Grade 7 · Story Craft and Voice · Narration
Figurative Language and Tone
Distinguish metaphor, simile and personification.
Learning objectives
- Distinguish metaphor, simile and personification
- Match tone words to evidence
- Explain how figurative language builds tone
AERO English Language Arts alignment
AERO.ELA.7.RL.4
Determine the meaning of words and phrases as used in a text, including figurative and connotative meanings, and analyse the impact of specific word choices on meaning and tone. Grade 7 / MYP 2 emphasis: work independently with two related texts and explain how a writer's choices create effects.
AERO.ELA.7.L.5
Demonstrate understanding of figurative language, word relationships and nuances in word meanings. Grade 7 / MYP 2 emphasis: work independently with two related texts and explain how a writer's choices create effects.
AERO.ELA.7.RL.8
Compare and contrast texts from different genres, cultures and time periods that address similar themes, ideas or forms. Grade 7 / MYP 2 emphasis: work independently with two related texts and explain how a writer's choices create effects.
MYP criteria
- Criterion A — Analysing
- Criterion B — Organizing
ENGAGE
How Do Words Create a Feeling?
Writers do not always tell you directly how a place or moment feels. Instead, they choose comparisons and give human actions to non-human things. These choices colour the narrator’s voice and guide your response. Imagine the Doha Corniche at dawn: the water could be “a silver mirror” or it could “grumble against the wall”. Both descriptions show the same setting, but they create very different tones. Today, you will investigate how precise figurative choices shape a reader’s sense of mood and attitude.
Think about it
- What tone does “a silver mirror” create?
- How does “grumble” change your impression of the water?
EXPLORE
Close Reading: A Harbour for Stories
Text A: The First Question
At first light, Mariam walked beside her grandfather along Doha Corniche. The bay was a sheet of hammered silver, and the towers across the water stood like patient sentries. A breeze tugged at her notebook, impatient to turn the blank pages. Grandfather pointed towards a wooden dhow rocking near the harbour. “Your great-grandfather learned the moods of this sea,” he said.
Mariam had promised to record his memories for a school exhibition, but her first question hid behind her teeth. Around them, the city stretched awake. Runners passed in steady rhythm, gulls stitched white curves into the sky, and the dhow nodded as though encouraging her. She finally asked about the long pearl-diving journeys. Grandfather paused. His face became a closed door. Then he smiled, slowly, and began. As his words gathered, Mariam’s pencil raced across the page. The quiet morning grew warm with remembered voices, and the blank paper no longer seemed empty; it had become a harbour where stories could return.
Read like a detective
Underline comparisons and circle objects or places that receive human actions. Beside each example, write one possible tone word.
Think about it
- Which phrases are similes, metaphors or examples of personification?
- How does the tone change after Mariam asks her question?
- Which figurative phrase most strongly supports your tone word?
EXPLAIN
Connecting Figurative Language to Tone
Three kinds of figurative language
| Technique | How to recognise it | Example | Likely effect |
|---|---|---|---|
| Simile | Compares unlike things using “like” or “as” | The towers stood like patient sentries. | Makes the towers seem calm, protective and watchful. |
| Metaphor | Directly describes one thing as another | The bay was a sheet of hammered silver. | Emphasises the bay’s brightness and smooth appearance. |
| Personification | Gives human qualities or actions to something non-human | The dhow nodded as though encouraging her. | Makes the setting seem supportive and welcoming. |
Tone is the narrator’s or writer’s attitude towards a subject. Useful tone words for Text A include reflective, hesitant, respectful, warm and hopeful. A precise tone word is stronger than a broad word such as “good” or “sad”.
Tone is not the same as mood
Tone describes the narrator’s attitude. Mood describes the feeling created in the reader. A respectful tone might create a calm, thoughtful mood.
How to explain an effect
- Name the technique and quote a short, exact phrase.
- Explain the image or association created by the words.
- Choose a precise tone word supported by the evidence.
- Connect the image to the narrator’s attitude or the passage’s changing tone.
- When comparing texts, use linking words such as “similarly”, “however” or “whereas”.
Model analysis
The personification “the city stretched awake” creates a gentle image of Doha beginning its day. The verb “stretched” suggests a slow, peaceful movement, helping to establish a calm and reflective tone.
MYP_PRACTICE
Compare Two Voices of Memory
Read a second, related passage about preserving memories. Work independently to label its figurative language, infer tone and select precise evidence. Then organise a short comparison with a clear claim, quoted evidence from both texts and an explanation of each quotation’s effect. Show how different images can create related but distinct tones.
- Read Text B once for its main idea and a second time for its language choices.
- Identify at least one simile, one metaphor and one example of personification in Text B.
- Select one precise tone word for each text and record a quotation supporting it.
- Explain the associations created by each quotation and how they build tone.
- Write an organised comparison using a clear claim, evidence, explanation and a linking word.
EXIT_TICKET
Before you close this lesson
Think about it
- Which type of figurative language can you now identify most confidently, and why?
- How does explaining a word’s associations improve your analysis of tone?
Watch
The art of the metaphor - Jane Hirshfield
TED-Ed · 6 min
Discover how metaphors connect unlike ideas and add layers of meaning to language.
Before you watch: Why might a writer describe one thing as if it were another?
- How is a metaphor different from a literal statement?
- Create a metaphor and explain the meaning it communicates.
Interactive practice · evidence tone comparison
Text B: Trusted with the Past
Read Text B independently. Annotate its figurative language, choose evidence and prepare a focused comparison with Text A.
Text
Near sunset, Sami entered a quiet room at Al Zubarah visitor centre to help catalogue copies of old sailors’ maps. Dust floated like tiny lanterns in the slanting light. The shelves guarded their boxes in stern silence, and every label seemed to whisper, “Handle this story carefully.” At first, the room felt watchful. Sami slowed his steps and lifted one map from its folder. Across the page, ink lines wandered towards ports around the Gulf. The faded map was a patient teacher: without speaking, it showed how people had crossed wide waters and found their way home. Sami wrote a careful description for the catalogue. Outside, the wind brushed the stone walls, but inside, the past sat calmly beside him. When he closed the folder, he no longer felt like a visitor. He felt trusted with a small part of a much larger journey.
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Key vocabulary
- simile
- A comparison using “like” or “as”.
- metaphor
- A direct comparison saying one thing is another.
- personification
- Giving human actions or qualities to something non-human.
- tone
- The narrator’s or writer’s attitude towards a subject.
Practice questions
0/3 correct
Level 1 · Criterion A
Which quotation from Text A is a simile?
Level 2 · Criterion A
Which tone is best supported by “the dhow nodded as though encouraging her”?
Level 2 · Criterion B
Which is the clearest organisation for a paragraph analysing figurative language and tone?
MYP criterion tasks
Level 2 · Criterion A
Explain how the metaphor “His face became a closed door” affects the tone of Text A.
Level 3 · Criterion B
Write a short, organised comparison of how one figurative image in Text A and one in Text B present the preservation of memories.
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