Strategy Overview
How is guilt like a stain? How is friendship like a raft? How is an equation like a tug of war? Research shows that asking students to make connections and comparisons between items that are not truly similar is one of the most effective ways to improve comprehension and foster gains in achievement. We call these kinds of comparisons metaphors and similes, and they represent one of our most colorful, creative, and enlightening forms of expression. Teachers, poets, songwriters, all of us rely on metaphors and similes to intensify what we mean or make dazzling connections between things we never before thought could go together.
The Metaphorical Expression strategy seizes on this uniquely human ability to find and make meaning through creative comparisons. By engaging students in metaphorical thinking, teachers give students the opportunity to develop their own perspective on content, paving the way for enlightening insights, powerful explanations, and the very highest levels of comprehension.