Mentor Texts for Teaching Similes and Metaphors
Check out my list of 11 Mentor Texts for Teaching Similes and Metaphors to upper elementary students. Engage students in these great literature pieces while teaching similes and metaphors. Students can struggle with grasping figurative language; that’s why using mentor texts is a great tool to make sure students are immersed in many examples. Read on to find out some of my favorite mentor texts for teaching similes & metaphors!
Skin Like Milk, Hair Like Silk: What Are Similes and Metaphors? is a great book to use to introduce these figurative language words. It features the similes and metaphors printed in colored text so students can clearly see what it is. I like this feature so that students can become more familiar with finding and hearing them in stories. Plus, this story is so silly and will have your students rolling!
Similes and Metaphors (Language Rules!) is another excellent book to teach about both similes and metaphors in the classroom. Teach children that adding some figurative language to their writing can enhance their writing pieces and interest their readers. Similes and metaphors are great to use to help readers develop a mental image of the events in the story.
Simile Mentor Texts
My Dog Is As Smelly As Dirty Socks is a fun book about a little girl drawing her family. She gets more creative and starts adding in similes to describe their personalities. Students will enjoy the artwork and the funny story in this excellent mentor text.
My Friend Is As Sharp As A Pencil is a cute story about a girl sharing about her classmates and teachers. She uses similes and object art to describe them. This book is a great introduction to a similar project that your students could create about each other or their family.
Muddy As A Duck Puddle is a good choice for lots of silly similes and cartoonish artwork. Your students will laugh and get to hear a simile for each letter of the alphabet. Some of the similes are a little over the top, and students may have difficulty understanding all of them without an explanation.
Crazy Like a Fox is another option for teaching students about similes. The storyline is simple, but it does a beautiful job of using and illustrating common similes that students may have heard before. Unlike the other books that just feature similes, this book also tells an actual story about a birthday party.
Magnificent Homespun Brown: A Celebration is a tale about a girl celebrating her skin. She learns to feel at home in her skin and see its beauty. The book has several similes that are beautifully written and allows the reader to see some well-written figurative language.
Metaphor Mentor Texts
My Mouth is a Volcano is a good choice for teaching metaphors. The metaphor is right in the title, and the story may be a great reminder to your students about classroom expectations. A bonus!
Hello, Harvest Moon is a simple book for younger students, but it features so many metaphors that are easy to find and identify. I like to use this at the beginning of my metaphor lessons to immerse students in literature that showcases this figurative language feature so well.
Saturdays and Teacakes is a cute story about a boy and his grandmother and their Saturday routine. He mows the grass while she picks tomatoes. Then, they make homemade teacakes, his favorite part! The story is an unforgettable tale to share with children about a grandparent’s love. Bonus, it has plenty of metaphors to teach figurative language!
Your Name is a Song is a tale about a little girl with a name that is hard to pronounce. She comes home from school upset, but the mother shows her that her name is a song. This text features lots of metaphors and teaches children the importance of being unique.
Now that you have some great mentor text for teaching similes and metaphors snag my Simile and Metaphor Sorting FREEBIE to complete your figurative language lesson!
Simile & Metaphor Sorting Resource
This simile & metaphor sorting resource comes with a printable and digital version. In the printable version, students will sort raindrops with similes and metaphors on them into categories (umbrellas). There is a color and black and white version for more printing options!
In the digital resource, you will assign the simile & metaphor assignment in Google Classroom. It is a Google Slides activity. Students will drag and drop the raindrops (similes and metaphors) underneath the correct classification (umbrellas).
Remember to grab the FREE simile & metaphor sorting resource here!
I hope you enjoyed these 11 mentor texts for teaching similes and metaphors! These are books that lend themselves to this kind of figurative language and some of the titles can be used for other topics, as well. I like having books that can teach multiple themes! Be sure to use my FREE simile & metaphor sorting activity to engage learners while improving their knowledge of figurative language.
Need more resources for teaching similes and metaphors? Check out my other FREEBIE here!
