Grade 7 · Story Craft: Point of View and Structure · Narration and Effect
Figurative Language and Tone
Trace how metaphor, simile and connotation build the tone of a passage.
Learning objectives
- Identify metaphor, simile and personification in context
- Explain the connotation of a word choice
- Describe tone with precise adjectives
Common Core ELA alignment
RL.7.4
Determine the meaning of words and phrases as they are used in a text, including figurative and connotative meanings, and analyse the impact of word choice on meaning and tone. Grade 7 emphasis: analyse how choices in a text create effects, and handle two related texts independently.
RL.7.1
Cite textual evidence to support analysis of what a literary text says explicitly as well as inferences drawn from the text. Grade 7 emphasis: analyse how choices in a text create effects, and handle two related texts independently.
L.7.5
Demonstrate understanding of figurative language, word relationships and nuances in word meanings. Grade 7 emphasis: analyse how choices in a text create effects, and handle two related texts independently.
MYP criteria
- Criterion A — Analysing
- Criterion C — Producing text
ENGAGE
Same fact, different feeling
The wind moved the curtains. The wind fingered the curtains. The wind clawed at the curtains. One fact, three moods, achieved only by verb choice.
Think about it
- Which version feels threatening, and why?
- What is the difference between mood and tone?
EXPLAIN
From device to effect
| Device | Definition | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Simile | Comparison using like or as | Her voice was like cold water. |
| Metaphor | Direct comparison without like or as | Her voice was cold water. |
| Personification | Giving human qualities to non-human things | The wind fingered the curtains. |
| Connotation | The feeling attached to a word | Thin, slender and scrawny all mean the same size. |
Naming tone precisely
- Weak: the tone is negative.
- Better: the tone is bitter, resigned, wistful, mocking, urgent, reverent.
- Always attach a quotation to the adjective you choose.
Three-step answer
Name the device, quote the smallest phrase, explain the effect on the reader feeling. Never stop at naming.
EXPLORE
Analyse a paragraph
The town had been swallowed by summer. Roads sagged, dogs lay like dropped coats in the shade, and even the clock tower bell seemed to think twice before ringing.
Think about it
- Find one metaphor, one simile and one personification.
- Choose two adjectives for the tone and justify each with a phrase.
MYP_PRACTICE
Criterion A and C task
Write your own 60-word description of a place in extreme weather, using one metaphor, one simile and one personification. Then write 60 words analysing your own tone, naming the devices you used.
EXIT_TICKET
Check yourself
Think about it
- Give the difference between metaphor and simile in one sentence.
- Which tone adjective is new to you today?
Interactive practice · annotate
Annotate for tone
Highlight each figurative phrase and label the feeling it creates.
Text
The town had been swallowed by summer. Roads sagged, dogs lay like dropped coats in the shade, and even the clock tower bell seemed to think twice before ringing.
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Your answer
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Key vocabulary
- Connotation
- The feeling or association a word carries beyond its plain meaning.
- Tone
- The attitude of the writer or speaker towards the subject.
- Mood
- The feeling created in the reader.
- Personification
- Describing a thing as if it were human.
Practice questions
0/2 correct
Level 1 · Criterion A
Dogs lay like dropped coats is which device?
Level 2 · Criterion A
Swallowed by summer suggests that the heat is
MYP criterion tasks
Level 3 · Criterion C
Analyse the tone of the paragraph using two adjectives and two quotations.
Reflect & track
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