1. Semester 1
Review
Language Arts
Grade 8

2. Figurative
Language

3. simile
 A literary device that compares one thing to another
using “like” or “as”
Examples: “The girls were like two peas in a pod.”
“Don’t treat me like a puppet on a string.”
“His temper was as explosive as a volcano.”

4. personification
Def.: a literary device where the writer gives human
characteristics to non-living things.
“While my Guitar Gently Weeps.”
“The sky looked angry, with huge black clouds and jagged
lightning.”
“The car choked and sputtered, spewing smoke, dying a
slow death in the middle of the busy highway.”

5. metaphor
A metaphor is a comparison between two unlike things in
which one thing is said to be another thing or called by
the name of another thing.
Example from Shakespeare’s “Romeo and Juliet”:
“My love is a blinding, burning flame.
The sun, a demon’s eye.”
“ Soft! What light through yonder window
breaks? It is the east and Juliet is the sun.”

6. assonance
Repetition of vowel sound(s) of two or more words in
close proximity.
Examples: "The mass of men lead lives of
quietdesperation.” (Henry David Thoreau, Walden)
Listen to the long “I” sound in those two words. It is pleasing to the ear, and
more subtle than out-and-out rhyming.

7. assonance
Assonance is similar to rhyming, but a bit more sophisticated, and is
often used in speeches and “regular” prose writing to make those
types of writing more pleasing to the ear and more poetic-
sounding.Example from “I Have a Dream” speech:
“…shake the foundations of our nation…”
Read that line out loud. What vowel sound do you hear repeated three
times? Click again for the answer.
The long “A” sound. Read it again. It sounds rhythmic, almost like a song.

8. assonance
Sometimes songwriters and poets do it, too.
“You better lose yourself in the music,
the moment you own it, you better never let it go
You only get one shot, do not miss your chance to
blow
This opportunity comes once in a lifetime yo.”
The assonance in the first line is the “oo” sound.
The assonance in the second line is the long “O”
sound.

9. Sample
Questions for
Semester One
Exam

10. Which line from Oranges contains personification?
a. We entered, the tiny bell bringing a saleslady down a
narrow aisle of goods.
b. Fog hanging like old coats between the trees.
c. I peeled my orange that was so bright against the gray
of December, someone would have thought I was
making a fire in my hands.

11. Which line from Oranges containsimagery?
a. We entered, the tiny bell bringing a saleslady down a
narrow aisle of goods.
b. Fog hanging like old coats between the trees.
c. I peeled my orange that was so bright against the gray
of December, someone would have thought I was
making a fire in my hands.
The reader can “see” the orange against the gray sky- a
very vivid “picture” is created so the reader can see the
image clearly.

12.  Which line from Oranges contains a simile?
a. A few cars hissing past.
b. The lady’s eyes met mine, and held them.
c. Frost cracking beneath my steps.
d. I turned to the candies, tiered like bleachers.
Explain:

13.  Which line from Oranges contains a simile?
a. A few cars hissing past.
b. The lady’s eyes met mine, and held them.
c. Frost cracking beneath my steps.
d. I turned to the candies, tiered like bleachers.
Explain: In order for the reader to be able to picture in
their “mind’s eye” how the candies were arranged on
the shelf, she compares them to “bleachers.”

14. Which line from My Brother Sam is Dead best
illustrates an internal conflict?
a. I didn’t know who to believe: my father, who I’d
always trusted, or Sam, my idol.
b. If you don’t slaughter those cows soon, they’re
bound to get stolen.
c. War turns men into animals.
d. Give me back that gun before I tell father on you!
Explain:

15. Which line from My Brother Sam is Dead best illustrates an
internal conflict?
a. I didn’t know who to believe: my father, who I’d always trusted,
or Sam, my idol.
b. If you don’t slaughter those cows soon, they’re bound to get
stolen.
c. War turns men into animals.
d. Give me back that gun before I tell father on you!
Explain: “Internal” means “inside.” An “internal conflict” takes place
inside the mind of the character. Here, he can’t decide who to
believe about the war.

