Literal vs Figurative Language

Distinguish literal from nonliteral (figurative) language in context and interpret common idioms and phrases

How to tell they’ve got it

Tick these off as you see them — no test required.

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)

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Try this together

When your 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?

Where this sits on the map

Stuck here? Check the skills it builds on first. Confident? Here’s what it unlocks.

Builds on

Expressive and Sensory Languageages 6–9Distinguishing literal from nonliteral builds on recognising literary language and sensory words

Shades of Meaningages 5–9Understanding figurative language connects to distinguishing shades of meaning

Literal vs Figurative Languagethis skill · ages 8–9

Unlocks

Idioms & Proverbsages 9–11Interpreting idioms, adages, and proverbs requires the foundational ability to recognise nonliteral language

Similes & Metaphorsages 9–11Identifying similes and metaphors requires the ability to distinguish literal from figurative language

Cultural Allusions and Word Meaningages 9–10Understanding literary vocabulary requires the ability to distinguish literal from figurative meaning

solid = must come firstdashed = helps

Curriculum alignment

Candidate matches to official curriculum codes — machine-suggested, unreviewed (v0.1).

Show candidate curriculum codes · 2 ACARA · 3 VIC

Australian Curriculum v9 candidate

AC9E5LA03low confidenceYear 5 · Language

describe how spoken, written and multimodal texts use language features and are typically organised into characteristic stages and phases, depending on purposes in texts

AC9E3LA10low confidenceYear 3 · Language

extend topic-specific and technical vocabulary and know that words can have different meanings in different contexts

Victorian Curriculum 2.0 codes & levels only

VC2E5LE04low confidenceEnglish · Level 5 · Literature strand

VC2E4LE04low confidenceEnglish · Level 4 · Literature strand

VC2E2LE03low confidenceEnglish · Level 2 · Literature strand

These are candidate alignments generated by semantic matching — machine-suggested and unreviewed (v0.1), not official or verified mappings. For official curriculum content see australiancurriculum.edu.au, curriculum.nsw.edu.au and f10.vcaa.vic.edu.au. Don’t rely on them for registration or compliance purposes.

Nearby on the map

Antonyms & Synonymsages 9–11 Domain Vocabulary Across Subject Areasages 9–11 Formal and Informal Englishages 7–10 Greek and Latin Roots for Word Meaningages 9–11

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