Literacy Terms
A logical assumption about something not directly stated
What is inference?
Use of words that imitate sounds (crash, splat)
What is onomatopoeia?
Sensory language, writing that appeals to senses, creates word pictures
What is imagery?
Writing that explains ideas or that tells about real people, places, objects, or events.
What is nonfiction?
A life lesson that the author wants the reader to learn about.
What is theme?
Information that can be proved
What is a fact?
Repetition of consonant sounds at the beginning of words (silly Sally sold)
What is alliteration?
Describes one thing as if it were something else.
(the snow was a white blanket)
What is a metaphor?
What literary device is used when a character represents an idea or concept larger than themselves?
What is symbolism?
A word meaning the opposite
What is an antonym?
A person's belief or judgement
What is an opinion?
Repeated use of a word, phrase, sentence, or sound
What is repetition?
Uses like or as to compare two unlike things (red as a rose)
What is a simile?
In a story, this type of character remains the same throughout the narrative, while another type changes significantly.
What is a static character?
When something contradicts expectations
What is irony?
Using simpler language to restate what you read
What is paraphrase?
Repetition of sounds at the end of words (cat, hat, bat)
What is rhyme?
Human qualities given to something nonhuman (a tree bowed in the wind)
What is personification?
This literary device reveals something that will happen later in the story, creating suspense
What is foreshadowing?
Name the three reasons an author writes
What is
- To persuade
- To inform
- To entertain
The main reason an author writes
What is the author's purpose?
Identify the sound devices in the following poem: Diddle, diddle, dumpling, my son Scooter,
played around with my computer.
He pressed the buttons and hit the keys.
Now it only prints Chinese.
What is rhyme – Scooter and computer
- keys and Chinese
What type of figurative language is being presented in the poem below?
Snow speaks to the people its
falling above in the glooming sunlight.
Its white sparkling voice
echoes as it falls through the air.
What is personification: Snow speaks sparkling voice
A complex, multi-dimensional fictional character who feels like a real person
What is a round character?
Narrative point of view where the storyteller is an all-knowing, god-like entity outside the story
What is third person omniscient?