Idioms with as… as ranking activities
A LESSON PLAN FOR ENGLISH LANGUAGE TEACHERS
Discussing and then remembering as... as idioms like "busy as a bee"
Lesson Plan Content:
Idioms with as… as ranking activities
Your feelings about idioms with as… as ranking
Rank the idioms below by how much you like them, thinking about things like:
- how useful they could be in communication
- how much sense they make
- how colourful they are/ how evocative they are
Ones near the bottom of your list could be ones which are too obvious, don’t make sense, seem too specific to be useful, etc. When you finish, compare lists with someone else, changing your list if you agree that any of their rankings make more sense.
|
as busy
|
as a bee |
with lots of things to do |
|
as clean |
as a whistle
|
no dirt |
|
as different
|
as chalk and cheese |
very dissimilar, particularly in personality |
|
as easy |
as ABC
|
very simple |
|
as happy |
as a clam
|
very contented |
|
as old
|
as the hills |
ancient |
|
as quick
|
as a flash |
very fast |
|
as safe
|
as houses |
a sure bet/ something that must happen |
|
as sick |
as a dog |
very ill, often due to drinking
|
|
as tough
|
as old boots |
food, e.g. a steak, that is difficult to chew |
Positive and negative idioms with as… as ranking
Rank the idioms below by how complimentary they are/ how positive they are (top of the list) to how insulting/ how negative they are (at the bottom of the list). Then compare with someone else, changing your list if you accept their reasons why their list is different.
|
as blind
|
as a bat |
with bad eyesight |
|
as clear
|
as mud |
very difficult to understand |
|
as cool
|
as a cucumber |
very calm |
|
as cunning/ sly
|
as a fox |
clever, but in a bad way |
|
as deaf
|
as a doorpost |
very hard of hearing |
|
as drunk
|
as a Lord |
having had too much alcohol |
|
as gentle
|
as a lamb |
very kind, soft or even passive |
|
as greedy
|
as a pig |
eating too much food |
|
as hard
|
as nails |
very strong (personality/ physique) |
|
as thin |
as a rake |
very skinny
|
Common and less common idioms with as… as ranking
Rank the idioms below by how often you think they are used, then Google the top five to check (putting the idiom inside quotation marks, like “easy as pie”)
|
as easy
|
as pie |
very simple |
|
as flat
|
as a pancake |
no hills or bumps |
|
as light |
as a feather
|
not heavy |
|
as mad |
as a hatter
|
crazy |
|
as proud
|
as a peacock |
thinking you have done something great |
|
as quiet
|
as a mouse |
softly spoken |
|
as tough |
as leather
|
meat or other food that is difficult to chew |
|
as regular
|
as clockwork |
happening often |
|
as miserable
|
as sin |
very sad |
|
as white
|
as a sheet |
with all colour gone, e.g. from fright |
-----------------------------------
Without looking at the cards above, write the missing part in each box below.
|
|
as a bee |
with lots of things to do |
|
|
as a whistle
|
no dirt |
|
|
as chalk and cheese |
very dissimilar, particularly in personality |
|
|
as ABC
|
very simple |
|
|
as a clam
|
very contented |
|
as old
|
|
ancient |
|
as quick
|
|
very fast |
|
as safe
|
as houses |
|
|
as sick |
|
very ill, often due to drinking
|
|
|
as old boots |
food, e.g. a steak, that is difficult to chew |
|
as blind
|
|
with bad eyesight |
|
as clear
|
as mud |
|
|
as cool
|
as a cucumber |
|
|
as cunning/ sly
|
as a fox |
|
|
|
as a doorpost |
very hard of hearing |
|
as drunk
|
|
having had too much alcohol |
|
as gentle
|
|
very kind, soft or even passive |
|
|
as a pig |
eating too much food |
|
|
as nails |
very strong (personality/ physique) |
|
|
as a rake |
very skinny
|
|
|
as pie |
very simple |
|
as flat
|
|
no hills or bumps |
|
as light |
|
not heavy |
|
|
as a hatter
|
crazy |
|
as proud
|
|
thinking you have done something great |
|
|
as a mouse |
softly spoken |
|
|
as leather
|
meat or other food that is difficult to chew |
|
as regular
|
|
happening often |
|
as miserable
|
as sin |
|
|
as white
|
|
with all colour gone, e.g. from fright |
Check above. Other answers might be possible, so please check if you wrote something different.
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