After their argument, the two friends planted a small cedar tree together. Each year, as the tree grew taller and stronger, so did their friendship.
Grade 7 · English Language Arts · Unit 3 of 12
Literary Devices
Irony, foreshadowing and symbolism
What your child practises
Recognizing the tools writers use: figurative language, foreshadowing, flashback, symbolism and the three kinds of irony (verbal, situational and dramatic), plus the parts of a plot.
Nova Scotia Curriculum learning outcome: Responses · literary devices in stories and poems
Sample questions
A taste of this unit. In the app, questions change every time and get easier or harder to match your child.
Question 1
What is a simile?
- An exaggeration for effect
- A scene from an earlier time
- A comparison that uses “like” or “as”
- A word that imitates a sound
A comparison that uses “like” or “as”
Hint: “As busy as a bee” and “ran like the wind” are both similes.
Question 2
Which literary device does this excerpt use?
- Onomatopoeia
- Flashback
- Hyperbole
- Symbolism
Symbolism
Hint: The growing tree represents the growing friendship. That's symbolism.
Question 3
Which literary device does this excerpt use?
Standing at the finish line, Ana suddenly remembered the first time she tried to run a lap, three years earlier, gasping and red-faced before she was even halfway around the track.
- Onomatopoeia
- Foreshadowing
- Flashback
- Personification
Flashback
Hint: The story jumps back three years to show an earlier scene. That's a flashback.
Question 4
Which literary device does this excerpt use?
As the hikers set out under clear skies, Maya noticed a thin line of dark clouds behind the mountain. She decided not to mention it.
- Onomatopoeia
- Foreshadowing
- Flashback
- Hyperbole
Foreshadowing
Hint: The dark clouds hint that trouble may come later. Hints about future events are foreshadowing.
Question 5
In a story, a dove appears whenever the characters make peace. What device is the dove an example of?
- Symbolism
- Flashback
- Hyperbole
- Onomatopoeia
Symbolism
Hint: The dove stands for a bigger idea: peace. An object that represents an idea is a symbol.
Question 6
Which literary device does this excerpt use?
Since his best friend moved away, Sam has carried a broken compass in his pocket. Its needle spins and spins, never settling on a direction.
- Hyperbole
- Symbolism
- Flashback
- Onomatopoeia
Symbolism
Hint: The compass stands for something bigger: Sam feels lost without his friend. An object that represents an idea is a symbol.