16. Which line below best summarizes the climax of My
Brother Sam is Dead ?
a. Sam is taken in as a cattle thief.
b. Father and Tim travel to Verplanks Point and are
held up by cowboys.
c. Tim races to free his brother Sam and is shot in the
process of doing so.
d. Tim and his mother move to Pennsylvania and move
on with their lives.
Explain:

17. My Brother Sam is Dead coversthe Revolutionary War, in
which the British fought against __.
a. Nazis b. Patriots c. Lobsterbacksd. Loyalists

18. My Brother Sam is Dead coversthe Revolutionary War, in
which the British fought against __.
a. Nazis b. Patriotsc. Lobsterbacksd. Loyalists

19. The title, My Brother Sam is Dead is an example of foreshadowing.
a. True b. False
Explain:
Tim fights Betsy for the secret letter is an example of an external conflict.
a. True b. False
Explain:
Hurricane Force is a fiction book.
a. True b. False
Paraphrasing means to put piece of information into your own words.
a. True b. False

20. The title, My Brother Sam is Dead is an example of foreshadowing.
a. True b. False
Explain: When an writer hints at something that is later to come in the
story, that is called “foreshadowing.” This is more than a hint, but it is an
example of foreshadowing.
Tim fights Betsy for the secret letter is an example of an external conflict.
a. True b. False
Explain: An “external” conflict is a conflict between a character and
another person or group of people, or nature.
Hurricane Force is a fiction book.
a. True b. False
Fiction= “fake”, Nonfiction= “not fake”
Paraphrasing means to put piece of information into your own words.
a. True b. False
Paraphrasing helps you do two things: keep from plagiarizing someone
else’s writing AND simplifying an idea so that it is easier to understand. It
is basically summarizing someone else’s writing in your own words.

21. Examples
Fiction: Nonfiction:
“Star Wars” Hurricane Force
My Brother Sam is Dead A Child Called “It”
“Broken Chain”
magazine articles, biographies
“Cinderella”
Paths to Peace
“Super 8”
textbooks, newspapers
The Giver
“Supersize Me”

22. Similes from
Hurricane Force
“The metal garage door…buckled like a prizefighter taking a
punch to the midsection.”
“…I watched as a dangling traffic light shot across an intersection
like a bullet pass…”
“…windows shattered and glass sprayed down on the sidewalk
like lethal snow.”
“…a big sheet of twisted tin came skidding and tumbling at me
like an out-of-control toboggan.”

23. Personification
 “Howling gusts...” (The wind may sound like an animal howling,
but wind is incapable of the human/animal act of howling.)
 “The wind was…chewing at office buildings…” (Does the wind
have teeth? Wind can’t actually CHEW. This is a human/animal
characteristic.)
 “The metal garage door…buckled like a prizefighter taking a
punch to the midsection.”

24. Alliteration
The repetition of the initial (first) consonant sound
of several words in a line or sentence. Does NOT
have to be the same letter, just the same sound.
 “…strips that sailed out of sight…”
 “…wrecking the city, setting the stage for massive
flooding…”

25. Assonance
repetition of a vowel sound in multiple words in a line or sentence
Assonance is NOT rhyming.
Rhyme= cat fat sat hat mat flat
Assonance= cat has map tab flack apple
Rhyme= pit, sit, kit, lit, fit, bit, hit, mitt, nit, pit
Assonance= pit, fig, kick, limb, sting, pink, tip, ping
Rhyme= dug, plug, hug, mug, pug, tug
Assonance= tug, flung, ton, club, duck, suds, cuff

26. Find the assonance:
 “…a big sheet of twisted tin came skidding and
tumbling at me like an out-of-control toboggan.”
(Read it out loud. What consonant sound do you hear
repeated?)

27. Find the assonance:
 “…a big sheet of twisted tin came skidding and
tumbling at me like an out-of-control toboggan.”

28. …and not JUST assonance
and simile, but
also…alliteration!
 “…a big sheet of twisted tin came
skidding and tumbling at me like an
out-of-control toboggan.”

29. Compare:
 “…a big sheet of twisted tin came skidding and
tumbling at me like an out-of-control toboggan.”
 “….an enormous piece of metal came flying at me.”

