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Literal, Figurative and Word Relationships

A 40-minute Grade 3 lesson on distinguishing literal from figurative meanings and on the shades between related words.

Literal, Figurative and Word Relationships is a free 40-minute Grade 3 English lesson plan for Common Core standard L.3.5 — understand literal and non-literal meanings, and shades of meaning. It is timed across 5 sections, gives the exact wording to use where the wording carries the meaning, names 3 misconceptions with the teaching move that addresses each, and ends with an exit ticket and a printable worksheet with its answer key.

Grade:
Grade 3
Length:
40 minutes
Standard:
L.3.5

Grade 3 · Language

L.3.5

Demonstrate understanding of figurative language, word relationships and nuances in word meanings.

Objective

Students will be able to sort sentences into literal and figurative, say in plain words what a figurative phrase means, and order wondered, suspected, believed and knew by how sure the speaker is, choosing the one that honestly fits a situation.

Students are successful when they can

  • Sorts "It's raining cats and dogs" as figurative and "The cat sat on the dog's bed" as literal, using the "could it really happen?" test.
  • Explains a figurative phrase in plain words: "raining cats and dogs" means raining very hard.
  • Orders wondered, suspected, believed, knew from least sure to most sure.
  • Chooses "knew" only when the person saw or proved it, and says why the other words would be wrong.

What you need

  • Six sentence cards, three literal and three figurative, e.g. "It's raining cats and dogs."
  • Certainty word cards: wondered, suspected, believed, knew
  • A long strip of paper for a scale labeled "not sure" to "completely sure"
  • The printable practice sheet linked at the end of this plan

The lesson

Warm-up — same word, two uses

5 min
  1. Write two sentences: "Jamal broke the window." and "Jamal broke the silence." Ask: "What did Jamal break in the first one? In the second?"
  2. Fish for: in the first, a real window cracked. In the second, nothing smashed — he started talking when everyone was quiet.
  3. Ask: "The word broke didn't change. What did?" The meaning moved. Name the two: literal means the words mean exactly what they say; figurative means the words point to a different meaning.

Teach — two ways a word can mean more

13 min
  1. Hold up four cards: "It's raining cats and dogs." "The cat sat on the dog's bed." "My teacher has eyes in the back of her head." "Grandpa has a cold." Read each and ask: "Could this really, actually happen?"
  2. Sort them on the board under "literal" and "figurative." For each figurative card, ask for the plain meaning: raining very hard; my teacher notices everything, even when she's facing away.
  3. Now the second half. Tell the story: "Someone ate the last cookie. Ana thinks it was her brother." Lay out wondered, suspected, believed, knew on the scale strip.
  4. Give a situation for each and ask which word fits: "Ana has no clues at all." — wondered. "Ana sees crumbs on her brother's shirt." — suspected. "Her friend tells her he did it, and Ana trusts her friend." — believed. "Ana watched him eat it." — knew.
  5. Ask: "What does suspected claim that wondered doesn't?" Fish for: suspected means you have a clue. Then: "Could Ana say she knew it was her brother if she only saw crumbs?" No — that would be claiming more than she has.
  6. Connect the two halves: in figurative language and in certainty words, a word carries more than its dictionary meaning. One tells you about a picture; the other tells you how sure someone is.
“"I knew" and "I wondered" can both fit in the same sentence, but they say very different things. "Knew" means you saw it or proved it. "Wondered" means you have no idea yet. When you pick one, you are telling the reader how much you really know — so pick the one that's honest.”

Guided practice — sort and scale

12 min
  1. Pairs sort six cards: "I'm so hungry I could eat a horse." "The horse ate an apple." "Her words were a warm blanket." "Dad wrapped me in a warm blanket." "Time flies when you're having fun." "The fly landed on the jam." For each figurative card they write the plain meaning.
  2. Then they place a second word set on the scale: wondered, guessed, believed, knew, using the situation "Who will win the class race?"
  3. They write a situation for each end: "I wondered who would win because it hadn't started yet." "I knew Lena won because I saw her cross the line first."
  4. Real-life link: each pair names someone they know who is helpful, and writes one thing that person did that shows it. This keeps the word tied to an actual action, not a definition.
  5. Challenge question: find a sentence that could be read either way. "He has a big heart." can be about kindness or about a real heart — what tells you which one?
“For each figurative card, finish this sentence out loud: "It doesn't really mean ___, it means ___."”

Independent practice

8 min
  1. Students complete the printable, circling whether each phrase is literal or nonliteral and choosing what the nonliteral ones mean.
  2. At the bottom, they write one sentence of their own using "suspected" that includes the clue that makes it suspected and not knew.

Close

2 min
  1. Give the situation: "Sam saw dark clouds and heard thunder." Ask: "Did Sam know it would rain, or suspect it?" Take a hand and a reason. Suspected — he had clues but had not seen rain yet.

What goes wrong, and why

Each of these is a reasoning error rather than carelessness. The fix addresses the reasoning.

