Figurative Language Writing Worksheet:
Figurative Language is language, or words, used by writers to produce images in readers' minds and to express ideas in fresh, vivid, and imaginative ways
Some examples are:
The lottery winner's grin stretched from New York City to Los Angeles. (hyperbole)
After kicking a goal Tony felt on top of the world. (idiom)
My binder is an overflowing sea of papers. (metaphor)
Our next piece of writing is going to be a creative writing piece where you will use a lot of figurative language. To help you get started, you will needanswer some questions about yourself:
Choose five adjectives or traits that best describe you:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Now, think of your name. What are three adjectives that come to mind when you think of YOUR NAME:
1.
2.
3.
Write one simile about how you feel about your name:
-Example: My name is like a ride on a sled, soft and smooth.
Write one metaphor about how you feel about your name:
-Example: It is a roller coaster; short and tall.
Now this is going to seem weird, but when you say your name, how does it taste or smell?
-Example: My name smells like roses on a spring day.
When other people say your name, do they say it correctly? What does it sound like to you? Is it music to your ears, or does it sound like somebody is trying to talk with a mouthful of marbles?
-Example: When people say my name, it sounds like ice clinking to the sides of a glass.
Answer three of the following four questions:
- What animal does your name remind you of? Why?
- What color(s) does your name make you think of? Why?
- What food and/or dessert does your name make you think of? Why?
- What instrument/band/sport/team/song does your name make you think of? Why?
Use the space below to write your answers:
______
Finally, tell a quick story about yourself, your name, or somebody that shares your name (maybe you are named after someone?)…think of a story that best exemplifies what your name means to you. Also, include on these lines how your name was chosen.
______
Name______Per______
MY NAME MEANS…
Use the following three websites to research your first name(s). Try each website to find multiple meanings.
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“My Name” from The House On Mango Street, by Sandra Cisneros
In English my names means hope. In Spanish it means too many letters. It means sadness, it means waiting. It is like the number nine. A muddy color. It is the Mexican records my father plays on Sunday mornings when he is shaving, song like sobbing.
It was my great-grandmother’s name and now it is mine. She was a horse woman too, born like me in the Chinese year of the horse – which is supposed to be bad luck if you’re born female-but I think this is a Chinese lie because the Chinese, like the Mexican, don’t like their women strong.
My great-grandmother. I would’ve liked to have known her, a wild horse of a woman, so wild she wouldn’t marry. Until my great-grandfather threw a sack over her head and carried her off. Just like that, as if she were a fancy chandelier. That’s the way he did it.
And the story goes she never forgave him. She looked out the window her whole life, the way so many women sit their sadness on an elbow. I wonder if she made the best with what she got or was she sorry because she couldn’t be all the things she wanted to be. Esperanza. I have inherited her name, but don’t want to inherit her place by the window.
At school they say my name funny as if the syllables were made out of tin and hurt the roof of your mouth. But in Spanish my name is made out of a softer something, like silver, not quite as thick as sister’s name-Magdalena-which is uglier than mine. Magdalena who at least can come home and become Nenny. But I am always Esperanza.
I would like to baptize myself under a new name, a name more like the real me, the one nobody sees. Esperanza as Lisandra or Maritza or Zeze the X. Yes. Something like Zeze the X will do.
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Name ______Per______
Planning Page for “My Name” essay
This essay is a mini-autobiography (Snapshot of you). You are talking about who you are and how your name does/doesn’t really represent who you are and why. After reading this essay, we should get a good idea of who you are, your beliefs, what you think about yourself, etc. all by linking them to your name.
Introduction: (lots of facts)*What your name means? Story about how you were named? How you feel about your name (like, dislike, etc) Why?
Body (creativity here!)
*Does your name “match” who you are on the inside? Talk about yourself here. Does your name help support who you are? Would you rather have a different name? Why or why not. If so, what would you rather have your name be? If you have a nickname, how did you get it? How do you feel about it? Did you outgrow a nickname from your past? Share a funny story that might relate to your name. Do your best to use at least two to three similes or metaphors in this section. Try to tell the reader some of your characteristics.
Body Continued…
Conclusion (Bridge your facts with your creativity here)
Sum up how you feel about your name here. How does your name represent who you are? (or not).
0 points / 5 points / 10 points / 15 points / 20 points
Setting the Tone/Creating the Mood / Does not provide background or insight into topic / Provide a “confused” look into the topic/background / Provides some background information. / Provides background information / Provides background and insight into topic
Organization of Ideas / Lacks focus / Lacks focus but shows some organization / Establish, but does not maintain focus, provides some sequence of ideas / Maintains focus and exhibits logical sequence of ideas / Maintains focus, exhibits logical sequence of ideas, uses transitions
Creativity and Thoughtfulness / Provides a minimal response / Uses language unsuitable for the assignment / Uses basic language / Uses imagery and is somewhat descriptive / Uses a lot of imagery and descriptive forms of writing
Supporting Information / Does not use any examples or explanation / Develops ideas inconsistently / Develops ideas partially; gives very few examples / Develops ideas by using several examples / Develops ideas fully, using many examples
Grammar and Punctuation / There is a minimal response in the assignment; it is illegible / There are many grammar and spelling errors making understanding difficult / There are some errors in the text which hinder comprehension / There are only a few grammar errors / There are no grammar or spelling errors
MY NAME ESSAY RUBRIC