Six idioms and six proverbs make up the two matching tables on this 4th grade vocabulary sheet. Students match "Spill the beans" and "Hit the hay" to their meanings, then match sayings such as "Two wrongs don't make a right" to real situations, like a friend who promises to help clean and never shows up. A short paragraph about one favorite saying finishes the three pages. It practices L.4.5.b, and the answer key gives every letter.
L.4.5.b
“Recognize and explain the meaning of common idioms, adages, and proverbs.”
Both matching tables and question 7 ask students to recognize a common idiom, adage, or proverb and explain its meaning.
Students write a letter next to six idioms, including "Under the weather," "Cost an arm and a leg," and "Break a leg." The first one, "A piece of cake," is done as an example.
Students match six sayings, such as "The early bird catches the worm" and "A penny saved is a penny earned," to situations like arriving at a yard sale right when it opens.
Question 7 asks students to pick one saying, explain it in their own words, and give a new example of when they might use it.
Figurative language unit
Start with the idiom table on its own. Students know most idioms from home, so the proverbs in the second table feel less strange afterward.
Drama tie-in
"Break a leg" leads into why actors say it. It is a good moment to connect this to a class play or a reader's theater.
Acting it out
Idioms are hard for students learning English. Pair them with a partner and ask each pair to act out one idiom from the first table for the class.
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