Oxymoron Exploration
A Grade 8 ELA worksheet to explore and understand oxymorons through identification, analysis, and creation.
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Oxymoron Exploration Worksheet
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Read each section carefully and answer the questions to the best of your ability. This worksheet will help you understand and identify oxymorons.
An oxymoron is a figure of speech that combines contradictory terms. It often creates a surprising or thought-provoking effect. For example, 'jumbo shrimp' is an oxymoron because 'jumbo' means large, and 'shrimp' refers to a small creature. The two words contradict each other but are used together to describe something.
1. Which of the following phrases is an oxymoron?
Bright sun
Soft whisper
Living dead
Tall tree
2. Complete the following sentence with an appropriate oxymoron: The comedian told a joke that made everyone think deeply.
3. The silence in the room was so that you could hear a pin drop.
4. Explain why 'original copy' is an oxymoron.
5. An oxymoron always uses three words.
True
False
Use the words below to create two different oxymorons.
6. Oxymoron 1:
7. Oxymoron 2:
8. Write a short paragraph (3-5 sentences) describing a scene or a character using at least two different oxymorons. Underline the oxymorons you use.