Name:
Subject: Language Arts
Class:
RL.8.1
RL.8.2
RL.8.4
COLLECTIONS Grade 8, Collection 4: Approaching Adulthood
PS: 3
“Hanging Fire” by Audre Lorde
“Teenagers” by Pat Mora
Guided Reading Questions
Read the poems “Hanging Fire” by Audre Lorde and “Teenagers” by Pat Mora. Then, reread the
lines indicated with each question below. Answer each question, citing text evidence.
“Hanging Fire” by Audre Lorde
1) Lines 12–21: The phrase “hang fire” means “to delay or be delayed in taking action or progressing.”
What does the title “Hanging Fire” suggest about the theme of the poem? What evidence supports
your inference about the theme?
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2) Lines 24–35: What can you infer about the speaker? What evidence supports the inference?
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“Teenagers” by Pat Mora
1) Lines 1–5: Both this poem and “Hanging Fire” use the image of a closed door. Where is this image
used in “Teenagers”? What does the image suggest about a similar theme in both poems?
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2) Lines 9–15: What simile is in lines 9–11? What two things are being compared? What simile is in lines
11–15? What effect do the similes have on the last stanza of the poem?
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