The primary purpose of this study was to examine the writing of elementary children, grades four through six, to determine the relationship between specified genre and the development and use of figurative language. Three teachers, one each in grades four, five, and six in the Metropolitan School District of Perry Township, Indiana, collected three writing samples--a description, a poem, and a tale--from each of 81 students. It was concluded that the form of the writing affects both the kinds and the numbers of figurative language that will be used, that there didn't appear to be a natural growth and development of figurative language in grades four through six in the description, poem, and tale, and that the judges in grades four and six gave some consideration to figurative language as one of the components of a quality written product. This paper recommends that instruction in the use and understanding of figurative language be built into composition programs for grades four through six. (Author/TS)