Use this quick check to practice RI.6.4 skills: determining word meanings and analyzing how word choice shapes meaning and tone in informational and literary nonfiction texts.
Read the sentence from an informational text:
“After the drought, the fields were a thirsty blanket of dust.”
What does the metaphor “thirsty blanket” suggest about the fields?
Read the sentence from a literary nonfiction text:
“The city stretched its arms of highways toward the suburbs.”
Which choice best explains the personification in the sentence?
Read the sentence from an informational text about storms:
“The wind shrieked through the empty streets.”
In this sentence, what is the connotation of the word “shrieked”?
Read the sentence from a history text:
“The treaty was signed, but it was only a fragile peace.”
What does the word “fragile” most likely mean as it is used here?
Read the sentence from a science text:
“Desert plants store water to survive in an arid climate.”
What does the domain-specific word “arid” mean as it is used here?