Grade 3 · English Language Arts · Unit 7 of 10
Word Pictures
Metaphors and sound patterns
What your child practises
Understanding metaphors and similes, hearing repeated vowel sounds (assonance), and choosing strong, exact words.
Ontario Curriculum expectation: C1.5, C3.1 · metaphor, assonance and word choice, and how they help communicate meaning
Sample questions
A taste of this unit. In the app, questions change every time and get easier or harder to match your child.
Question 1
Which sentence is a metaphor?
- The tree was tall.
- The tree was like a giant.
- The tree was a giant.
Show answer
The tree was a giant.
Hint: A metaphor says one thing is another thing, without like or as.
Question 2
Which sentence uses a metaphor?
- The test was long.
- The test was a mountain I had to climb.
- I took a test.
Show answer
The test was a mountain I had to climb.
Hint: The test is described as a mountain.
Question 3
Which word is the strongest verb? The cheetah ___ across the grass.
- moved
- went
- sprinted
Show answer
sprinted
Hint: A strong verb shows exactly how something moves.
Question 4
Which sentence sounds like a calm, quiet voice?
- Look out! The lake is huge!
- Wow, what a splash!
- The lake lay still beneath the soft grey sky.
Show answer
The lake lay still beneath the soft grey sky.
Hint: Soft words and no exclamation marks make a calm voice.
Question 5
What two things are being compared? “The snow is a white blanket.”
- snow and a blanket
- white and a blanket
- snow and white
Show answer
snow and a blanket
Hint: Find the two nouns that the sentence says are the same.
Question 6
“My brother is a night owl.” What does it mean?
- He likes to stay up late.
- He sleeps all day and all night.
- He has feathers.
Show answer
He likes to stay up late.
Hint: Owls are awake at night.