Poetry: Figurative Language Deeper

Skill focus: Figurative Language Deeper

For the parent

We're working on figurative language deeper. Read the passage out loud first, then have your child read it back. Ask questions in your own words before they answer the worksheet. Underline together to find clues in the text — this is a real reader's habit.

What you'll need

pencil
paper
highlighter (optional)

Warm-up

Tell each other one interesting thing you noticed today. That's a 'detail' — your brain is already working.

Vocabulary

winter

Look up this word in a dictionary, then use it in a sentence.

falls

Look up this word in a dictionary, then use it in a sentence.

quiet

Look up this word in a dictionary, then use it in a sentence.

itself

Look up this word in a dictionary, then use it in a sentence.

Sentence frames

The main idea of this passage is .

One detail that supports this is .

This reminds me of .

Guided practice

1
Read this passage: "When the first snow of winter falls, the town grows quiet. Sound itself seems to hush, as if something delicate has settled over the rooftops and streets. Children pull battered sleds from the back of the garage and drag them up the hill behind the school. Smoke curls from chimneys in slow ribbons. The post office cat watches from a windowsill, unimpressed. By morning, the world will be familiar again — plowed roads, dirty slush — but on the first night, before footprints and tire tracks, everything is brand new. Old places look unfamiliar. Quiet places sound quieter. It is one of the year's small kindnesses." Q: What is the setting of the passage?
Parent tip: Read aloud once, then ask your child to read it back. Underline answers together.
2
Using the same passage, answer: Where do children go to sled?
Parent tip: Point back to the line in the text that proves the answer.

Your turn

1
What does the word 'curls' tell you about the smoke?
2
What does the author mean by 'one of the year's small kindnesses'?
3
Why does the post office cat seem 'unimpressed'?
4
Have you experienced a moment like this? Describe it.
5
What is one detail you remember? Write it in a complete sentence.
6
Draw a picture of one moment from the passage.
7
What is one word from the passage you didn't know? Look it up and write a kid-friendly definition.
8
Write one sentence that retells what happened in your own words.
9
Why do you think the author wrote this?
10
Find one adjective (a describing word) in the passage. Write it here.

★ Challenge

Write a 3-sentence summary of the passage in your own words.

Reflection

What is one thing you'll remember from this passage tomorrow?

For the parent

Answer key

guided #1A small town on the first night of snowfall.

guided #2The hill behind the school.

independent #1It is rising slowly in soft, twisting shapes.

independent #2The first snow gives a calm, beautiful moment that feels like a gift.

independent #3It has seen the snow before / cats do not care about weather.

independent #4Open response — student connects to a personal moment.

independent #5Open response — supporting detail.

independent #6Open response — visual response.

independent #7Open response — vocabulary lookup.

independent #8Open response — student paraphrases the passage.

independent #9Open response — author's purpose.

independent #10Open response — varies by passage.

Bright Hearth · printable for home learning