NY Next Generation ELA 6L5.a

ELA6th GradeDemonstrate understanding of figurative language, word relationships, and nuances in word meanings.

The Standard

Interpret figurative language, including personification, in context.

New York State Next Generation English Language Arts Learning Standards

Teacher's field guide

What Students Need to Do: Students interpret figurative language, including personification, in context. They identify the nonhuman subject, human quality or action, intended comparison, and contribution to the passage.
What Mastery Looks Like: A student moves beyond labeling personification to explain what it suggests. The explanation connects the figure to mood, imagery, emphasis, characterization, or another contextual effect.
Common Misconceptions: Students may call any vivid description personification or identify the human action without interpreting it. They may invent an effect unsupported by the surrounding text.
How to Assess It: Give students two personified lines in short passages. Ask them to identify the human quality, interpret the meaning, and explain one contextual effect.

Lesson moves

Match nonhuman subjects, human-action cards, interpretations, and mood effects to build and analyze personification.
Ask, ‘What does the wind's whisper suggest here, and how does it affect the scene?’
Play Literal or Personified by sorting lines and explaining the contextual meaning of every figurative example.
Analyze personification in a weather headline or nature advertisement and explain its persuasive or descriptive effect.

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A ready-to-print activity worksheet aligned to 6L5.a, with an answer key for the teacher on its own page. No account needed.

PDF, US Letter, prints cleanly in black and white.

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