Complete Figurative Language Word Search | Grades 6–7 ELA

This Grades 6–7 figurative language word search reinforces literary terminology through active retrieval. Built as a no-word-bank challenge, students read definitions to deduce 16 essential terms before finding them in the grid, strengthening retention and readiness for middle school reading analysis.

At a Glance

• Grade: Grades 6–7 · Subject: English Language Arts (ELA)
• Standard: Not standards-assessed — vocabulary enrichment for middle school literature study
• Skill Focus: Figurative language in books
• Format: 3 pages · 16 words · Answer key included · PDF
• Best For: Literary terminology review, independent seatwork, and warm-ups
• Time: 20–30 minutes of student work

What's Inside

This 3-page printable resource focuses on 16 literary terms. Without a word bank, students read 16 definition clues to identify devices like metaphor, personification, and synecdoche before searching. The file provides a student puzzle page, clue list, and a 3-page answer key showing word locations for fast checking.

Puzzle Mechanics

• Grid Dimensions: An 18 x 18 letter matrix offers appropriate middle school search complexity.
• Search Directions: Words run in all 8 compass directions (N, NE, E, SE, S, SW, W, NW), forward, backward, and diagonal.
• Clue-Driven Structure: With no word bank, learners use 16 definition clues to determine each hidden term.

Standards Alignment

This resource serves as vocabulary enrichment and is not aligned to a specific standard. While Grades 6–7 ELA curricula require analyzing figurative language, this puzzle builds foundational term recognition to support upcoming text analysis rather than measuring a tested standard.

How to Use It

• Unit Launch: Distribute before direct instruction during a novel study. Students match definitions to terms, revealing prior knowledge.
• Independent Practice: Assign after direct instruction for review. Check whether students solve clues independently or reference notes for a formative observation.

Completion time is 20–30 minutes.

Who It's For

Designed for Grades 6–7 ELA students learning literary terminology. Scaffold for striving learners by pairing them or sharing an anchor chart; challenge advanced students to write original sentences for each term. Pairs naturally with mentor text novel excerpts or poetry reading lessons.

According to Fisher & Frey (2014), intentional academic vocabulary acquisition requires multiple meaningful exposures to domain-specific terminology alongside explicit definitional retrieval. This Grades 6–7 figurative language word search supports middle school literacy by requiring learners to decode definitions before searching an 18 x 18 grid for 16 key literary devices. Eliminating a conventional word bank transforms a passive recognition game into an active retrieval practice task, prompting students to recall terms such as metaphor, irony, synecdoche, and foreshadowing from semantic memory. Research confirms that structured retrieval opportunities strengthen long-term lexical storage and improve students' capacity to recognize literary craft moves during complex text analysis. Because figurative language terms frequently recur across secondary reading curricula, early mastery of this specialized lexicon directly enhances reading comprehension and analytical writing. Educators can deploy this 3-page supplementary resource to consolidate literary terminology efficiently across varied instructional settings.