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American Idioms

You can teach your ELLs that idioms are expressions that have a literal and figurative meaning. 

The literal meaning is "exactly what the words say." 

The figurative meaning is "what the idiom really means". 

I have them chant: 
Literal - what the words say
Figurative - what it really means
 

You can make a T-chart with an illustration in each of the columns: literally and figuratively.  For raining cats and dogs, for example, you can draw cats and dogs falling from the sky on the literal side of the T-chart, and you can draw a very rainy day on the figurative side of the T-chart.  Explain to the students that an idiom is meant to be understood figuratively.

I have them chant:
Idiom - Figurative

Here is a packet of idioms to help you start.  Adding images will make this material more comprehensible.
   Idioms packet
https://www.varsitytutors.com/englishteacher/idioms
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  • Home
  • Teachers Pay Teachers Store
  • Emergency Aid
  • Strategies you can use now
  • Parents
  • For ENL teachers / Worksheets and other resources
  • Tip of the day
  • Important Acronyms
  • Videos and Songs for your smartboard
  • Routine for Newcomers
  • ELL Testing Accommodations
  • Dictionaries
  • Parts of Speech
  • NYSESLAT