Name: ___________________________________ Date: ________________ Hour: ______

JOYAS VOLADORAS
(Text Analysis)
PARAGRAPH 1
1. In the first sentence, Doyle invites the audience to, “Consider the hummingbird for a long
moment.” Besides the fact that the essay will discuss hummingbirds, what other idea might this
sentence give the audience about the text you are about to read? ( 5 points)

2. Identify the effect of the following strategy in the fifth sentence: “Joyas voladoras, flying jewels,
the first white explorers in the Americas called them…” (5 points)

Strategy: Doyle inverts the usual word order by placing the object (joyas voladoras) before the
subject (white explorers)

Effect:

3. What words from paragraph 1 is synonymous for big and small? Write them in the box and answer
the question:
What contrast is presented here? What idea does the contrast help to define? (5 points)
PARAGRAPH 2
4. Doyle says of the hummingbirds that die each day, “…each the most amazing thing you have never
seen.” What does this phrase help the audience understand? (5 points)

5. What is the effect of naming so many species and restating ideas in this lengthy sentence? How
does this style add impact to the author’s ideas? (5 points)

PARAGRAPH 3
6. In the last sentence, Doyle makes a comparison between the hummingbird and the tortoise. What
is the point of this comparison? (3 points)
PARAGRAPH 4
7. Why do you think Doyle shifts to describing blue whales after he spent three paragraphs describing
hummingbirds? Why would he select these particular animals as the subjects of his comparison? (5
points)

8. According to what Doyle states or implies, what characteristics do hummingbirds and blue whales
have in common? (Identify at least 2). Support your answer with evidence from the text. (5 points)

PARAGRAPH 5
9. What does Doyle mean when he says: “We all churn inside”? Consider the literal meaning, the
figurative meaning, and the connotation of the word “churn.” (5 points)
PARAGRAPH 6
10. Overall, what does Doyle want the audience to understand about the heart through this paragraph?
Support your answer with evidence from the text (5 points)

EXIT TICKET: OVERALL

Why do you think Doyle focuses so much on the heart in this essay? Is the heart itself serving as a
metaphor for something else? For what, do you think? Support your answer with evidence from the text.
(5 points)