Simply Similes

Students shine as bright as the stars in the night sky. Once again, I want to share the similes my students have written. We read Tending to Grace by my good friend, Kim Fusco, to begin the year. It's my way of introducing the students to beautiful language, lovely descriptions, and sweet similes. Kim's first page shows the sad life of her protagonist, Cornelia, with these words:

I want to jump out of the car as it rushes along and wrap myself in a row of

                 sheets hanging so low their feet tap the grass. I want to hide because my life, if it were 

        a clothesline, would be the one with a sweater dangling by one sleeve, a blanket 

                     dragging in the mud, and a sock, unpaired and alone, tumbling to the road with the wind 

at its heel. 

Here is a sample of my students' similes and descriptive writing:

I'm as fragile as ice hitting the ground.

I'm feeling as deadly as a war.

I'm as scared as deer getting hit by a car.

I'M AS MAD AS LAVA.

I'm as excited as a mad scientist who made a new potion.

I was as sad as a rock in the pouring rain.

I was as scared as a branch held by a thread. 

I'm like a rock people kick down the street.

I'm like ice that will never melt.

I'm like the wind that has a harsh blow.

My feet are like soft jello.

I just stay there like a rag doll.

I'm as graceful as a prancing antelope.

I was so excited that I felt like I was about to explode all my madness. 

The morning we wrote these, describing how we might feel as Cornelia, the students typed them on my laptop at the front of the room. They were projected on the board with an Elmo so everyone could see. The students lined up, eager to type. It was an exciting moment in our classroom.