Personification in a City at Night

Start with the poetry lines sheet so students can spot the device, then move to the city scene to connect it with mood. Finish with the two writing sheets.

Underline eight personifications in a night scene on Delancey Avenue and name the mood they build. Personification gives human actions to things that are not human, and the actions a writer chooses help build the mood of a scene. The directions on the page read: Read the description. Each numbered sentence contains personification. Underline the words that give the thing a human action. An answer key is included.

Yes, both. We made it for 8th grade comprehension exercises, and it works the same at home or at school. At home, a student can work through it alone and then go over it with you, which shows quickly what is solid and what needs another look. In class it works as independent practice, homework or a warm-up, and you can print one copy or a full set.

Personification gives a human action, feeling or trait to something that is not human. The tide comes back and steals our footprints is one example from the poetry lines sheet.

The human actions a writer chooses carry feelings. Traffic lights standing on duty for no one and a truck that yawns make a city at night feel tired and lonely.

Yes, if the human action does not change the fact. Personification in Science Writing for Effect has students rewrite facts about glaciers, cells and tides and then name the fact each sentence keeps.