30. Personification, Simile or
Metaphor?
Playing chess with Ashley is like trying to outsmart a
computer.
Simile

31. Personification, Simile or
Metaphor?
His temper was as explosive as a volcano.
Simile

32. Personification, Simile or
Metaphor?
From Shakespeare: “All the world’s a stage, and we
are merely players.”
metaphor

33. Personification, Simile or
Metaphor?
From Shakespeare: “How like the winter hath thine
absence been.”
simile

34. Personification, Simile or
Metaphor?
The toddler’s mind is a sponge, absorbing everything.
metaphor

35. Personification, Simile or
Metaphor?
She danced like she was trying to stomp on rabid
squirrels.
simile

36. Personification, Simile or
Metaphor?
Song by Jimi Hendrix: “The Wind Cries Mary”
personification

37. Personification, Simile or
Metaphor?
Song lyric (Kansas): “All we are is dust in the wind…”
metaphor

38. Sentences with
“Interrupters”
The apple, red and
crisp, plunked me on my
head as it fell.
The meat-eating
dinosaur, stumpy-armed and
big-headed, devoured the
illiterate fool.

39.  The pale vampire, long black
hair framing his angular face,
pounced on the helpless fox.
 The tall vampire, starving for
blood, fanged his innocent
prey.

40. What is an “appositive”?
Appositive: a big fan of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers -
What does the appositive do?
 Appositives are dependent clauses- they cannot
stand alone without the rest of the sentence; they
DEPEND on the rest of the sentence to express a
complete thought.

41. Appositive Practice
My dog, , chases the mailman every day.
My dog, a frisky poodle, chases the mailman every day.
My dog, energetic and territorial, chases the mailman
every day.
My dog, baring his teeth ferociously, chases the
mailman every day.

42. Add in the Appositive
My dog, , ran to bite the mailman.
My dog, a huge pit bull, ran to bite the
mailman.
My dog, furious and foaming at the mouth,
ran to bite the mailman.

43. Add in the Appositive
Regan Mealy, an intelligent blonde in the third row,
enjoys picking her nose.
Trey Haymore, a budding artist, likes to draw tanks.
Trey Haymore, talented and driven, likes to draw tanks.

44. Sentence Combining With
Appositives
Michael was a dedicated Tampa Bay Bucs fan. He
attended every home game, even when they were
having a losing season.
Michael, a dedicated Tampa Bay Bucs fan, attended
every home game, even when they were having a
losing season.

45. Combine the following sentences to create one sentence
with an appositive:
1. “Back to the Future” is one of my favorite movies of all
time.
“Back to the Future” starred Michael J. Fox.
“Back to the Future,” one of my favorite movies, stars
Michael J. Fox.
2. Haile Middle School is an “A”-rated school.
Haile is located in Bradenton, Florida.
3. The Florida Gators are Mrs. Chioffe’s favorite football
team.
The Florida Gators are the #1 rated team in the
country.

46. collaborate
 Def: work together
 Syn: (team up, join forces)
 Ant: (work alone)
 Sent: “Several students plan to collaborate on a geology
project for the annual science fair.”

47. FADQuQu:
Writing an Introduction that will Wow Your
Reader!

48. Sample Prompt #3:
The world is becoming more and more aware of the effects of pollution
and excess waste on the environment.
Write to convince your principal to enact a mandatory school-wide
recycling program.

49. Sample Prompt #4:
Florida has recently changed the legal driving age to 15. Write to
convince your parents to allow you to obtain your license a year early.

50. Now, let’s look at some ways to
“grab” the reader (in this
case, Mrs. Kerley).
Remember, we need to convince
her that recycling is the only way
to go, the best choice for our
school. Let’s draw her in from
the very first sentence.

51. Fact:
Every day, our school fills
up an entire industrial-
sized dumpster with waste
that could be recycled.

52. Fact:
Every year, you chauffer Mitch back and
forth to school 360 times, adding up to about
two and a half weeks out of your life spent on
the road. What if I told you that I could relieve
you of this burden? If you allow me to obtain
my license a year early, I will not only be able
to drive Mitch back and forth to school for you,
but I will also be able to do many other errands
for you to free up your time, as well as get a
job and contribute financially to the
Charbonneau family.

53. Fact:
Every year, you chauffer Mitch back and forth
to school 360 times, adding up to about two
and a half weeks out of your life spent on the
road.

54. Anecdote:
Every day, I walk by the dumpster that
sits behind the school just as the janitor
is heaving a heavy, black plastic bag
over the edge. The bag, stuffed full of
potentially-recyclable materials, is
headed for the city dump. The
janitor, exhausted, trudges back into the
building to fetch the next load.

