Virginia Standard: 7.

5 DDescribe the impact of word

choice, imagery, and literary
devices including figurative
language
Jessi Lee Covington

Domonoske, C. (2014). Segregated From Its History, How 'Ghetto'

Lost Its Meaning. Retrieved March 19, 2016, from
http://commonlit.org/texts/segregated-from-its- history-howghetto-lost-its-meaning

The article discusses how the

word ghetto has lost its meaning
through time. By tracing the origin
of the word through history, the
author shows how word choice
changes and can be used in many
different ways. The impact that the
word ghetto has had has changed
throughout history and has gone from a
word with a hard to trace origin to
something that denotes race and
segregation.
Flesch-Kincaid Readability Ease Score:
53.7, Grade Equivalency 8th Grade

anyai, I. (1995). Zoom. New York: Viking.

This book of pictures

uses the power of
imagery to explain
perspective. This book is
only comprised of
pictures, but the
understanding of
perspective is
understood with the
changes in each picture.
Since the book is all
pictures, it would be
easy for students to look
at and interpret the
images.

. (1963). The Complete Short Stories &; Sketches of Stephen

The Dark Brown Dog by Stephen Crane

relates to the standard by using
literary
devices such as allegory to tell of a
boy
who becomes friends with a dog who
has
been mistreated. This story is written
in the
time of the Jim Crow laws, and Crane
uses the characters as symbols to
depict the
attitudes of people during this time.
This short story is packed with literary
devices and figurative language that
students would be able to easily point

Crane. G

Dickens, C., & Pepp, M. (2008). A Christmas Carol. London: Puffin.

A Christmas Carol uses

strong word choice to
provide the reader with
imagery. Specifically, the
language the Dickens uses
to describe Christmas Past,
Present, and Future is so
descriptive that the reader is
able to picture each of them
in their mind. The reader is
also able to see how imagery
and word choice impact a
text by both providing strong
language and descriptions of
characters and settings.
Flesch-Kincaid Readability

Dunbar, P. L. (1980). The

Complete Poems of Paul
Laurence Dunbar. New York:
Dodd, Mead.

We Wear the Mask, by Paul

Laurence Dunbar is a poem
that is riddled with
figurative language and
strong word choice. In this
poem, Dunbar chooses his
words so carefully as he
tells the reader about the
life of wearing a mask is for
African Americans in 1896.
This poem is able to relate
to the standard by using
word choice and literary
devices to show
the
Flesch-Kincaid
Readability
Ease Score: 90.4, Grade
perspective of
Equivalency
5ththe writer as
th
being different from the

Hughes, L. (2004). Vintage

Hughes. New York:
Vintage
Books.

Madam and the Rent Man by

Langston Hughes is a poem
that uses tone and irony to make a point. In this
short poem, the madam is refusing to pay her rent
because the apartment has so many issues. When
the rent man comes, she tells him that she will not
pay and he is as upset that she will not pay as she is
with the state of her apartment. The ending is ironic
and surprising because the only resolution is that
they both agree to disagree about the rent being
paid.
Flesch-Kincaid Readability Ease Score: 99.7, Grade

G. D. (1992). The Necklace and Other Short Stories. New York:

Maupassant uses irony and other

stories to tell the story of a husband
and wife who are not wealthy and
they borrow a necklace from a
wealthy friend. When they lose the
necklace, they delve into a life of
poverty to try and replace the
necklace. The irony of the story
comes into play at the end of the
story when the wealthy friend tells
them that the necklace was fake
and not worth any money. This story
is a little dense, but easy to follow.
Flesch-Kincaid Readability Ease

Dover P

Poe, E. A. (1843). The Tell-Tale Heart (1st ed., Vol. 1). Philadelphia,
PA: The Pioneer.

This short story by Edgar Allan

Poe would be easy for middle
school students to read and
interpret. With some dense
language, they may need
guidance to gain the full effect of
the language Poe uses. This story
is centered around literary
devices like theme and tone and
imagery. The descriptions that Poe
gives of his characters and the old
mans vulture eye leaves
students with strong images to
relate to the rest of the story.

Shakespeare, W., Bevington, D. M., & Gaines, B. (2005). Romeo and

Juliet. Naperville, IL:
Sourcebooks MediaFusion.

Shakespeares Romeo and Juliet

uses deliberate word choice and
figurative language to tell the
love story of teenagers from
rivaling families. Shakespeares
language is dense and difficult to
understand at times but parts of
Romeo and Juliet can be used as
examples to demonstrate or
model how figurative language
has been used for hundreds of
years. It can also help to train
students eyes to look for and
Flesch-Kincaid
EaseinScore: 58.8, Grade
spot figurative Readability
language, even
Equivalencymore difficult College
texts. Level
Suitability Score: 9-12th Grade

Palacio, R. J. (2012). Wonder. Alfred

A Knopf.

The word choice, imagery,

and figurative language in
Wonder supports the SOL
standard with a coming of
age story about a boy
named August. R. J. Palacio
uses deliberate choices with
her language that students
would be able to understand
the importance of language
and its use in telling a story.
Flesch-Kincaid Readability
Ease Score: 87.8
Suitability Score: 4th Grade +

ng, S. (2010). On Writing: 10th Anniversary Edition. Simon & Schuster.

In is book On Writing, Stephen

King writes about his writing
process. He uses this book to
show how he uses intense
imagery and other literary
devices in his novels and why
that is important to the novel.
By describing his writing
process and the importance of
using literary devices, King
shows how his stories unfold
and the genius behind using
strong literary66.2,
devices.
Flesch-Kincaid:
Grade Equivalency 10th Grade
Suitability: 9th Grade+

References
Banyai, I. (1995). Zoom. New York: Viking.
Crane, S., & Gullason, T. A. (1963). The Complete Short Stories &;
Sketches of Stephen Crane. Garden City, NY: Doubleday.
Dickens, C., & Pepp, M. (2008). A Christmas Carol. London: Puffin.
Domonoske, C. (2014). Segregated From Its History, How 'Ghetto'
Lost Its Meaning. Retrieved March 19, 2016, from
http://commonlit.org/texts/segregated-from-its- history-howghetto-lost-its-meaning
Dunbar, P. L. (1980). The Complete Poems of Paul Laurence
Dunbar. New York:
Dodd, Mead.
Hughes, L. (2004). Vintage Hughes. New York: Vintage Books.
King, S. (2010). On Writing: 10th Anniversary Edition. Simon &
Schuster.
Maupassant, G. D. (1992). The Necklace and Other Short Stories.
New York: Dover Publications.
Palacio, R. J. (2012). Wonder. Alfred A Knopf
Poe, E. A. (1843). The Tell-Tale Heart (1st ed., Vol. 1). Philadelphia,
PA: The
Pioneer.
Shakespeare, W., Bevington, D. M., & Gaines, B. (2005). Romeo