CurriculumGrade 3English Language Arts

Real Meaning or Word Picture?

Aligned to RL.3.4 — Common Core State Standards for English Language Arts.

What this lesson teaches

Some words mean exactly what they say. Others paint a picture and are not meant word for word.

Worked example

'It's raining cats and dogs' does not mean animals fall from the sky — it means it is raining very hard.

Practice questions

  1. Tell what 'break the ice' really means.
  2. Find a phrase in a story that is not meant word for word.
  3. Write one sentence that uses a word picture, not the literal meaning.

Watch the lesson

Every lesson comes with a video taught in English and Spanish — the same video the QR code in the printed workbook opens.

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En español

¿Significado Real o Imagen?

Algunas palabras significan exactamente lo que dicen. Otras crean una imagen y no se toman al pie de la letra.

Ejemplo: 'Está lloviendo a cántaros' no significa que caigan jarras del cielo — significa que llueve muy fuerte.

More Reading: Literature lessons

Recounting Stories and Central MessageRL.3.2Questions and Text CluesRL.3.1Characters and Their ActionsRL.3.3Parts of Stories and PoemsRL.3.5Whose Point of View?RL.3.6How Pictures Help the StoryRL.3.7

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