South Dakota ELA 5.L.5.b

ELA5th GradeLanguage

The Standard

5.L.5: Demonstrate understanding of figurative language, word relationships, and subtle differences in word meanings.

Recognize and explain the meaning of personification, hyperbole, common idioms, and proverbs.

South Dakota English Language Arts Standards (2025)

Teacher's field guide

What Students Need to Do: Students find places where words mean more than they say. They tell whether a phrase gives something human actions, exaggerates, uses a familiar expression, or offers advice. They explain what the writer means in that sentence.
What Mastery Looks Like: A student identifies 'The wind whispered' as giving wind a human action and 'My bag weighs a ton' as an exaggeration. They explain that 'spill the beans' means reveal a secret. They explain that 'Look before you leap' advises thinking before acting.
Common Misconceptions: Students may think 'The wind was cold' gives wind human traits, or that 'My bag weighs a ton' is a fact. They may read 'spill the beans' literally or think 'Look before you leap' is only about jumping.
How to Assess It: Exit ticket: Label each phrase and explain what it means: 'The wind whispered,' 'My bag weighs a ton,' 'spill the beans,' and 'Look before you leap.'

Lesson moves

Give pairs 12 sentence strips; have them sort the strips into four groups and write each phrase's meaning on the back.
Ask students to write how 'The alarm clock yelled at me' differs from 'I waited forever,' then share their explanations.
Play a matching game with cards showing familiar expressions and advice sayings on one side and their meanings on the other.
Show a mock pizza ad claiming 'The best pizza in the universe'; ask students what the claim means and why an ad might use it.

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