55. Anecdote:
One hundred and eighty mornings every year go something like this for
you: drag Mitch out of bed, kicking and screaming, force-feed him a bowl
of cereal, sift through his room to find a clean pair of pants, then push
him out the front door towards the car.You are then trapped in the car
with Mitch the Whiner for fifteen minutes of complete torture. I may not be
able to help out much with the part before you get his lazy butt out the
door, but if you allow me to get my license a year early, I can definitely
help out with the driving. I will also be able to get a job and not only
contribute to the family income, but save for my future, as well.

56. Description:
Picture this: The humidity in Bradenton is soaring, just like the
temperature. Just twenty years ago, people would have taken refuge at
the beach, body-surfing in the crystal-blue water. But that is the past.
Today, the air over Bradenton is thick and brown, like a heavy blanket.
The water is now so heavily polluted that visiting the beach is forbidden.
Instead of enjoying outdoor activities, Bradentonians are trapped inside.

57. Description:
Imagine this, if you will: it is a Monday morning, the sun is
streaming through the window behind your bed, gently
prodding you from a restful night’s sleep. You roll over in
bed and glance at the clock; it reads 10 a.m. You stretch
and sit up in bed; the aroma of coffee beckons you from the
kitchen. The house is quiet; all you can hear is the gentle
hum of the air conditioner. What dreamland is this? If you
allow me to obtain my license at fifteen, I can deliver my
loud, annoying siblings safely to school, and you can sleep
in and wake refreshed every morning. I will also be able to
get a job and contribute to the family income in numerous
ways.

58. Question:
“Have you ever thought about how
instituting a mandatory recycling
program could impact the
environment?”

59. Question:
Wouldn’t it make your life much more pleasant if you didn’t have
to drag Mitch back and forth to school every day? Have you ever
fantasized about waking up in the morning to the gentle prodding
of the sunlight and coffee beckoning you from downstairs? If you
allow me to obtain my license a year early, I can make all of these
dreams come true for you. There are numerous benefits to you
allowing me to begin driving, and they are not limited to saving
you the dreadful trip to school with Mitch the Whiner and
lovely, peaceful mornings. I will also be able to contribute to the
family income, which will have many positive benefits for the
Pendley Family.

60. Question:
Wouldn’t it make your life much more pleasant if you didn’t have
to drag Mitch back and forth to school every day? To not have to
spend what adds up to two and a half weeks of your life every
year on the road? If this sounds appealing to you, then please
consider allowing me to obtain my driver’s license a year early. In
addition to saving you the annoying thirty minutes in the car every
day with Mitch the Whiner, I will also be able to run errands for
you, freeing up your time for other, more enjoyable pursuits. Also,
I will finally be able to get a job and earn money for the things that
I want and contribute to the family’s income.

61. Quotation:
"To cherish what remains of the Earth and to foster its renewal
is our only legitimate hope of survival." Writer Wendell Berry’s
wise words sum up exactly why you should institute a
mandatory recycling program here at Haile.

62. Quotation:
“Take rest; a field that has rested gives a bountiful crop.” You
will be able to take these wise words of Ovid and bring them to
life if you allow me to get my license a year early. How? By
allowing me this privilege, I will be able to drop Mitch off at
school every day, enabling you to sleep in and finally, after all of
these years, catch up on thousands of hours of lost sleep.
Additionally, I will be able to get a job and contribute in many
different ways to the income of Pendley Family.

63. Identifying
FADQuQu
Examples

64. FADQuQu:
Writing an Introduction that will Wow Your
Reader!

65. “THE MRS.”
a strategy to use in persuasive writing
TIME- saves time, helps the reader have more time for other things
HEALTH- improves health, reduces stress
EDUCATION- improves education, aids understanding
MONEY- saves money, helps the reader to make more money
RESPONSIBILITY- remind the reader of their responsibility as an individual
SAFETY- increases safety, is a safety factor, saves lives

66. Example Prompt: A new law has
passed and teens now have the
opportunity to drive a year earlier
than before. Persuade your parents
to allow you to get your license a
year early.

67. TIME
Letting me drive a year early
will save you time.
You will now have extra time
to spend doing your favorite
hobbies.

