NAME: _____________________________________
Figurative Language and Text Features Assessment
Read the poem “A Million Times” and the article “Repercussions of Bullying” to answer the following
questions.
Figurative Language
1. Read the following line:
They click. They clack. They Snip and Snap.
Which device is used in the line above?
A. Onomatopoeia, providing the sounds of the shackles.
B. Simile, comparing bullying to being held in shackles.
C. Personification, giving the trait of spoken words to the shackles.
D. Metaphor, comparing the shackles to a life imprisoned by bullying.
2. Why does the poet refer to his wrists as "scrawny little sticks?"
F. He is using metaphor to compare bullying to breakable sticks.
G. He is using imagery to let the reader see how lowly he sees himself.
H. He is using hyperbole to exaggerate how badly he feels about his situation.
I. He is using personification to show the reader how trees can be seen as people.
3. Read the following sentence:
My skin that is made, now, like leather.
My skin that is made like armor.
Which figurative language device is used in this sentence?
A. personification, making skin appear as leather and armor.
B. metaphor, comparing the poet's feelings to hardened objects.
C. hyperbole, exaggerating the feelings the poet gets when he is bullied.
D. simile, comparing the poet's skin to things that are difficult to break through.
4. Read the following sentences:
From the green and yellow and blue and black and red snake.
The snake that becomes a rainbow in my mind.
Which figurative language device is used in these sentences?
F. Personification, making a person seem like a snake.
G. Simile, comparing snakes to bullies and happiness to rainbows.
H. Hyperbole, exaggerating the differences between good feelings and bad feelings.
I. Metaphor, comparing the poet’s feelings now to something as peaceful as a rainbow.
5. Read the following sentence:
A million times I have been placed in shackles.
Which literary device is used in this sentence?
A. Simile, comparing bullying to shackles.
B. Personification, making shackles seem like bullies.
C. Hyperbole, exaggerating the amount of times the poet has felt bullied.
D. Imagery, "showing" the reader how many times the poet has been placed in shackles.
6. Read the following stanza:
But, one day I will burst out of the chains,
I will rise.
I will punish the snake.
I will break the chains,
the chains that bind.
What is the tone of this stanza?
F. Carefree
G. Frustrated
H. Quiet
I. Victorious
7. Read the following sentence:
A million times I have been placed in shackles.
Which figurative language device is used in this sentence?
A. Simile, comparing bullying to a prison.
B. Metaphor, comparing bullying to being placed in shackles.
C. Personification, showing that bullying can "feel" like being shackled.
D. Symbolism, showing the difference between being bullied and being placed in shackles.
Text Features
8. The author's use of italicized print in the first two lines of "A Million Times" aids the reader's
understanding by:
F. creating an image for how often the poet must be placed in shackles.
G. providing emphasis on the amount of times the poet has felt bullied.
H. establishing the importance of the amount of times the poet has actually been shackled.
I. helping to establish the importance of the number of times the poet has been imprisoned.
9. The author's use of bold print with the word "crushes" (from “A Million Times”) aids the reader's
understanding by:
A. helping to establish the importance of being crushed.
B. providing an emphasis on the most important word in the poem.
C. creating emphasis on a word that describes the pain the poet feels.
D. establishing a manner in which to compare "squeezing" and "crushing."
10. The picture at the end of the article "Repercussions of Bullying" aids the reader's understanding of
the article by:
F. providing an image that shows the manner in which EMDR affects PTSD.
G. providing an image that shows the three factors that combine to relieve PTSD.
H. providing an image that shows three components of PTSD and their effects on the brain.
I. providing an image that represents three different options that affect how the brain thinks.
11. Based on the text, which of the following serves as the best caption for the picture at the end of the
article "Repercussions of Bullying."
A. Three causes of PTSD.
B. Different options for treating PTSD.
C. The brain is engineered to fight PTSD.
D. The differences between EMDR and Medicinal Therapy.
12. How do the subtitles support the theme of the article, "Repercussions of Bullying?"
F. They outline the different causes of PTSD.
G. They outline the types of effects PTSD can have on its victims.
H. They show that there are a few different options for treating PTSD.
I. They show that therapy is more important than EMDR in treating PTSD.
13. The picture next to the title "Repercussions of Bullying," aids the reader's understanding by:
A. showing that PTSD can best be fought alone.
B. showing that one may be relaxed when dealing with PTSD.
C. showing that PTSD is a disorder that affects very few people.
D. showing that victims of PTSD may feel alone and captive to their disorder.
NAME: _____________________________________
Figurative Language and Text Features Assessment
Read the poem “A Million Times” and the article “Repercussions of Bullying” to answer the following
questions.
Figurative Language
1. Read the following line:
They click. They clack. They Snip and Snap.
Which device is used in the line above?
