Decoding Symbols in Text

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Objective

I can determine the meaning of a symbol in a text.

Part 1 of 4

Warm-up video

TED-Ed · 5:39Vetted channel

We don't generate video — this one is by TED-Ed on YouTube. The practice questions and exit ticket below were drafted by AI for this objective, and every question is editable in the teacher guide.

Part 2 of 4

Key concepts

3 concepts

  1. 1

    Metaphors are a way to talk about one thing by describing something else, allowing us to think with our imagination and senses.

  2. 2

    Unlike similes, which use words like 'like' or 'as' and make you think, metaphors let you feel things directly.

  3. 3

    Metaphors often say things that aren't literally true, but they get under your skin by ghosting past the logical mind and helping you know something differently.

Part 3 of 4

Practice

3 questions

1

According to the video, what is the main difference between a metaphor and a simile?

2

In the haiku by Issa, 'On a branch floating downriver, a cricket singing,' what deeper meaning or human experience does the image of the cricket on the branch symbolize?

Part 4 of 4

Exit ticket

Quick comprehension check

In Langston Hughes' poem, a mother describes her life by saying, "Life for me ain't been no crystal stair. It's had tacks in it, and splinters, and boards torn up, and places with no carpet on the floor." According to the content, what do the "tacks," "splinters," and "boards torn up" symbolize about the mother's life?

Sample answer included in the free materials

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