author's purpose strand teks talk image

Knowledge and Skills Statement

Author's purpose and craft: listening, speaking, reading, writing, and thinking using multiple texts. The student uses critical inquiry to analyze the authors' choices and how they influence and communicate meaning within a variety of texts. The student analyzes and applies author's craft purposefully in order to develop his or her own products and performances.

Working in small groups, provide students with several hyperboles to decipher (e.g., her smile was a mile wide, dinner was dry as a desert). Task students with creating two illustrations: one illustration depicting the exaggerated meaning of the hyperbole and a second illustration depicting the intended meaning of each hyperbole. Have groups share their illustrations along with the explanation for each.

Further Explanation

This assessment example requires that students understand what a hyperbole is and can explain how it is used in text to make a statement. Students should use the illustrations to recognize how mistaking a hyperbole for a literal statement would significantly alter the meaning of the author or speaker’s intended message.

Hyperbole is used by authors to intentionally exaggerate a point. For example, when describing how tired Sariza feels, an author might have Sariza say, “I have not slept in ages.” Literally speaking, that would mean that Sariza has not actually experienced sleep in several years, which is impossible. It is important for students to be able to recognize and describe instances of hyperbole. Mistaking a hyperbole for a literal statement would alter the meaning of the author or speaker’s intended message and possibly create confusion for the reader.