A. Onomatopoeia, providing the sounds of the shackles.
B. Simile, comparing bullying to being held in shackles.
C. Personification, giving the trait of spoken words to the shackles.
D. Metaphor, comparing the shackles to a life imprisoned by bullying.
2. Why does the poet refer to his wrists as "scrawny little sticks?"
F. He is using metaphor to compare bullying to breakable sticks.
G. He is using imagery to let the reader see how lowly he sees himself.
H. He is using hyperbole to exaggerate how badly he feels about his situation.
I. He is using personification to show the reader how trees can be seen as people.
3. Read the following sentence:
My skin that is made, now, like leather.
My skin that is made like armor.
Which figurative language device is used in this sentence?
A. personification, making skin appear as leather and armor.
B. metaphor, comparing the poet's feelings to hardened objects.
C. hyperbole, exaggerating the feelings the poet gets when he is bullied.
D. simile, comparing the poet's skin to things that are difficult to break through.
4. Read the following sentences:
From the green and yellow and blue and black and red snake.
The snake that becomes a rainbow in my mind.
Which figurative language device is used in these sentences?
F. Personification, making a person seem like a snake.
G. Simile, comparing snakes to bullies and happiness to rainbows.
H. Hyperbole, exaggerating the differences between good feelings and bad feelings.
I. Metaphor, comparing the poet’s feelings now to something as peaceful as a rainbow.
5. Read the following sentence:
A million times I have been placed in shackles.
Which literary device is used in this sentence?
A. Simile, comparing bullying to shackles.
B. Personification, making shackles seem like bullies.
C. Hyperbole, exaggerating the amount of times the poet has felt bullied.
D. Imagery, "showing" the reader how many times the poet has been placed in shackles.
6. Read the following stanza:
But, one day I will burst out of the chains,
I will rise.
I will punish the snake.
I will break the chains,
the chains that bind.
What is the tone of this stanza?
F. Carefree
G. Frustrated
H. Quiet
I. Victorious
7. Read the following sentence:
A million times I have been placed in shackles.
Which figurative language device is used in this sentence?
A. Simile, comparing bullying to a prison.
B. Metaphor, comparing bullying to being placed in shackles.
C. Personification, showing that bullying can "feel" like being shackled.
D. Symbolism, showing the difference between being bullied and being placed in shackles.
Text Features
8. The author's use of italicized print in the first two lines of "A Million Times" aids the reader's
understanding by:
F. creating an image for how often the poet must be placed in shackles.
G. providing emphasis on the amount of times the poet has felt bullied.
H. establishing the importance of the amount of times the poet has actually been shackled.
I. helping to establish the importance of the number of times the poet has been imprisoned.
9. The author's use of bold print with the word "crushes" (from “A Million Times”) aids the reader's
understanding by:
A. helping to establish the importance of being crushed.
B. providing an emphasis on the most important word in the poem.
C. creating emphasis on a word that describes the pain the poet feels.
D. establishing a manner in which to compare "squeezing" and "crushing."
10. The picture at the end of the article "Repercussions of Bullying" aids the reader's understanding of
the article by:
F. providing an image that shows the manner in which EMDR affects PTSD.
G. providing an image that shows the three factors that combine to relieve PTSD.
H. providing an image that shows three components of PTSD and their effects on the brain.
I. providing an image that represents three different options that affect how the brain thinks.
11. Based on the text, which of the following serves as the best caption for the picture at the end of the
article "Repercussions of Bullying."
A. Three causes of PTSD.
B. Different options for treating PTSD.
C. The brain is engineered to fight PTSD.
D. The differences between EMDR and Medicinal Therapy.
12. How do the subtitles support the theme of the article, "Repercussions of Bullying?"
F. They outline the different causes of PTSD.
G. They outline the types of effects PTSD can have on its victims.
H. They show that there are a few different options for treating PTSD.
I. They show that therapy is more important than EMDR in treating PTSD.
13. The picture next to the title "Repercussions of Bullying," aids the reader's understanding by:
A. showing that PTSD can best be fought alone.
B. showing that one may be relaxed when dealing with PTSD.
C. showing that PTSD is a disorder that affects very few people.
D. showing that victims of PTSD may feel alone and captive to their disorder.
Use the
following poem
along with the
Technical Article
“Repercussions
of Bullying” for
the test.
A Million Times
A million times I have been placed in shackles.
A million times I have felt them bind and pinch the scrawny little sticks that serve as my wrists.
They click. They clack. They Snip and Snap.
I can’t wear them anymore.
I want a way out.
Slipping, sliding, slinking away from memory.
Whisking, whooshing, whirling down the length of the snake that threatens to curl up around me.
It squeezes me,
It crushes me,
When I am out there with them,
It calls to me,
It whispers to me…
…that I am…
nothing.
But, one day I will burst out of the chains,
I will rise.
I will punish the snake.
I will break the chains,
the chains that bind.
The chains that clink and clank, and rip and pull at my skin,
My skin that is made, now, like leather.
My skin that is made like armor,
My skin that is made like a shield,
From the green and yellow and blue and black and red snake.
The snake that becomes a rainbow in my mind.