OwlSheets
Same Dragon, Two Voices: Formal and Informal Language worksheet preview

Worksheet

Same Dragon, Two Voices: Formal and Informal Language

Read an original poem in which a girl tells about her prize-winning wire sculpture twice, then compare her informal and formal language.

Grade 5ELAInteractive · Printable

Aligned toL.5.3.b

Play onlinePlay as a game
PrintLetter-size worksheetAnswer keyPrintable answers
Assign to classAssign to your classes, or get a join code

What’s included

  • Single worksheet
  • Auto-graded online
  • 1 Common Core standard
  • Printable answer key
  • 9 questions
  • Classroom-ready

Details

Format
Interactive · Printable
Grade
Grade 5
Subject
ELA
Question types
Multiple choice, Matching, Sorting, Short answer

About this worksheet

What students practice

  • Students compare the informal and formal registers a speaker uses in a poem.
  • Students identify features of formal and informal English and explain why a speaker changes register.

How to use

Read the poem aloud twice, once in a chatty voice for Part One and once in a speech voice for Part Two, then have students answer the questions on their own.

Curriculum

Common Core standard covered

L.5.3.b

Compare and contrast the varieties of English, such as dialects and registers, used in stories, dramas, or poems.

Preview

OwlSheets.com

Name Date

Same Dragon, Two Voices: Formal and Informal Language

Compare the two ways a young artist tells about her sculpture.

Read the poem

Imani made a dragon out of wire for her school art show. In this poem, she tells about it in two different ways.

Same Dragon, Two Voices

1Part One: At the bike rack, to my best friend, Jonah
Jonah! Dude! Guess what?
My wire dragon got a ribbon,
a big blue one, no joke!
It's hanging right by the gym doors.
You have to come see it tomorrow!
I kinda freaked out when they called my name.

Remember how the tail kept flopping?
I bent that thing, like, a million times
till my fingers were totally sore.
And the wings? Super wobbly.
I almost chucked the whole thing.

But then I stuck a coat hanger inside,
and boom, those wings stayed up.
The judges were all, "Whoa."
Okay, gotta go. My mom's here. See ya!

2Part Two: In the gym, to the art show judges and families
Good afternoon, judges, families, and Ms. Carver.
Thank you for this blue ribbon.
I am honored that you selected my sculpture.

My dragon is made of copper wire
and pieces of one recycled coat hanger.
It took me three weeks to complete.
Building it was more difficult than I expected.
The tail would not hold its curve,
so I shaped it again and again until my fingers ached.
At first, the wings would not stand upright,
and I nearly gave up on the project.

Then I placed a section of the hanger inside each wing
to make it stronger and steadier.
I am grateful to my art teacher, Ms. Carver,
who encouraged me to keep trying.
Thank you very much for your attention.

3Part Three: Walking home
Same dragon, same ribbon,
same sore fingers, same wobbly wings,
but two different voices came out of me.

With Jonah, my words tumbled out
like marbles spilling from a jar,
quick and loose and full of laughing.

In the gym, my words stood up straight,
shirts tucked in and shoes tied tight,
each one waiting politely for its turn.

My mom has a phone-call-for-work voice
and a kitchen-table voice.
Now I know I have two as well.
Neither voice is fake.
Both of them are mine.
I just choose the one that fits the room.

Formal or informal?

Informal language is relaxed talk for friends and family. Formal language is careful, polite language for serious or public speaking.

1.
How would you describe the way Imani talks to Jonah in Part One?
  • A. formal, with polite words and complete sentences
  • B. informal, with slang and quick, chatty phrases
  • C. formal, with long words about art and wire
  • D. informal, with words from another country
2.
Each line comes from the poem. Sort the lines into formal language and informal language.
I almost chucked the whole thing.I am honored that you selected my sculpture.Building it was more difficult than I expected.Okay, gotta go.The judges were all, "Whoa."Thank you very much for your attention.Jonah! Dude! Guess what?I am grateful to my art teacher, Ms. Carver.
Formal languageInformal language
3.
Each informal line from Part One tells the same idea as a formal line from Part Two. Match them.
  1. I almost chucked the whole thing.
  2. till my fingers were totally sore
  3. And the wings? Super wobbly.
  4. But then I stuck a coat hanger inside
  1. A. Then I placed a section of the hanger inside each wing
  2. B. and I nearly gave up on the project.
  3. C. At first, the wings would not stand upright
  4. D. so I shaped it again and again until my fingers ached.
4.
Choose the two features that make Imani's speech in Part Two formal.
  • A. It uses full words instead of short forms like gotta.
  • B. It uses slang words such as dude and boom.
  • C. It uses polite phrases such as thank you.
  • D. It uses short sentence pieces like Super wobbly.

Why the voice changes

Think about when and why Imani uses each way of speaking.

5.
Why does Imani speak differently in Part Two than in Part One?
  • A. She is upset that Jonah did not come to the show.
  • B. She is reading a speech that Ms. Carver wrote.
  • C. She is speaking to judges and families at an event.
  • D. She has forgotten the words she used with Jonah.
6.
In Part Three, Imani says her words with Jonah "tumbled out / like marbles spilling from a jar." What does this show about her informal voice?
  • A. It is slow and careful.
  • B. It is fast and relaxed.
  • C. It is loud and angry.
  • D. It is quiet and shy.
7.
In Part Three, Imani says, "I just choose the one that fits the room." What does she mean?
  • A. She chooses which room to hang her dragon sculpture in.
  • B. She speaks only in rooms that are big and quiet.
  • C. She talks more when she is in a small room.
  • D. She picks the way of speaking that suits her listeners.
8.
Ms. Carver asks Imani to write a thank-you note to the judges. Which sentence fits a formal note best?
  • A. Thanks a ton, you guys totally rock!
  • B. Thank you for choosing my dragon sculpture.
  • C. Hey, that ribbon was awesome, right?
  • D. No way, I still can't believe I won!
9.
Compare how Imani tells about the wobbly wings in Part One and in Part Two. Use words from the poem in your answer.

Related worksheets