Year 3 English: Words, pictures and feelings
Part of the Year 3 English reading poetry and plays chapter. Chapter overview · whole chapter on one page
Words, pictures and feelings
Imagery is the words a poet uses to help the reader picture a scene, or to feel an emotion. A poet might choose a silver path so that we see a bright, shining line on the glass.
A simile compares one thing with another, using the word like or as. For example, the rain is like someone who wants to come in.
Word choice means that the poet picks one word over another. Ask yourself: why this word? What does it make me see or feel?
Read this poem. Then answer the questions in exercise 8C.
Rain on the Window
1Rain taps on the glass
2like someone who wants to come in.
3Each drop runs down slowly,
4joins another,
5and makes a silver path
6that wobbles all the way to the sill.
Key ideas
- Imagery is the words that help the reader picture a scene or feel an emotion.
- A simile compares two things, using like or as.
- A poet chooses words carefully: ask why this word, and not another one.
- An answer about imagery gives a word or phrase from the poem, and explains its effect.
- Several words can work together to build one picture.
Method. Find the path in the poem, then the word that describes it.
- Find the key words in the question. These words tell us where to look: path.path
- Find the words that answer it. The text says:a silver path
- Write the answer. silver
Check. The path is silver, so it shines. ✓
Watch out. Also accept: shining, if you explain it.
Method. Find the word like, which starts the comparison.
- Find the key words in the question. These words tell us where to look: simile.simile
- Find the words that answer it. The text says:like someone who wants to come in
- Write the answer. like someone who wants to come in
Check. A simile uses like or as. ✓
Method. Think about how a path made of water might move.
- Find the word. The poem says the path wobbles all the way to the sill.that wobbles all the way to the sill
- Think about the picture. Something that wobbles moves a little, not in a straight line.not straight, but moving a little
- Explain the effect. The path looks uneven and a little shaky, like water running down a window.
Check. Water on glass runs in small wobbly lines. ✓
Watch out. Explain what the word makes the reader see, not only what it means.
Watch out
Watch out: not every comparison is a simile. A simile uses the word like or as. When you quote a word or phrase, copy it exactly from the poem.
Exam tip
Grown-up tip. Ask your child to close their eyes while you read a line. Then ask what they can picture, and which word helped them to see it.
Exercise 8C Practice: words, pictures and feelings
Method. Find line 1, then the word that shows the action.
- Find the key words in the question. These words tell us where to look: line 1.line 1
- Find the words that answer it. The text says:Rain taps on the glass
- Write the answer. taps
Check. Taps is the action word in line 1. ✓
Method. Find the path, then the word that describes it.
- Find the key words in the question. These words tell us where to look: path.path
- Find the words that answer it. The text says:a silver path
- Write the answer. silver
Check. The path is silver. ✓
Method. Find the drops and the word that describes how they run.
- Find the key words in the question. These words tell us where to look: drops.drops
- Find the words that answer it. The text says:Each drop runs down slowly
- Write the answer. slowly
Check. Slowly tells us how the drops move. ✓
Method. Find the path, then the words that give the place where it ends.
- Find the key words in the question. These words tell us where to look: path ends.path ends
- Find the words that answer it. The text says:to the sill
- Write the answer. to the sill
Check. The path ends at the sill. ✓
Method. Think about how taps sounds and moves.
- Find the word. The poem says Rain taps on the glass.Rain taps on the glass
- Picture it. A tap is a light, quick knock, so the drops seem to knock lightly on the window.light, quick knocks
- Write the answer. Accept any clear picture, for example: small, light drops hitting the glass, like fingers on a door.
Check. Taps suggests light, quick touches. ✓
Watch out. Also accept any picture of light knocking on the glass.
Method. Find the comparison, then the wish it describes.
- Find the key words in the question. These words tell us where to look: wants.wants
- Find the words that answer it. The text says:who wants to come in
- Write the answer. to come in
Check. The rain seems to want to come in. ✓
Watch out. Also accept: to get inside.
Method. Think about what the comparison makes you imagine.
- Think about the picture. The rain is like a person who wants to come in, so it seems alive.like someone
- Name the feeling. A reader might feel curious or amused, because the rain acts like a person.curiosity
- Write the answer. Accept any reasonable feeling with a reason, for example: curiosity, because the rain seems alive and wants to come in.
Check. Any feeling that follows from the comparison is correct. ✓
Watch out. Also accept: amusement, or a sense of mystery.
Method. Find the two places where the water moves.
- Find the key words in the question. These words tell us where to look: moves.moves
- Find the words that answer it. The text says:Each drop runs down slowly / that wobbles all the way to the sill
- Write the answer. slowly, wobbles
Check. Slowly and wobbles both describe movement. ✓
Watch out. Also accept: wobbles, slowly.
Method. Compare the two words and what each one shows.
- Think about moves. Moves tells us that something changes place.moves
- Think about wobbles. Wobbles adds a picture of a shaky, uneven movement, like water on a window.wobbles
- Write the answer. Accept any reason, for example: wobbles suggests a path that is uneven and a little shaky, like water sliding down glass.
Check. The word wobbles gives a clearer picture of the water. ✓
Watch out. Also accept: wobbles shows a bumpy path, not a straight one.
Method. Choose a word that describes the path, then explain the change.
- Choose a word. A word such as shining describes how the path looks.shining
- Explain the change. The picture changes from a silver line to a bright, glassy line.bright and glassy
- Write the answer. Accept any word with a clear reason, for example: shining, because the path would look bright and glassy.
Check. Any word with a clear reason about the picture is correct. ✓
Watch out. Also accept: wet, glistening.
Method. Compare the rain with something that taps or moves in a similar way.
- Choose what to compare the rain with. Tiny fingers tap on a door in a similar way.tiny fingers
- Build the simile. Use the word like to link the two: the rain taps like tiny fingers on the glass.taps like tiny fingers
- Write the answer. Accept any simile that uses like or as and compares the rain with something, for example: The rain taps like tiny fingers on the glass.
Check. Like links the rain with the thing it is compared to. ✓
Watch out. A simile must use like or as. A comparison without these words is not a simile.