6th Grade Personification and Hyperbole Worksheets
Sixth graders track these figures in real texts, where they carry tone: a city that never sleeps feels electric, and homework that buries you feels hopeless. Naming the device is the entry point to explaining the mood it creates, which is the analysis middle school asks for.
Free printable PDF, aligned to Common Core L.5.5.a. One skill per page, answer key on page two.
Every sheet is one of a kind and prints with a version code, so you can reprint the exact same one later. New version every click.
The kind of words you'll sort
Write each phrase from the bank under Personification or Hyperbole.
I nearly starved waiting for lunchhis snoring shakes the whole housethe ice cream begged to be eatenI could smell dinner a mile awaythese shoes are older than timethe moon peeked through cloudsthe flowers nodded hellothe kettle sang on the stove
Columns: Personification and Hyperbole. "the moon peeked through clouds" belongs under personification; "I nearly starved waiting for lunch" belongs under hyperbole.
Every print draws a fresh mix of word lists at this level, so a make-up test or a second sibling gets a different sheet.
What's on each sheet
- Sorting. Write each phrase from the bank under Personification or Hyperbole. 14 words per page.
Every version prints on US Letter or A4, with its answer key on the last page.
How to teach this
Hunt tone: does the daffodils bowing politely make the garden feel friendly or menacing? Would shadows swallowing the path fit a comedy? Matching device to mood, and noticing when a writer combines them, moves this from labeling into genuine literary analysis.
Watch for: Hyperbole isn't lying; nobody expects the million times to be counted. The stretch is the point. Personification needs a nonhuman thing doing a human action; a happy dog wagging its tail is just a dog.
Common questions about personification and hyperbole
- What should a 6th grader say about these devices in an essay?
- Name the device, quote it, and explain the effect: "The author personifies the storm as raging, which makes the night feel like an attack." Device, evidence, effect, in that order. That three-step move is the backbone of literary analysis paragraphs.
- What's the difference between hyperbole and a metaphor?
- A metaphor compares (homework is a mountain); hyperbole inflates (I have a million assignments). They often travel together, since an exaggerated comparison does both jobs at once. What matters is recognizing that neither is literal and each is chosen for its effect.
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Aligned to Common Core L.5.5.a. Reviewed by the One More Sheet curriculum team. Content version 68, updated July 2026.