Which student response best answers the text-dependent question: How does the author use figurative language to reveal the narrator's feelings? Explain using examples from the text.

A. The author uses similes to help the reader see the onion, tree and dolls. These similes help to bring the ideas in the text to life for the reader.

B. The narrator is very sad. She keeps repeating all of the ages that she has been before. She is so upset about getting older.

C. The author is really sad about getting older. She uses similes, words and phrases to show how she feels about getting older. She doesn't want to be eleven but she doesn't know what else to do.

D. The author uses comparisons such as the layers of an onion, the rings of a tree, and the nesting dolls to bring to life the feelings that the narrator has about her age. These images help show the reader how, even though you can feel one age, all the other ages are contained inside of you. This is a very complicated feeling, one that the author cannot adequately represent without the images created by the use of figurative language.

Answer: Incorrect. This response does not show evidence that the reader understands the role of similes in bringing the narrator's feelings to life for the reader. Rather, the response states that the similes help the reader to see concrete items rather than the feelings and concepts that the similes are intended to represent. This response does not answer the question, use explicit text evidence, or show understanding of the question or the core meaning in this passage. Try again. Incorrect. This reader does understand the feelings of the narrator and does reference the way the ages are stated in the text. However, this response does not show evidence that the reader understands how the beautifully crafted similes were used to show the sad feelings of the narrator. Try again. Incorrect. This response shows that the reader understands that the narrator is sad about her age. The response states that the author uses words and phrases but does not cite explicit textual evidence. When the response states that "she doesn't know what else to do," we learn that this reader is off-track in terms of understanding the core meaning in the text. Try again. Correct. This response shows full comprehension of the similes (CCSS.RL.6.4) the author uses to illustrate the layered and confusing feelings that the narrator has about turning eleven. There is evidence of text-based (CCSS.RL.6.1) analysis when the reader cites the author's use of the onion, tree and dolls to represent those layered feelings.