Worksheet

Beyond the Viewpoint: A Travel Blog

Interpret similes, metaphors, personification, hyperbole, and idioms in an original travel blog about a family’s canyon trip.

Grade 6ELAInteractive · Printable

Aligned toL.6.5.a

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Single worksheet
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1 Common Core standard
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13 questions
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Details

Format: Interactive · Printable
Grade: Grade 6
Subject: ELA
Question types: Multiple choice, Circle the answer, Short answer

About this worksheet

What students practice

Students interpret figures of speech using clues from a travel blog.
Students explain how figurative language shapes descriptions and conveys a narrator’s feelings.

How to use

Have students read the blog independently, then answer the questions. Discuss how nearby literal details help readers interpret figurative expressions.

Curriculum

Common Core standard covered

L.6.5.a

Interpret figures of speech, such as personification, in context.

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Name Date

Beyond the Viewpoint: A Travel Blog

Interpret figurative language in a family’s canyon travel post.

Read the travel blog

Read Selin’s post about a canyon trip with her family. Notice descriptions that mean more than their literal words.

Beyond the Viewpoint

1Saturday’s drive began before breakfast. Beyond our car window, the road unspooled like a ribbon across the open country. Dad drove while my cousin Ravi kept track of the turns. I had pictured our canyon visit as a quick photograph followed by lunch, but Mom had packed enough trail snacks to suggest a different plan.

2At the viewpoint, I stepped out and stopped talking. The opposite rim looked impossibly far away. I gripped the railing and wondered whether I could manage the trail below. Ravi unfolded our route map on a bench. On paper, the route was a neat blue line; beside the actual canyon, that map seemed like a paper promise.

3We chose a short marked trail with Mom leading. At the first turn, Dad called to Ravi, but the canyon swallowed his words; from where I stood, they faded into the immense space. Dad moved closer so we could hear him. I announced that my backpack weighed a ton, then discovered I had packed both my water bottle and Ravi’s.

4By late morning, sunlight stitched gold along the canyon ledges. Bands of pale rock crossed the opposite wall. Ravi stopped beside me to take a photograph. Mom checked the trail sign before we continued toward a shaded rest area. With each turn, I paid less attention to how far below the rim we were and more attention to the changing colors.

5At lunch, Ravi and I struggled to talk after months without seeing each other. Then he offered me a cracker shaped like our crooked trail. That ridiculous cracker broke the ice. Soon we were inventing names for every oddly shaped rock in sight. When Mom announced that it was time to return, the knot of worry in my stomach had loosened.

6The uphill walk left us breathing hard, so we paused often. From the last bend, the parked cars looked like scattered buttons on the rim. I could finally see how much ground our small steps had covered. Tonight, the photographs are ready for this post, but they cannot show how different the return felt from the start.

Read beyond the literal meaning

Use the blog to choose or explain each meaning. For underline questions, select one complete sentence.

At the viewpoint in paragraph 2, how does Selin initially feel about walking into the canyon?

A. She is uncertain about handling the walk below.
B. She is annoyed that Ravi has brought a map.
C. She is eager to finish the trail before lunch.
D. She is disappointed by the view from the rim.

Underline the sentence from paragraph 2 that most directly supports the answer to question 1.

At the viewpoint, I stepped out and stopped talking.The opposite rim looked impossibly far away.I gripped the railing and wondered whether I could manage the trail below.Ravi unfolded our route map on a bench.

In paragraph 1, what does “the road unspooled like a ribbon” help readers picture?

A. A crowded road filled with brightly colored cars
B. A long, narrow road stretching across the landscape
C. A short, steep road ending beside the viewpoint
D. A rough, damaged road covered with loose material

In paragraph 3, what does “the canyon swallowed his words” mean?

A. Dad’s voice faded in the canyon’s vast space.
B. Dad’s voice frightened Selin along the trail.
C. Dad forgot what he had planned to tell Ravi.
D. Dad’s message confused the people near him.

Which detail from paragraph 3 best helps explain the expression “the canyon swallowed his words”?

A. Mom leads the family along a short marked trail.
B. Dad moves closer so the family can hear him.
C. Selin discovers two water bottles in her backpack.
D. Dad calls to Ravi when they reach the first turn.

Why does Selin say her backpack “weighed a ton” in paragraph 3?

A. She exaggerates to emphasize how heavy it feels.
B. She estimates its weight for readers planning a trip.
C. She compares its size with the canyon around her.
D. She suggests that the backpack has become damaged.

Underline the sentence from paragraph 4 that uses personification by giving sunlight an action associated with a person.

By late morning, sunlight stitched gold along the canyon ledges.Bands of pale rock crossed the opposite wall.Ravi stopped beside me to take a photograph.Mom checked the trail sign before we continued toward a shaded rest area.

What does “sunlight stitched gold along the canyon ledges” suggest in paragraph 4?

A. The light hid the ledges behind a golden cloud.
B. The light revealed threads caught on the rock edges.
C. The light caused pieces to separate from the rocks.
D. The light made bright lines along the rock edges.

In paragraph 5, what does “That ridiculous cracker broke the ice” mean?

A. The cracker helped the cousins settle a disagreement.
B. The cracker gave the cousins an idea for another walk.
C. The cracker reminded the cousins that lunch was over.
D. The cracker helped the cousins begin talking comfortably.

10.

Which sentence best states the literal meaning of “the knot of worry in my stomach had loosened” in paragraph 5?

A. Selin had decided to eat more before the return walk.
B. Selin had adjusted the straps on her heavy backpack.
C. Selin had become more relaxed about the canyon walk.
D. Selin had found a shorter route back to the viewpoint.

11.

In paragraph 6, what does comparing the parked cars to “scattered buttons” emphasize?

A. The cars seem colorful because the sun shines on them.
B. The cars seem familiar because Selin remembers their owners.
C. The cars seem tiny because Selin is viewing them from a distance.
D. The cars seem damaged because the road is difficult.

12.

In paragraph 2, Selin calls the map “a paper promise.” Explain what the metaphor suggests about the difference between the map and the actual canyon. Use a nearby detail.

13.

In paragraph 5, worry is described as a knot that loosens. Why is this image more useful than simply saying, “I felt better”? Explain both the feeling and the change the image conveys.