“Fresh as a Daisy … Quiet as a Mouse ….

1. “Fresh as a Daisy…Quiet as a Mouse…. Mean as a Rattlesnake” A Tutorial all about Similes! By: Jennifer Pritchard 8th Grade English Language Arts to go to the next slide!

2. Introduction Welcome! You are about to enter a world of cliché’s and “pick-up lines.” Has anyone ever called you “crazy as a loon” or told you “your eyes are like diamonds?” These are similes, and you hear them everyday, whether you realize it or not. In this tutorial, you will learn how to identify similes in poetry, musical lyrics, newspaper articles, and even magazines. So what are you waiting for?“Let’s get busy as bees!” To go to the next slide, you will click this button If you want to quit this tutorial, click this button If you want to return to the first slide click this button If you want to go back to the previous slide click this button

3. Simile Definition In order to understand what a simile is, we must first define it. Similes compare two things in order to make one of those things clearer and easier for your audience to visualize. Similes use the terms “like” or “as” to make these comparisons. For example: Suzy swims like a fish. • If you will notice, Suzy’s swimming technique is being compared to that of a fish. And because we know that fish swim really fast, we can assume that Suzy does too!

4. Another simile we often hear is “run like the wind.” Even though we cannot “see” the wind running, we understand that the wind can blow very quickly at times. Usually, you will find someone telling you do to this right before you get caught doing something you shouldn’t!

5. So what does all it mean? You may be asking yourself why you need similes in writing. Well, let’s look at this example below. You determine if there is a difference… Close your eyes and think about this sentence:“Johnny eats a lot.” Ok, now close your eyes and think about this sentence: “Johnny eats like a pig!” Did you notice any difference? Did you picture a pig with the second sentence? You see, similes give us a sort visual image to show us the extremity of the situation! Johnny must be a hungry boy!

6. Now, let’s see how well you can make a simile out of the pictures provided below: Answer choices: click on the your answer choice below. Button-up Cute as a button Buttons are cute CUTE

7. SORRY Wrong Answer!

8. You Got It!!

9. Now that you are the master of identifying similes, try a few more here! Match the following pictures with the similes you think they represent. • Dumb as a rock • Smart as fox • Bald as an eagle

10. How Did You Do? • Dumb as a rock: • Smart as a fox: • Bald as an eagle:

11. Now we come to the fun part! You are going to design a poem using similes of your own. Remember, be creative and have a ball! Come along….

12. Directions: Fill in the blanks with fresh similes as you read the prompts below. You can do this on your own paper or even in your mind! Using fresh similes makes you sound fresh and witty! As poor as a ______ As strong as a ______ As cute as a ______ As smart as a ______ As thin as a ______ As white as a _____ As fit as a _____ As dumb as a _____ As bald as an _____ As neat as a _____ As proud as a ______

13. As poor as a church mouse As strong as a ox As cute as a button As smart as a whip As thin as a toothpick As white as a ghost As fit as a fiddle As dumb as a rock As bald as an eagle As neat as a pin As proud as a peacock So, how did you do? Look below for some of the traditional similes that generally go with the prompts that were provided for you on the previous slide.

14. Let’s change gears for just a minute. You know how I told you earlier that you can find similes in everyday writings? Look at the statement below. "A Picture Is Not Always Pretty," Los Angeles Times. November 20, 1992. Section B, p. 6, col. 3. Which simile do you think that this statement matches best? The grass is greener A picture is worth a thousand words Pretty as a picture

15. Right On! You are on fire now!

16. Sorry! Wrong Answer- Try Again

17. You can even find similes in musical lyrics like the ones below… “In touch with the groundI'm on the hunt I'm after youSmell like I sound I'm lost in a crowd.And I'm hungry like the wolf.Straddle the line in discord and rhymeI'm on the hunt I'm after you.Mouth is alive with juices like wineAnd I'm hungry like the wolf. Step into any local karaoke bar and you are likely to hear someone singing this oldie but goody!

18. Similes often appear in the newspapers you read! When its damp and windy, crossing what he calls "the cheese grater" on the old lift bridge is "a death-defying feat," complains the Portsmouth design engineer and avid cyclist. His only other choice - hobbling in cleated shoes with his bike across the bridge's wooden sidewalk - is "as slippery as a balance beam“-Southeast Area Bicycle Routes

19. Now, let’s see if you find the simile in this newspaper article… “The list of problems these islands face is as long as a child’s Christmas list to Santa. The Virgin Islands are in dire need of some upkeep.”

20. Did you guess correctly? “The list of problems these islands face is as long as a child’s Christmas list to Santa. The Virgin Islands are in dire need of some upkeep.”

21. Below you will find a bunch of pictures just “lounging” around waiting to be discovered. Since you seem to be an expert, I thought maybe you could figure out what similes can be made out of the pictures below. (**Hint-each picture makes one simile) A B C E D

22. You really are becoming an expert on this whole simile thing! Even though there are several similes that can be derived from these pictures, here are few common ones. How do yours compare? • “Clear as a bell” • “Light as a feather” • “Straight as an arrow” • “Sharp as a tack” • “Snug as a bug in a rug”

23. Time to go… It looks like that is all the time we have got. It’s so hard to say goodbye isn’t it? NOT!! So, get out of here why don’t you? Yeah, make like a tree and LEAVE!!