Question

Check-In (page 9): Read paragraph 16 of “The Moustache.” Use what you have learned about connotative and figurative meanings to answer the questions.
Question Answer
1. To whom does Mike compare his grandmother?
2. How does this comparison relate to Mike’s culture?
3. What similes are used to compare Mike’s grandmother and the actress?
4. How do the figurative meanings of the similes help readers to better understand Mike’s grandmother?
5. What is the connotative meaning of the word girlish? How does this meaning reflect how Mike sees and thinks about his grandmother at that moment?

Additional Notes (OPTIONAL)




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Unit 5 Lesson 8: Rhyme and Alliteration
Video Link: Alliteration, Assonance, and Onomatopoeia | Style | Grammar
Key words: define the following in your own words.
Words Definition
alliteration
repetition
rhyme
rhythm

Check-In (page 3): Use what you have learned about rhyme and repetition to answer these questions. Highlight or underline the correct answer.
1. Which line of poetry has the clearest example of alliteration?
a. With sorrow, he cried; with sorrow, he fought.
b. His whispers flew like the wings of wrens.
c. When the child grew sad, she also became mad.
d. They toiled all night, and into the day.

2. In which lines of poetry does the author use rhyme to connect words and emphasize their meanings?
a. Fiona fretted and paced, and feared for the future.
b. Nathan was a man of his word, and a man who came through.
c. Tanya climbed each rung of the corporate ladder, while those around her grew anxious and madder.
d. Lin watched and he listened until his senses were sharp, like dogs at the airport trained for special security.

3. Which lines of poetry use repetition to emphasize an emotion that the speaker feels about love?
a. I wrote him my letter; I wrote my heart through my pen.
b. We talked every night in calls lasting hours and in texts that rained in like warm April showers.
c. I’ll offer my love like a feather pure white, And hope that my offer is met with delight.
d. My heart broke in anguish, And in anguish my love shattered.

Practice (page 7): Read paragraph 18 of “The Moustache,” a short story by Robert Cormier. Use what you have learned about alliteration and the repetition of sounds to answer the following prompts using the provided spaces below.
Prompt Answer
a. Identify all the examples of alliteration in the paragraph.

b. How does this alliteration reinforce the narrator’s feelings about the woman?

c. What do you notice about the rhythm of the sentences?

d. How do the sound devices affect you as a reader?


Rewrite the paragraph, using different words to express an experience of holding someone’s hands. Be sure to include alliteration, repetition, and rhyme where possible. Write your revision in the provided space below.






Additional Notes (OPTIONAL)




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Test Prep and Example Questions:
Below are the key skills you’ll need to have to be successful on the unit test. An example of what types of questions you might be asked is below each skill..

Remember: You may be asked to read texts that you are unfamiliar with. This is because you are being assessed on the skills below and not recalling details or facts from texts.

Skills: What you need to be able to do.
1. I can identify inferred details using text evidence. (test Items 1, 6)
a. Example question: Which sentence would require a reader to make an inference about what is happening?
b. Revisit Lesson 3: Inferential and Explicit Evidence

2. I can explain how details of character, plot, setting and symbol develop the theme or central idea of a literary text. (test Items 2, 6)
a. Example question: Which of the following statements is an example of a theme?
b. Revisit Lesson 4: Central Idea or Theme

3. I can summarize the main points of a literary text without including my opinion. (test Items 3, 6, 7, 8)
a. Example question: Which of the following is a summary of a literary text?
b. Revisit Lesson 5: Summarizing Literary Text

4. I can explain how the plot, characters, and setting in a story or drama affect each other. (test Items 1, 6)
a. Example question: In an example text, which story element has the most influence over the other story elements?
b. Revisit Lesson 6: Interaction of Story Elements

5. I can determine the meaning of figurative language and the feelings or ideas suggested by a word or phrase. (test Items 4, 9, 10)
a. Example question: Which of the following is the figurative meaning of the phrase above?
b. Revisit Lesson 7: Figurative and Connotative Meaning

6. I can explain how rhyme and repeated sounds affect meaning in a literary text. (test Items 5, 9, 10)
a. Example question: Which of the following lines of poetry contains an example of alliteration?
b. Revisit Lesson 8: Rhyme and Alliteration

Answer 1

I can do all of this — but I need the actual text of paragraph 16 and paragraph 18 from “The Moustache” to answer the paragraph-specific questions accurately. Please paste those two paragraphs and I’ll fill in Q1–Q5 for paragraph 16 and the Practice items (a–d) for paragraph 18.

While you paste the paragraphs, here’s help you can use right away: definitions, answers to the rhyme/alliteration multiple-choice items, tips for how to analyze the paragraphs, and a model rewrite (an original paragraph about holding hands that includes alliteration, repetition, and rhyme).

1) Definitions (in your own words)
- Alliteration: Repeating the same beginning consonant sound in several nearby words (e.g., “busy bees buzz”).
- Repetition: Repeating a word, phrase, or sentence to emphasize an idea or feeling.
- Rhyme: Repetition of similar end sounds in words (e.g., “night” and “light”) used to make connections and musicality.
- Rhythm: The pattern of stressed and unstressed sounds or beats in a line or sentence that creates flow or pace.

