Day 3 Blitz (New)

Read and analyze the poem.

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Day 3 Blitz
Warm-up

Multiple Choice

Why does the poet use an extended metaphor to compare nature’s first green to gold?

• To show that the color green appears to have a golden hue in early spring

• To express that the early buds of spring are beautiful, pure, and precious

• To highlight how metallic the early spring leaves look in the sunlight

• To explain why early spring buds start as golden flowers

Multiple Choice

How does the poet’s allusion to the Garden of Eden contribute to the idea that “Nothing Gold Can Stay”? 

• By suggesting that the Garden of Eden was not perfect, and that is why it did not last

• By indicating that the Garden of Eden was perfect and still exists

• By emphasizing that even the Garden of Eden’s perfect paradise did not last

• By showing that even though the Garden of Eden was not perfect, it was able to last

Open Ended

The sentence needs to be revised. In the space provided, rewrite the sentence in a clear and effective way.

English I STAAR® Blitz

DAY 1

Make Inferences and

Use Evidence to

Support

Understanding

DAY 2

Analyze How Authors

Develop Themes

Through

Characterization and

Plot

DAY 3

Analyze How the
Author’s Use of

Language and
Literary

Devices Achieves
Specific Purposes

DAY 4

Determine Key Ideas
and Analyze the Thesis

and Supporting

Evidence in

Informational Texts

DAY 5

Analyze How the Use
of Text Structure and

Print and Graphic

Features Achieves the

Author’s Purpose

DAY 6

Analyze the

Characteristics and

Structural Elements of
Argumentative Texts

DAY 7

Synthesize Information

from Two Texts to

Create New

Understanding

DAY 8

Use Resources and

Context to Determine

Word Meanings

DAY 9

Write Responses That

Demonstrate

Understanding of Texts

DAY 10

Revise and
Edit Drafts

EI.4(F), EI.5(C)

EI.6(A), EI.6(B)

EI.4(G), EI.7(Di)

EI.8(A), EI.8(B), EI.8(C)

EI.7(Ei), EI.7(Eii)

EI.4(H)

EI.2(A), EI.2(B), EI.2(C)

EI.5(B), EI.10(B), EI.10(C)

EI.9(C), EI.9(D)

EI.8(D), EI.8(E)

Analyze How the Author’s Use of
Language and Literary Devices
Achieves Specific Purposes

LESSON
STAAR® BLITZ, DAY 3
ENGLISH I

What Are
Literary Devices?

​Turn to your partner/group and discuss

Word Cloud

Name and define a literary device.

Literary devices are the

tools authors use to
make literary texts

clear and interesting.

Some types of literary devices are: similes, metaphors, imagery,
personification, symbolism, irony, foreshadowing, and oxymorons.

What Are
Literary Devices?

What Is Irony?

​Turn to your partner/group and discuss

Open Ended

What is irony? Or name and define a type of irony you remember. (Hint: There's 3)

Irony is a literary

device in which how
things seem to be is
very different from

how they actually are.

Verbal irony is a figure of speech in which the literal meaning of what someone says is
opposite of what is meant.
Situational irony is when something happens that is opposite of what was expected.
Dramatic irony happens when the reader is aware of something that the character is not.

What Is Irony?

What Are Diction and
Syntax?

​Turn to your partner/group and discuss

Open Ended

What are diction and syntax?

Diction is word choice.

Syntax is sentence

structure.

The author makes intentional choices about which words to use based on purpose, style, and audience.
The way an author structures a sentence can create different effects for the reader.

What Are Diction and
Syntax?

What Are Mood, Voice,
and Tone?

​Turn to your partner/group and discuss

Open Ended

What is the difference between mood and tone?

What Are Mood, Voice,
and Tone?

Mood is how the reader

feels while reading a
text. Voice is how an
author shares ideas.
Tone is the author’s

attitude.

The author’s use of descriptive and figurative language, specific word choices,
and distinct sentence structures contributes to mood, voice, and tone.

When I Analyze the Author’s Use of Language
and Literary Devices, I –

Use these tools:

• The literary devices used in the text

• My understanding of the author’s purpose

• The context and the author’s word choices

Ask these questions:

• What literary devices are being used and what are their purposes?

• How does the author’s use of language impact the selection?

• What message about the topic is the author trying to convey?

• How do the author’s word choices and sentence structures impact the selection?

What mood is created by the image?

Word Cloud

What mood is created by the image?

Remember:

Mood is how the reader feels while
reading a text. The author’s use of
descriptive and figurative language,
specific word choices, and distinct
sentence structures contribute to the
mood, voice, and tone.

The image conveys

a bright and
happy mood.

The child is smiling and looks

like she is having fun. The

bright sunshine also helps to

create a cheerful mood.

Look for literary devices and determine their meanings. What is the purpose for including them?
How does the author’s use of diction and syntax contribute to the mood?

When light from the quarter moon finally touched the shack, she crawled
into her porch bed—a lumpy mattress on the floor with real sheets covered in
little blue roses that Ma had got at a yard sale—alone at night for the first time in
her life.

At first, every few minutes, she sat up and peered through the screen. Listening for
footsteps in the woods. She knew the shapes of all the trees; still some seemed to
dart here and there, moving with the moon. For a while she was so stiff she couldn’t
swallow, but on cue, the familiar songs of tree frogs and katydids filled the night.
More comforting than three blind mice with a carving knife. The darkness held an
odor of sweetness, the earthy breath of frogs and salamanders who’d made it
through one more stinky-hot day. The marsh snuggled in closer with a low fog,
and she slept.

Excerpt from Where the Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens

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Open Ended

Read the following excerpt & discuss the question with your group:

What literary devices did you find? How does the author's choice of words (diction) contribute to the mood?

Remember:

When light from the quarter moon finally touched
the shack, she crawled into her porch bed—a lumpy
mattress on the floor with real sheets covered
in little blue roses that Ma had got at a yard sale—
alone at night for the first time in her life.

At first, every few minutes, she sat up and peered
through the screen. Listening for footsteps in the
woods. She knew the shapes of all the trees; still
some seemed to dart here and there, moving with
the moon. For a while she was so stiff she couldn’t
swallow, but on cue, the familiar songs of tree frogs
and katydids filled the night. More comforting than
three blind mice with a carving knife. The darkness
held an odor of sweetness, the earthy breath of frogs
and salamanders who’d made it through one more
stinky-hot day. The marsh snuggled in closer with a
low fog, and she slept.

The author uses imagery to describe
the scene. I can visualize the lumpy
mattress with the sheets that have

blue roses on them.

I think the author wants the
reader to be able to visualize
the scene and put themselves

in the character’s shoes.

Diction is the author’s choice and
use of words. Syntax is the
arrangement of words and phrases
in a sentence.

The author uses positive, descriptive
language when describing the scene.

The author uses words such as
”familiar” and “sweetness” to

describe the night. This helps the
author create a comforting mood.