Uses "knew" for a hunch: "I knew it would rain" after only seeing clouds.

Why: In everyday speech "I knew it!" is used loosely to mean "I thought so," and all four words fit grammatically in the same slot, so they seem interchangeable.

Fix: Ask: "Did you see it or prove it?" If not, it can't be "knew." Act out the cookie story with the four situations and have students hold up the right card, explaining what clue they had.

Reads a figure of speech literally: draws cats and dogs falling from clouds for "raining cats and dogs."

Why: Every word in the phrase is familiar, so the student reads each one at face value. Nothing in the words signals that the meaning has moved.

Fix: Teach the "could it really happen?" test. If the answer is no, the meaning has moved, and the student finishes the frame: "It doesn't really mean ___, it means ___."

Says a figure of speech "doesn't mean anything because it isn't true."

Why: It is not literally true, so it seems empty or silly. They have not yet seen that the writer chose the picture to say something specific.

Fix: Ask: "What is the writer trying to tell you about the rain?" Then compare "It's raining hard" with "It's raining cats and dogs" and ask which one paints a stronger picture.

If they are not there yet

  • Use three certainty words (wondered, suspected, knew) before adding "believed," which is the hardest to separate from "knew."
  • Give the literal/figurative sort done for four cards and ask only for the plain meaning of the figurative ones, using the sentence frame.
  • Pair each figurative card with a picture of what it really means, so the student can match before explaining.

If they finish early

  • Order a set of six feeling words by strength — calm, uneasy, nervous, worried, scared, terrified — and write a situation where "nervous" fits but "terrified" would be too much.
  • Write a short dialogue where one character says "I know who took it" when they only suspect, and another character questions them. Show how the wrong certainty word causes trouble.
  • Find a figurative phrase in their reading book and write both its literal and figurative meaning, then say why the author chose the figure.

Exit ticket

Put in order from least sure to most sure: knew, wondered, suspected. Then fill the blank: "I ____ it was my turn because the teacher said my name."

What to look for: wondered, suspected, knew; then "knew," with the teacher saying the name as proof. "Suspected" or "wondered" in the blank: misreads the clue's strength. Muddled order: certainty seen as interchangeable, so rerun the cookie story.

Printable practice for L.3.5

Free to print and copy, answer key included. Each sheet can generate a fresh set of problems for a retake.

Questions about Literal, Figurative and Word Relationships

How long does the Literal, Figurative and Word Relationships lesson take?

40 minutes, split across 5 timed sections: warm-up 5 min, teach 13 min, guided practice 12 min, independent practice 8 min, close 2 min. The minutes are stated per section and add up to the stated length, so the plan can be cut or extended at a section boundary rather than abandoned halfway.

Which standard does Literal, Figurative and Word Relationships teach?

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.L.3.5 — L.3.5, Language for Grade 3: “Demonstrate understanding of figurative language, word relationships and nuances in word meanings.” In plain terms, understand literal and non-literal meanings, and shades of meaning.

What do I need to teach this lesson?

Six sentence cards, three literal and three figurative, e.g. "It's raining cats and dogs.", certainty word cards: wondered, suspected, believed, knew, a long strip of paper for a scale labeled "not sure" to "completely sure" and the printable practice sheet linked at the end of this plan. Everything listed is either ordinary classroom equipment or a free printable from this site — there is nothing to buy and nothing to prepare beyond photocopying.

What mistakes should I expect in this lesson?

Three, each a reasoning error rather than carelessness: uses "knew" for a hunch: "I knew it would rain" after only seeing clouds; reads a figure of speech literally: draws cats and dogs falling from clouds for "raining cats and dogs." and says a figure of speech "doesn't mean anything because it isn't true.". The plan gives the thinking behind each one and the teaching move that addresses the thinking rather than the symptom.

How do I know whether the lesson worked?

The exit ticket asks: “Put in order from least sure to most sure: knew, wondered, suspected. Then fill the blank: "I ____ it was my turn because the teacher said my name.".” wondered, suspected, knew; then "knew," with the teacher saying the name as proof. "Suspected" or "wondered" in the blank: misreads the clue's strength. Muddled order: certainty seen as interchangeable, so rerun the cookie story. That tells you whether the class needs a reteach or a thirty-second conversation before you plan tomorrow.

Is there a worksheet to go with Literal, Figurative and Word Relationships?

Yes — 1 printable L.3.5 worksheet, linked at the end of the plan and free like the rest of the site. Each one comes with an answer key and 25 versions, so the practice after the lesson can be a different paper on every desk.

Is Literal, Figurative and Word Relationships free to use?

Yes. The plan, its printables and their answer keys are free to read, print and photocopy for your own class, with no account and no email capture. It was last reviewed on October 8, 2026. Please do not resell it or republish it as your own.

Last reviewed 2026-10-08. Aligned to L.3.5 of the Common Core State Standards for English Language Arts.