9th grade · English Language Arts · Unit 5 of 12
Allusion, analogy, juxtaposition, flashback
Spotting allusion (a reference to something well known), analogy, juxtaposition (contrasts side by side) and flashback in short original excerpts, and explaining why a writer chooses them.
Alabama Course of Study content standard: 9.4; 9.16 · allusion, analogy, juxtaposition and flashback
Children can open this short lesson before they practice.
Example: A writer says, “Her generosity was Robin Hood–like.” What device is this? Robin Hood is a famous legend. Referring to a well-known character is an allusion. Answer: allusion
In the Alabama Course of Study, this is unit 5 of 12 in 9th grade English Language Arts, after Word Detective and before Digital Smarts.
Gradelings describes a child's practice on this unit as Beginning, Approaching, Meeting or Exceeding (Four practice steps). That reflects practice, not a report-card mark: the teacher decides the mark.
A taste of this unit. In the app, questions change every time and get easier or harder to match your child.
Question 1
Which device is used when Kenji is “back in his grandfather's workshop”?
The old radio crackled once and went silent. Kenji turned the dial, and for a moment he was back in his grandfather's workshop, sawdust on his sleeves, listening to a hockey game on a rainy night.
Now the workshop was cold and bare. On the empty bench, a single shiny screw sat beside a pile of dust. Like a compass without a needle, the room had lost its direction.
flashback
Hint: The story moves to an earlier time.
Question 2
“Like a compass without a needle, the room had lost its direction” is an example of…
The old radio crackled once and went silent. Kenji turned the dial, and for a moment he was back in his grandfather's workshop, sawdust on his sleeves, listening to a hockey game on a rainy night.
Now the workshop was cold and bare. On the empty bench, a single shiny screw sat beside a pile of dust. Like a compass without a needle, the room had lost its direction.
analogy
Hint: It compares the room to a familiar object that has lost its purpose.
Question 3
Why might a writer use a flashback?
To give background that explains a character's present choices
Hint: Showing the past can explain why a character acts as they do now.
Question 4
Why might an author use an analogy in an explanation?
To explain an unfamiliar idea through a familiar one
Hint: A familiar comparison helps the reader understand something new.
Question 5
A story shows a child's cheerful drawing next to a hospital waiting room. What is the effect?
The contrast makes the reader feel the emotion more
Hint: Two opposite images placed side by side draw attention to the difference.
Question 6
A writer says, “Her generosity was Robin Hood–like,” referring to a well-known character from a legend. What is this device?
allusion
Hint: An allusion is a brief reference to a well-known person, story or event.