updated 1/2023 Spring idioms lessons are engaging ways to teach figurative language! (If you are looking for Valentine’s Day activities for older students, check here!) The first day of spring will be upon us before we know it and there’s nothing like a lesson on spring idioms to kick off the season! Students with autism and language disorders or differences can struggle with understanding idioms. Since understanding figurative language is an important skill for our students, I’d like to share my favorite spring idioms.

What is a spring idiom?

It’s an idiom that is directly or loosely associated with the spring season! (think eggs, birds and rainy weather) or have the word “spring” (noun or verb) in them.

Here are my top ten spring idioms:

Walking on Egg Shells: to be extremely cautious about one’s words or actions.
Bad Egg: a person who behaves in a bad or dishonest way.
Raining Cats and Dogs: it’s raining hard.
Out on a limb: to take a risk or put yourself in a vulnerable position.
Kill two birds with one stone: to use one action to complete two tasks.
No spring chicken: a person who is not young anymore.
A spring in one’s step: having a happy or excited mood or way.
To spring for something: to treat someone by paying for something.
Spring back: to recover quickly and completely.
Spring to life: to become suddenly alive or active.

Now, what do we do with these spring idioms to help our students understand their true meaning?

Five idiom language therapy activities:

One student acts out an idiom and the other students guess which idiom they are acting out.
Match the idiom to its meaning.
Use the idiom in a sentence.
Have a student draw a picture depicting the true or literal meaning of the idiom while the other students guess it.
Instruct students find an image online or a song that depicts the meaning of an idiom. For example, there is a you tube song that shows a green grassy field and features whistling. Perfect for “spring in my step.”