English Language Arts
Grade 11
15 min
Similes with pictures
Similes with pictures
What you'll learn
- Identify at least 3 different similes used to describe pictures with 80% accuracy.
- Create 2 original similes using a picture as inspiration, demonstrating understanding of the 'like' or 'as' comparison.
- Explain, in your own words, what a simile is and how it helps to make descriptions more interesting.
- Apply the concept of similes by completing a worksheet with 5 fill-in-the-blank sentences, choosing the best simile to complete each sentence with 80% accuracy.
Tutorial Preview
1
Introduction & Learning Objectives
Learning Objectives
Analyze how similes create specific mental pictures to develop tone, character, and theme in American literature.
Deconstruct complex similes into their core components (tenor, vehicle, grounds) to evaluate their rhetorical effectiveness.
Create original, sophisticated similes that evoke precise visual imagery in response to a visual prompt (a picture).
Differentiate between cliché and evocative similes, articulating the impact of an author's specific word choice.
Synthesize the analysis of a simile's visual impact into a coherent, evidence-based thesis statement for a literary essay.
Evaluate the persuasive effect of visual similes used in non-literary contexts, such as advertisements and political cartoons.
How can two simple words, 'like...
2
Key Concepts & Vocabulary
TermDefinitionExample
SimileA figure of speech that makes an explicit comparison between two unlike things using 'like' or 'as' to create a more vivid or emphatic description.In *The Great Gatsby*, Daisy's voice is described as being 'like money'.
TenorThe subject of the comparison—the thing being described or reimagined.In 'her eyes shone like stars,' the tenor is 'her eyes'.
VehicleThe object to which the subject is being compared—the thing that carries the comparative meaning and the mental picture.In 'her eyes shone like stars,' the vehicle is 'stars'.
Grounds of ComparisonThe specific shared quality or qualities that logically connect the tenor and the vehicle, forming the basis for the simile.In 'her eye...
3
Key Rules & Conventions
The 'Like/As' Formula
[Tenor] + [like / as] + [Vehicle]
This is the fundamental grammatical structure of a simile. Mastery at the 11th-grade level involves not just identifying this structure, but analyzing the author's deliberate choice of tenor and vehicle to create a specific effect.
The Specificity Principle
Effective similes favor specific, unexpected vehicles over generic, cliché ones.
A generic simile ('The clouds were like cotton balls') is less effective than a specific one ('The clouds were like smudges of chalk dust on a slate-gray sky'). The specific choice creates a more precise mental picture and a more nuanced tone.
The Connotative Alignment Rule
The vehicle's connotations must align with the author's intended...
4 more steps in this tutorial
Sign up free to access the complete tutorial with worked examples and practice.
Sign Up Free to ContinueSample Practice Questions
Challenging
Given the analysis that Fitzgerald's 'moths' simile portrays Gatsby's guests as mindlessly and fragilely drawn to wealth, which of the following is the most coherent, evidence-based thesis statement?
A.In *The Great Gatsby*, F. Scott Fitzgerald uses the simile comparing guests to 'moths' to visually underscore the theme of the American Dream's superficiality, portraying the partygoers as insubstantial beings driven by a fatal, unthinking attraction to the 'light' of wealth.
B.Fitzgerald uses many similes in his book, and the one about the moths is a good example of how he describes the setting of Gatsby's parties.
C.The simile 'like moths' in *The Great Gatsby* is a very creative way to talk about insects and how they act around lights at night.
D.By comparing his characters to moths, Fitzgerald suggests that the people of the 1920s were all doomed to die, which is a major theme of the novel.
Challenging
An author wants to describe a character's creeping fear. Compare two similes: 1) 'Fear spread through him like a virus.' 2) 'Fear spread through him like a stain of black ink in clear water.' Which is more rhetorically effective for creating a visual sense of silent, unstoppable dread, and why?
A.Simile 1 is more effective because 'virus' is a more modern and scientifically accurate comparison for something that spreads.
B.Simile 2 is more effective because the visual of ink silently and irrevocably clouding clear water creates a more powerful picture of corruption and inescapable dread than the non-visual 'virus.'
C.Simile 1 is more effective because the word 'virus' has stronger negative connotations than 'ink.'
D.Simile 2 is less effective because ink is a common object, making the comparison a cliché.
Challenging
A political cartoon depicts a large corporation as an octopus, with its tentacles labeled 'Lobbying,' 'Media Control,' and 'Campaign Donations' wrapping around a small building labeled 'Government.' What is the persuasive effect of this central visual simile?
A.It suggests the corporation is intelligent and efficient, like an octopus, and should be admired.
B.It suggests the government building is located near the ocean, where octopuses live.
C.It uses the negative connotations of an octopus—grasping, sinister, and all-encompassing—to visually argue that the corporation has a dangerous and suffocating control over the government.
D.It creates a humorous image to lighten the mood around a serious political topic.
Want to practice and check your answers?
Sign up to access all questions with instant feedback, explanations, and progress tracking.
Start Practicing FreeMore from Similes
English Language Arts for other grades
Frequently asked questions
What grade level is "Similes with pictures"?
Similes with pictures is a Grade 11 English Language Arts lesson on ExcelOS.
What will I learn in Similes with pictures?
You'll be able to: Identify at least 3 different similes used to describe pictures with 80% accuracy; Create 2 original similes using a picture as inspiration, demonstrating understanding of the 'like' or 'as' comparison; Explain, in your own….
Is "Similes with pictures" free to practice?
Yes. You can read the tutorial preview for free, and signing up for a free ExcelOS account unlocks the full tutorial and all practice questions with instant feedback.
How many practice questions are included with Similes with pictures?
This lesson includes 25 practice questions across multiple difficulty levels, each with instant feedback and explanations.