6.9.D
The Standard
describe how the author's use of figurative language such as metaphor and personification achieves specific purposes
Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills for English Language Arts and Reading
Teacher's field guide
What This Standard Means
What Students Need to Do
- Students identify metaphors and personification in a passage. They explain how specific words create an image, mood, or idea that helps the author achieve a purpose.
What Mastery Looks Like
- Students can locate a metaphor or personification and explain what comparison or human trait it creates. They connect that choice to a clear purpose, such as building tension, creating humor, or showing a character’s feelings.
Common Misconceptions
- Students may confuse metaphors with similes or treat personification as a literal action. They often name the device but give a vague effect, such as "it makes the writing interesting," without explaining the author’s purpose.
How to Assess It
- Use the line, "The wind clawed at the windows." Ask students to name the device and explain how "clawed" supports a specific mood or purpose.
Lesson moves
Ways to Teach It
Give pairs sentence strips to sort into metaphor, personification, or literal language, then add a purpose label to each figurative example.
Have students compare "The classroom was noisy" with "The classroom was a zoo" and write which version better supports a frustrated narrator.
Play a matching game where students pair figurative language cards with purpose cards, then defend one match using specific words from the sentence.
Collect figurative lines from advertisements or song lyrics and explain how each one shapes the audience’s feelings about the subject.
Keep exploring
Related Standards
- 5.10.D
describe how the author's use of imagery, literal and figurative language such as simile and metaphor, and sound devices achieves specific purposes;
- 7.9.D
describe how the author's use of figurative language such as metaphor and personification achieves specific purposes
- 4.10.D
describe how the author's use of imagery, literal and figurative language such as simile and metaphor, and sound devices such as alliteration and assonance achi...
- 8.9.D
describe how the author's use of figurative language such as extended metaphor achieves specific purposes;
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