Hyperbole Educational Resources

Hyperbole is any exaggerated statement not meant literally. Used as both a rhetorical device and figure of speech, hyperbole is used to emphasize, evoke feeling, and make deep impressions. Parents and teachers know students are masters of hyperbole before they ever learn the meaning of the word. To help your students understand the definition of hyperbole faster than the speed of light, use the teaching and resources below.

Students will find hyperbole practice fun, as it involves creative use of words and phrases. While students will be most comfortable using hyperbole in common speech, they must also learn to identify it in literature.

Used in casual speech, hyperbole intensifies any conversation. Students likely are already using phrases such as:

• “If I go to school dressed like this I’ll die!”
• “That bag is so expensive, it’s like a million dollars.”
• “He gives us a ton of homework every day.”

Students should easily recognize some of the above examples. Another easy way to explain the concept of hyperbole to students is to call it an overstatement.

For more classroom fun, have them inject wild adjectives into made up stories. The more a student can embellish the story they create, the better!

If you find your students’ faces as blank as an empty canvas, set them up with Education.com’s exercises above, so they can select from a choice of words. See how much your student can turn a sentence into an overstatement – the more outlandish the more likely it is to be hyperbole!

As they broaden their literary horizons, students will find that the use of hyperbole is present and appreciated in many famous works. In literature, hyperbole is used to create feeling in readers.

Readers are more engaged by colorful language in poetry, short stories, novels, and other types of fiction. Encourage your students to become comfortable recognizing and using hyperbole, and you will give their literacy skills a boost as well!