Learning the art of similes and metaphors is a fun and imaginative part of students furthering their creative writing skills.
Once they know the difference between similes and metaphors, your young writers’ skills will bloom as they figure out new ways to tell a story.
We’ve put together a list of prompts to help them work on this skill and have fun in the process.
Using This Guide
Adding fun creative writing assignments to your curriculum keeps students interested and engaged in the material.
There are many ways to use this guide, and the main point is to make your students comfortable and willing to take on these new challenges.
Here are a few ways to use this list in the classroom:
- Assign prompts by table or group in your classroom.
- Ask students to pick the prompts they think will be the hardest, and have them tackle those first.
- Challenge your students to use one prompt a day for a week.
Writing Prompts
- Write a metaphorical poem about rain.
- What is the difference between a simile and a metaphor? Use examples.
- Write a short story using the metaphor “she was feeling blue”.
- Write a story that uses at least two metaphors.
- Write a poem using the metaphor “her bubbly personality”.
- Change the following simile to a metaphor, and use it in a short story or poem: as smart as a fox.
- Describe your best friend using as many metaphors as you can.
- Write a story using “a blanket of snow”.
- Describe your least favorite sound using the metaphor “was fingernails on a chalkboard”.
- Write a story using the metaphor “he/she moves mountains”.
- Describe someone you know using the metaphor, “a heart of gold”.
- Write a metaphorical poem about being embarrassed.
- Describe your favorite holiday using as many metaphors as you can.
- Write a short story using the metaphor, “he’s being a chicken”.
- List five metaphors and explain them.
- Write a metaphorical poem using the phrase “an early bird”.
- Change the following simile into a metaphor, and use it in a poem or short story: he swam as gracefully as a dolphin.
- Write a description of someone you know using the metaphor “a smart cookie”.
- Describe your favorite ice cream flavor using metaphors.
- What is the difference between hyperbole and a metaphor?
- Write a short story using the metaphor, “The classroom was a zoo.”
- Describe someone you know using the metaphor, “he/she/they is/are a night owl”.
- Write a poem using an overused metaphor.
- Write a story using the metaphor, “the wind howled”.
- Write a story using the metaphor, “Laughter is the best medicine”.
- Describe someone you know using the metaphor, “fit as a fiddle”.
- What is the difference between a metaphor and an analogy?
- What does it mean to be the black sheep of the family? Use examples.
- Write a story using the metaphor, “a fish out of water”.
- Write a poem about the weather using the metaphor, “it’s raining cats and dogs”.
- Choose 2-3 metaphors used in pop culture and explain what they mean.
- How do metaphors make writing more interesting?
- Albert Einstein once said, “All religions, arts, and sciences are branches of the same tree.” Explain what you think this means.
- Write a short story using the metaphor, “a couch potato”.
- Why do you think Shakespeare used so many metaphors?
- Write a story using the metaphor, “the house was a circus while mom was away”.
- Why is New York City known as a “concrete jungle”?
- Write a story using the metaphor, “he is a chicken”.
- Describe the scenery outside your window using as many metaphors as you can.
- Write a story about two friends who are “two peas in a pod”.
- Describe someone you know using the metaphor, “he marches to the beat of his own drum”.
- What does it mean to have a heart of gold?
Looking For More?
We have a wide variety of writing and educational resources to help parents, teachers, and guardians encourage young students to be their very best.
If you’re looking for something specific and we don’t have it, please reach out and let us know. We love to hear all of your creative ideas!
