Text Detective
What does the narrator say about how the main character feels at the beginning of the story?
She is happy to have her sister move out of the room
What can you infer about the character’s relationship with their sibling?
The main character is the oldest child
Read this sentence from paragraph 1 of the selection.
“Sophie swiped away a tear and stifled a sob as the two men dragged away her piano.”
What does the word stifled mean in this sentence?
tried to hold back
How does the author use metaphor in the line below?
"Sleeping Beauty whines when I turn on the light."
She compares her sister to the sleeping princess.
Is there a rhyme scheme being used?
Double Points: How would a rhyme scheme had effected the poem?
No
It would have made the poem more fun and less emotional.
Read these lines from the poem.
in her very best I’m-the-baby-and-don’t-you-forget-it voice. of five growing-up-too-fast children.
Why does the poet most likely use hyphens in these lines?
to create descriptions for which there are no single words
Based on the description in the second stanza of the poem, what can the reader conclude about the speaker?
She is excited about having a room all to herself.
Read the line from the poem.
my mother coos back at her, desperately clinging to the last
Why does the poet use the word coos?
to suggest the mother’s affection
Read the lines from the poem.
"without Rainbow, Starflight, and Sparkles
on piles of pink pillows,"
Why does the poet most likely use alliteration in these lines?
to call attention to how much fun the speaker used to have with her sister
How does the author connect the Legos with her feelings in the beginning and the end?
She shows how she hated the legos before but now wishes her little sister could play with her.
What detail from the text shows the main character’s frustration?
Quote from text
How does the author hint that the sibling is spoiled? Give evidence.
"Mom thinks she’s so cute!"
What is one way the poet conveys the speaker’s view that her little sister is spoiled?
She describes the way her sister talks to their mom.
14. Read the lines from the poem.
"I open my bedroom door. The sound of her
barely-there-wiffle-wiffle-puff-snuffle snore
whispers to me from her very own room across the hall."
Why does the poet most likely includes personification in these lines?
to show that the speaker has tender feelings about her sister
Read the line from the poem.
Four corners for my makeup, my music, my manicures, my . . .
What is the most likely reason the speaker does not finish her sentence?
She suddenly realizes that she will miss her sister.
What does the author say that tells us the theme of this passage? Double points if you can tell the theme.
"I finally drift off to sleep, dreaming of the Lego house we’ll build together, and the corner we’ll share."
What does the character’s final thoughts reveal about their personality? Double Points: Cite evidence.
She loves her little sister.
"I finally drift off to sleep, dreaming of the Lego house we’ll build together, and the corner we’ll share."
What does the author mean when she says?
"desperately clinging to the last of five growing-up-too-fast children."
The mom is sad that her last child is growing up.
Cite evidence that the author is using figurative language
Cite from text
It allows you to see the emotions of the narrator
Cite two pieces of evidence that support the idea that the character is ready to live alone.
"But I’m the one who has to suffer, stepping
on Legos in the middle of the night, listening
to her wiffle-wiffle-puff-snuffle snore, tripping
over Barbies in the dark because Sleeping
Beauty whines when I turn on the light."
Why does the author includes the conversation between the sister and mom?
To show how the younger sister is loved on.
What does the author mean when she says she has to suffer in the second stanza?
She's had to deal with the sister.
What feeling is created by the hyperbole in this line:
desperately clinging
Feeling of sadness and desperation
How does the alliteration in “piles of pink pillows,” affect the imagery?
You can see what the author is describing