Mini-Lesson

Idiomatic Expressions

Mini-Lesson: Grades 4-6

Students will identify and interpret idiomatic expressions.

1. After reading and discussing the timeforkids.com news story A Race to the Finish draw students' attention to the expression "nose-to nose" in paragraph 1. Ask: What does that expression mean? Give students time to respond, and then model the use of context clues by reading the following passage aloud: "Defending 2007 champion Lance Mackey and four-time winner Jeff King were both determined to cross the finish line first. The two were nose-to-nose at this point last year." Explain that the expression "nose-to-nose" means to be in a close race.

2. Next, challenge students to use context clues to define another expression. Provide context by reading the following sentence aloud: "Edward and Melissa don't see eye-to-eye about who should be elected class president." Ask: What does it mean to say they Edward and Melissa don't see eye-to-eye? (Edward and Melissa don't agree on who should be class president, so to say people don't see eye-to-eye about something means they disagree or have different opinions about something.)

3. Explain to students that the expressions "nose-to-nose" and "eye-to-eye" are idioms. These are words or expressions that have special meanings, and can't be understood by their word-for-word definitions alone. Give students examples of other idiomatic expression and challenge them to explain what each one means. Examples include: head-to-head (to compete with someone); toe-to-toe (to challenge someone); back-to-back (one after another); neck-and-neck (very close) and face-to-face (in person).

4. Alternatively, have students brainstorm a list of idioms on their own and then explain what each one means.