68. Health
Your health-Spending less time on
the roads will decrease your stress level
and improve your overall health.
My health- I will be able to drive
myself to football practice which keeps
me healthy and out of trouble.

69. Environment/Education
I will be encouraged to keep
my grades up so that I can
keep my driving privileges.

70. Money
As a driver, I will be able to get
a job and help contribute
financially to the family.

71. Respect/Responsibility
Being a driver will help me become
more responsible as a young adult.
I will gain responsibility with more
independence on the road.

72. Safety
It will be much safer for me to
responsibly drive myself, than to ride in
a car with my friends.
Riding my bike to school on a busy
highway is dangerous; I will be much
safer in my protective vehicle.

73. Sample Prompt #2:
Your school is planning to add a
teacher in one of the following areas:
art, music, or PE. Write to convince
your principal to hire a teacher in the
field of your choice.

74. Can you identify the strategy?
“Studies have shown that
music, whether listened to or
played, decreases stress, which has a
direct impact on overall wellness.”
health

75. “Additionally, the general health of
your students has a very strong
correlation to their academic
performance.”
education

76. “One of the most important reasons that you should hire
an additional music teacher is that it is proven that
students who are involved in music programs have an
85% college attendance rate, as opposed to those not
involved in music, who only go on to attend college 40%
of the time.”
Statistic/e
ducation

77. “In the long run, students who are involved in
extra curricular activities and music
programs have a much higher income
because they have graduated from college.
College graduates, on average earn
$500,000 more than those who graduate
from high school and go straight to a job or
career. ”
Education/mone
y

78. “When faced with such compelling reasons, how can you
not make the right choice? As principal, it is your moral
and ethical duty to make the best choices for the
students, and there is only one choice to make: hire an
additional music teacher.”
responsibility

79. Identifying
FADQuQu
Examples

80. .
Prompt: Write to convince students why either math skills
or language arts skills are more important in life.

81. Read the following leads for the prompt, and identify
which of the “FADQuQu” strategies is/are being
used.

82. Look all around you. From tall, intricately designed
skyscrapers to ultra fuel-efficient cars to computers that
can do everything from download your favorite music to
recording data from far-off planets. What do they have
in common? They were all designed by mathematics.
Description followed by a question

83. In today’s economy, finding a well-paying job is next to
impossible. In fact, the unemployment rate in America
is at its highest since 1975. Believe it or not, having a
strong vocabulary may be the advantage that pushes
you past the other applicant for the next job you
interview for. The skills that you acquire in Language
Arts are essential to almost every aspect of your
life, from the ability to relax and enjoy a classic novel to
writing a resume that will land you your dream job.
facts

84. Picture this: you have worked your fingers to the bone for
fifty years for a boss who made your life a living you
know what. You now are ready to retire and buy your
dream home. But wait! You have managed to save
only a measly three hundred dollars over the course of
your lifetime. Now you will be forced to live on a
monthly Social Security check that will not even cover
your health expenses, let alone an around-the-world
cruise or that beautiful log home in the Smoky
Mountains. Believe it or not, the math skills that you
take the time to learn today will affect you for the rest of
your life.
anecdote (prediction)

85. Prompt:
Situation: Each year, the overall quality and nutrition of the food
in your school cafeteria has declined due to budget cuts.
Task: Write to convince your principal to allocate more funds to
the school lunch program to improve the menu.
Your two main arguments will be HEALTH of the students and
ACADEMIC IMPROVEMENTS (better grades, higher level of
learning, higher FCAT scores and even better classroom
behavior).

86. Are you aware that 35% of
teens in America are now
considered clinically obese
due not only to inactivity, but
also to a diet that is high in fat
and calories?
A statistic that is part of a question

87. Picture this: a student walks through the halls after his fat and
calorie-laden lunch, his energy levels so low that he can
barely make it to class. He doesn’t have the mental clarity
to focus on the lesson of the day, instead, he stares numbly
at the wall. Now, picture this: after a healthy meal of fresh
fruits and vegetables with a bit of lean protein, that same
student is focused and ready to learn. He walks quickly to
his classroom, energized and ready to learn. He, along with
his classmates, is focused and absorbs the material well.
Anecdote

88. My Grandma Betty, my mother’s
mother and probably one of
the most intelligent people I
have ever known, always said,
“An apple a day keeps the
doctor away.”
Quotation