Literary Lab
Read a short passage, then name the device, the tone or the theme.
Literary Lab teaches the vocabulary of literary analysis with short passages that were written just for the game. It begins with plot structure, asking students to place the beats of a story in order and spot the climax. Then it covers conflict, setting and mood, followed by point of view and the ways a writer shows what a character is like.
Further levels separate theme from topic and tone from mood, and teach verbal, situational and dramatic irony, symbols and motifs. Students then find similes, metaphors, personification, hyperbole, allusion and oxymoron, and finish with sound devices and poetry. For poems they work out a rhyme scheme from the end words and tell a haiku, limerick, sonnet and free verse apart.
What children practice
- Put the beats of a story in order and name each part of the plot
- Tell person versus self, person versus nature and the other kinds of conflict apart
- Identify first person, third limited and third omniscient narrators
- Separate a theme from a topic and a tone from a mood
- Recognize irony and symbols, and find similes, metaphors, personification, hyperbole and allusion
- Work out a rhyme scheme and name poetry forms such as the haiku and the sonnet
Levels
- Plot structure: Exposition to resolution
- Conflict and setting: Conflict types, setting, mood
- Narrators and characters: Point of view, characterization
- Theme and tone: Theme, topic, tone, mood
- Irony and symbols: Irony, symbol, motif
- Figurative language: Simile to oxymoron
- Sound and poetry: Sound devices, rhyme, forms
- Course mix: Everything
How it works
- Eight levels follow the usual order of a literature unit, and Level 8 draws every kind of round into one mix.
- Rounds include choosing a label, tapping the sentence or word that holds a device, sorting cards, matching terms and ordering story beats.
- A level opens the next one after five correct answers and a short practice timer.
- Need a hint? offers three nudges, and each correct answer comes with a short note about why the label fits.
Best for: A good fit for grades 9 to 12 in English or literature classes, and for students who know the terms but struggle to spot them in a passage.
Tip for parents: After your child finishes a chapter or a film, ask for its theme in one full sentence. A topic like friendship is only a start, so push for what the story says about it.
Questions parents ask
Are the passages from famous novels or poems?
No. Every story, passage and poem is original text written for the game. The only borrowed material is a few well-known allusions, such as Pandora or Midas, which are named and never quoted.
How can a rhyme scheme be graded fairly?
The game works it out from the last word of each line and lists the words that truly rhyme. Letters are given in order of first appearance, so a poem with the pattern ABAB has one correct answer.
What if two labels could both fit?
The game avoids that. Labels that could be defended for the same passage, such as a metaphor and personification, are never offered together in one question.
Ready to try it?
Literary Lab is free with a parent account. A parent adds a child profile, and the child's progress is saved.