Literal vs Figurative Language
CONCEPTUALDistinguish literal from nonliteral (figurative) language in context and interpret common idioms and phrases
Mastery Evidence
- Identify whether 'It's raining cats and dogs' is literal or nonliteral and explain what it means
- Read a passage and circle three phrases used nonliterally, restating each in literal terms
- Explain the difference between 'She was on fire' (figurative — performing well) and 'The log was on fire' (literal)
Assessment Prompt
“When [child] reads a phrase like "it's raining cats and dogs" or "she had butterflies in her stomach," do they know it doesn't mean what the words literally say?”
Prerequisites2
- Expressive and Sensory LanguagehardAges 6—9
- Shades of MeaningsoftAges 5—9
Show full prerequisite tree
- Expressive and Sensory Language hard
Distinguishing literal from nonliteral builds on recognising literary language and sensory words
- Listening to Texts Read Aloud hard
Recognising literary language requires listening comprehension of stories/poetry
- How Many in Total? soft
Sorting and categorising objects uses the same counting/cardinality skills from maths
- One-to-one counting hard
Cardinality principle builds on one-to-one correspondence — you must count correctly to know the last number tells 'how many'
- Shades of Meaning soft
Understanding figurative language connects to distinguishing shades of meaning
- How Many in Total? soft
Sorting and categorising objects uses the same counting/cardinality skills from maths
- One-to-one counting hard
Cardinality principle builds on one-to-one correspondence — you must count correctly to know the last number tells 'how many'
Unlocks3
- Similes & MetaphorshardAges 9—11
- Idioms & ProverbshardAges 9—11
- Cultural Allusions and Word MeaningsoftAges 9—10