🔍 Craft & Structure: Literature: Small Talk (Grade 11)

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Read closely. Think about how the author wrote it.

Small Talk

"How are you?" the cashier asked, and I said, "Fine," the way everyone does, the way you hand over exact change without thinking.

But she looked at me — really looked — and said, "No, I mean it. You look like it’s been a day."

It had been a day. It had been a month. My mother was in the hospital, I had failed a calculus test and my car was making a noise I could not afford to diagnose. I hadn’t told anyone because no one had asked in a way that wanted the answer.

I told her about the hospital. Just that. She nodded, rang up my coffee and slid a chocolate bar across the counter. "On me," she said. It was a small thing. I have forgotten the calculus test. I have not forgotten her.

Vocabulary: diagnose — determine its meaning from context: ________________

1. Identify the point of view. How does it shape what the reader knows?

2. Identify a literary device (figurative language, imagery, symbolism). Explain its effect on meaning or tone.

3. How does the structure (order of events, pacing, turning point) contribute to the meaning?

4. Analyze how a specific word choice affects tone.

Answer key: first person; device: simile: "the way you hand over exact change"; anaphora/repetition ("It had been a day. It had been a month."); structure: everyday exchange → disclosure → reflection · diagnose = to identify the cause of a problem

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Worksheets › Grade 11 English › Craft & Structure › Craft & Structure

Grade 11 (ages 16–17)Reading comprehensionFree printable PDF

About this grade 11 worksheet

Free Grade 11 English worksheet (Common Core RL.11-12.4): analyze point of view, word choice and structure in "Small Talk". Skill: Word choice, structure and point of view. Level: Grade 11 — also suits Year 12 (UK).

For teachers: skills & standards

CCSS RL.11-12.4: Word choice, structure and point of view
CCSS RL.11-12.5: Word choice, structure and point of view
CCSS RL.11-12.6: Word choice, structure and point of view
Works as a morning-work page, a centre/station activity, homework or an early-finisher task.

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What age is it for?

It is designed for Grade 11 (ages 16–17), but use it with any child who is ready.

What skills does it build?

Word choice, structure and point of view.

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More “Craft & Structure” printables (rl/ri.11-12.4–6: word choice, structure and point of view)

Craft & Structure: Literature: The Inheritance of Silence (Grade 11) · Craft & Structure: Informational: The Economics of Attention (Grade 11) · Craft & Structure: Literature: The Portrait (Grade 11) · Craft & Structure: Informational: Climate Feedback Loops (Grade 11)

All 5 craft & structure sheets → · Grade 11 English: all 10 skills → · All Common Core grades

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