IDIOMS and their MEANINGS Task Cards

If your ELA curriculum includes figurative language, then this is a product you don’t want to miss. This set of 20 task cards focuses on idioms and their meanings. Following completion of the task cards, your grade 4 and grade 5 learners will walk away with a more concrete understanding of idioms and the meanings behind their messages. Not only that, but task cards offer a unique learning experience in that they are versatile and engaging. Each card in this product contains a popular idiom, along with two possible meanings. Your learners are tasked with choosing the correct meaning and recording/writing their answers on the answer recording sheet. Corresponding graphics are also included on each card, providing learners with a visual representation of the idioms. As mentioned before, task cards are a unique and versatile learning tool. Take them outside the four walls of your educational environment to create an activity where your learners can get up and moving in the fresh air. If mother nature is keeping you indoors, post the task cards in stations around your room to allow learners to learn while also getting out those rainy-day wiggles. If you prefer, use the cards as a whole class assignment. They work well in a small group or individual resource setting as well. Each card in this product is available in two versions – color and black & white. After a small amount of prep work, you can use these task cards year-over-year. An answer key is included to provide you ease in grading. Not only that, but the answer recording sheets come two to a page to reduce the amount of ink/toner needed for printing/copying. Take a look at the details of each task card below.

PAGE 1: Task Cards 1-4: Learners will find the meanings for the following idioms – “two heads are better than one” / “a needle in a haystack” / “the cold shoulder” / “opened a can of worms”

PAGE 2: Task Cards 5-8: Learners will find the meanings for the following idioms – “time flies” / “cold feet” / “a fish out of water” / “joined at the hip”

PAGE 3: Task Cards 9-12: Learners will find the meanings for the following idioms – “a piece of cake” / “let the cat out of the bag” / “break a leg” / “I’m all ears”

PAGE 4: Task Cards 13-16: Learners will find the meanings for the following idioms – “on cloud nine” / “two peas in a pod” / “costs an arm and a leg” / “raining cats and dogs”

PAGE 5: Task Cards 17-20: Learners will find the meanings for the following idioms – “a drop in the bucket” / “hold your horses” / “in the same boat” / “when pigs fly”

PAGE 6: Answer Recording Sheets (2)

ANSWER KEY