2) Check-In (page 3) — multiple-choice answers with short reasons
1. Which line has the clearest example of alliteration?
- Answer: b. “His whispers flew like the wings of wrens.”
Reason: The repeated /w/ sound in “wings” and “wrens” is clear alliteration.

2. In which lines does the author use rhyme to connect words and emphasize their meanings?
- Answer: c. “Tanya climbed each rung of the corporate ladder, while those around her grew anxious and madder.”
Reason: “ladder” and “madder” share the same ending sound (a rhyme), connecting the two ideas.

3. Which lines use repetition to emphasize an emotion the speaker feels about love?
- Answer: d. “My heart broke in anguish, And in anguish my love shattered.”
Reason: “in anguish” is repeated, emphasizing the speaker’s emotional state.

3) How to analyze paragraph 16 (instructions you can use once you paste it)
- Q1 (To whom does Mike compare his grandmother?): Scan the paragraph for a direct comparison word (like, as, than) or a statement saying “She was like…” Copy the comparison phrase exactly.
- Q2 (How this relates to Mike’s culture): Ask how the comparison reflects what Mike values or recognizes in his cultural background (e.g., respect for elders, popular media/film standards, immigrant cultural expectations). Use evidence from the paragraph—does the comparison reference a movie star, a cultural icon, traditional roles? Explain briefly.
- Q3 (What similes are used to compare Mike’s grandmother and the actress?): List any similes (phrases using like or as) linking grandmother to an actress. Write each simile exactly as in the paragraph.
- Q4 (How do the figurative meanings of the similes help readers better understand Mike’s grandmother?): Explain what the comparison suggests (appearance, behavior, youthfulness, strength, vulnerability, pride). Say what trait the simile highlights and why that matters to the story or Mike’s perception.
- Q5 (Connotative meaning of “girlish” and how it reflects Mike’s view): Define connotative meaning — feelings/associations beyond dictionary definition. Then explain what “girlish” suggests in context (youthful, playful, naive, slender, delicate, spirited) and how that shows Mike’s surprise, tender memory, discomfort, or new appreciation in that moment.

Here is a short template you can adapt after you paste the paragraph:
- Q1: “Mike compares his grandmother to [exact person/thing].”
- Q2: “This relates to Mike’s culture because [explain connection to movies/media/values/expectations].”
- Q3: “The similes are: 1) ‘_____’ and 2) ‘_____.’”
- Q4: “These similes suggest [trait], which helps readers see that [effect on understanding].”
- Q5: “Girlish connotes [youthful/playful/innocent/fragile/etc.]. In the paragraph, this shows that Mike sees his grandmother as [explain: surprising youthfulness, softened identity, unfamiliar, tender, etc.].”

4) Practice (paragraph 18) — what I’ll need and a sample rewrite
- To identify alliteration in paragraph 18, look for repeated beginning consonant sounds in adjacent words (e.g., “soft snowy smile”). Copy each example exactly.
- To explain how the alliteration reinforces the narrator’s feelings, connect the sound effect to mood (soft s-sounds = calm, hush; harsh k-sounds = anger, tension).
- For rhythm, note sentence length, short/long balance, punctuation pauses. Does it feel clipped, flowing, halting? Say how that matches the narrator’s emotional state.
- For sound devices effect on reader, say whether it creates mood, slows time, heightens emotion, draws attention to certain words.

5) Model rewritten paragraph (an original paragraph about holding someone’s hands that includes alliteration, repetition, and rhyme)
Here is a sample you can use or adapt in your workbook space:

I held her hands — small, warm, and sure — and they fit like familiar furniture; fingers folded, fingertips found. Soft palms, steady pulse, steady as a secret kept. We squeezed. We stayed. We shared the same silent song: hand in hand, heart in hand — I’d stand and stand and stand. Her hands hummed hope; they calmed the clamor of my mind and rhymed with every quiet word: close / chose, stay / stay. Holding her hands made time thin and tender, a trembling thread tying two tired souls together.

Notes on the model:
- Alliteration examples: “small, warm, and sure” (s- sounds), “fingertips found” (f-), “soft palms” (s-), “steady pulse, steady” (repetition + s/steady).
- Repetition: “We squeezed. We stayed. We shared...” and “stand and stand and stand.”
- Rhyme examples: “close / chose” and “stay / stay” (internal/near rhyme).
- Rhythm: mixture of short and longer sentences to imitate the heartbeat and the slowing of time.

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If you paste paragraph 16 and paragraph 18 from “The Moustache,” I will:
- Fill in Q1–Q5 for paragraph 16 with exact, text-based answers.
- Identify alliteration in paragraph 18 (practice a), answer b–d, and provide a paragraph rewrite tailored to the tone and content of the original paragraph.

Paste the paragraphs and I’ll complete the rest.