 min🧒 Ages 9–10★ Free to start
I can use figurative language such as simile and metaphor.
📖
Kavi Paints with Words
"Look up at the sky!" said Kavi. "I could just write 'the clouds are white.' But watch what happens when I paint with words: 'the clouds are fluffy lambs grazing across a blue field.' A simile compares using like or as; a metaphor is bolder — it says one thing simply is another. Craft your own, fresh and fitting, and your reader will see exactly what you see."
🎓
What your child will learn
1Two tools to paint a pictureFigurative language compares one thing to another so the reader can SEE it. You have two tools. A SIMILE compares using the words 'like' or 'as'. A METAPHOR is bolder — it says one thing simply IS the other. To craft a good one: pick the quality you mean, then find a thing famous for that quality.
2Simile or metaphor?
3Craft a FRESH image, not a clichéA cliché is a comparison everyone has heard a thousand times. A fresh image makes the reader see something new. Tap each card.
4Hear how a writer paints with imagesTap each line to hear it. Listen for the comparison the writer crafted.
🔍
A peek inside
You want to describe how STILL the pond was. Finish the simile with a fitting image: 'The pond was as still as ___.'
quality = still → find a thing famous for being still → glass / a mirror
Try this at home: Which little words tell you a comparison is a simile?
Ready to play and learn?
Start the free interactive lesson, or print the handout for screen-free play.
Part of English · Stage 5 · S5 on KAVI Academy — a secular, whole-child learning platform for ages 5–12.