This Common Core language lesson teaches students how to interpret figurative language including similes and metaphors. The lesson includes research-based strategies and strategic questions that prepare students for Common Core assessments. In this lesson, students will learn how to identify a simile or metaphor in the context of a paragraph and how to use the context of the text to explain the meaning of the figurative language. In addition to the lesson, there are four pages of Independent Practice with questions modeled after the Common Core assessment items.