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8th grade · English Language Arts · Unit 2 of 12

Literary Devices

Irony, symbolism and point of view

What your child practices

Naming devices like simile, metaphor, personification, hyperbole, irony, foreshadowing and symbolism in short excerpts, and identifying a narrator's point of view.

Minnesota K-12 Academic Standards benchmark: 8.1.8.1; 8.1.5.1 · word choice, analogy and allusion, and narrative point of view

How we explain it

Children can open this short lesson before they practice.

  1. Simile (like or as), metaphor (is), personification (human traits) and hyperbole (exaggeration) are figurative language.
  2. Irony is a gap between what is said or expected and what is real. Foreshadowing hints at later events.
  3. A symbol stands for a bigger idea. Second person speaks to the reader as you.

Example: “Her words were daggers.” Which device is this? Words are compared to daggers without like or as. That makes it a metaphor. Answer: Metaphor

Literary Devices in Minnesota

In the Minnesota K-12 Academic Standards, this is unit 2 of 12 in 8th grade English Language Arts, after Close Reading and before Word Study.

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.

Source: Minnesota Department of Education (MDE)

Sample questions

A taste of this unit. In the app, questions change every time and get easier or harder to match your child.

  1. Question 1

    Which literary device does this excerpt use?

    “Great weather we're having,” Sam muttered, as rain poured through the broken umbrella.

    • Simile
    • Verbal irony
    • Foreshadowing
    • Symbolism

  2. Question 2

    Which literary device does this excerpt use?

    Whenever Lila saw the white dove, she felt a sense of calm, as if it carried peace itself.

    • Symbolism
    • Irony
    • Alliteration
    • Hyperbole

  3. Question 3

    Which literary device does this excerpt use?

    The audience was struck by the silence that fell like a heavy curtain.

    • Simile
    • Irony
    • Personification
    • Metaphor

  4. Question 4

    Which point of view is used?

    You open the box and your hands begin to tremble.

    • First person
    • Third person omniscient
    • Third person limited
    • Second person

  5. Question 5

    Which literary device does this excerpt use?

    The wind whispered secrets through the trees.

    • Hyperbole
    • Personification
    • Alliteration
    • Simile

  6. Question 6

    Which literary device does this excerpt use?

    Every time Ana feels hopeful, a bright yellow bird lands on her windowsill.

    • Alliteration
    • Hyperbole
    • Flashback
    • Symbolism

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