5th Grade

Poetry

Name _________________________

Elements of Poetry

Parts and Features of a Poem

Lines: A line of a poem is one row of text, not necessarily a complete sentence.

Lines are written to allow for rhythm and cadence. Each line begins with a capital letter.

“The Pesky Peach”

The pesky peach didn’t want to be in a pie

So it quickly rolled away from the chef.

A crow saw it rolling by,

And so it swooped with a shriek that would leave you deaf.

That was the end of the pesky peach.

The poem above has _______ lines.

Stanzas: A stanza is a group of lines in a poem, similar to a paragraph. Stanzas are

named for the number of lines they contain:

couplet – 2 lines sestet – 6 lines triplet – 3 lines septet – 7 lines quatrain – 4 lines octave – 8 lines

quintet – 5 lines

“The Crocodile” by Lewis Carroll

How doth the little crocodile

Improve his shining tail,

And pour the waters of the Nile

On every golden scale!

How cheerfully he seems to grin,

How neatly spreads his claws,

And welcomes little fishes in,

With gently smiling jaws!

The poem above has _______ stanzas.

Repetition: Words or phrases repeated in writings to produce emphasis, rhythm,

and/or a sense of urgency.

Last night I dreamt about pigs.

They were playing on my pillows.

They were dancing on my dresser.

They were prancing in my socks.

They were sleeping in my bed.

The poem above repeats __________________________.

Edgar Allen Poe creates rhythm in his poem, “The Bells,” which is famous for its repetition that imitates the continual ringing of bells:

From the bells, bells, bells, bells, Bells, bells, bells-

From the jingling and the tinkling of the bells.

Mark Twain uses repetition in a passage from Tom Sawyer to add a rhythmic crowd-like sound and a sense of anticipation:

At this moment the crowd began to swag and struggle, and voices shouted, “It’s him! It’s him! He’s coming himself!”

“Who? Who?” from twenty voices.

Rhyme Scheme: Letters are used to identify a poem’s rhyming pattern. The letter a

is placed after the first line and all lines that rhyme with the first line. The letter b

identifies the next line ending with a new sound, all lines that rhyme with it. Letters

continue to be assigned in sequence to lines containing new ending sounds. The

following Mother Goose rhyme is said to have an abba rhyme scheme:

As I went to Bonner a

I met a pig b

Without a wig b

Upon my word and honor a

Identify the rhyme scheme in each of the following Mother goose rhymes:

1. Cobbler, cobbler, mend my shoe _____

Get it done, by half past two. _____

2. A cat came fiddling out of a barn _____

With a pair of bagpipes under arm. _____

She could sing nothing but fiddle dee dee _____

The mouse has married the bumblebee. _____

Pipe, cat; dance, mouse; _____

We’ll have a wedding at our house. _____

3. Baa, baa, black sheep _____

Have you any wool? _____

Yes sir, yes sir, _____

Three bags full. _____

Internal rhyme occurs within a single line of poetry. Underline the words that create internal rhymes from these stanzas of Gelett Burgess’s “An Alphabet of Famous Goops.”

Abednego was meek and mild; he softly spoke, he sweetly smiled.

He never called his playmates names, and he was good in running games;

But he was often in disgrace because he had a dirty face!

Daniel and Dago were a pair who acted kindly everywhere;

They studied hard, as good as gold, they always did as they were told;

They never put on silly airs, but they took things that were not theirs.

When Festus was but four years old, his parents seldom had to scold;

They never called him, “Festus, don’t!” he never whined and said, “I won’t!”

Yet it was sad to see him dine. His table manners were not fine.

Tone: the general feel of the poem or attitude of the poet, which can create a certain

mood such as excitement, sadness, fear, humor, etc.

Limericks

A limerick is a traditional form of humorous verse with five lines. The rhyme scheme

is a-a-b-b-a. Lines 1, 2, and 5 have 3 stresses. Lines 3 and 4 have 2 stresses.

Read the following limericks aloud to get a sense of the rhythm:

There was an old man with a beard,

Who said, “It is just as I feared!

Two owls and a Hen,

Four larks and a wren,

Have all built their nests in my beard.”

A flea and a fly in a flue

Were imprisoned, so what could they do?

Said the flea, “Let us fly!”

Said the fly, “Let us flee!”

So they flew through a flaw in the flue.

There once was a girl from Tibet

Who couldn’t pay off all her debt.

She bet on a horse –

Real money, of course –

It’s lucky she won the big bet!

Finish the limerick below using the word bank for your ending rhymes. Jason Larry Matthew nose see bay basin clothes carry cashew hasten red toes hairy dandy said he chasten berry head sews handy marry day Barry “Achoo!” Andy candy There once was a man named ___________________ a Who _______________________________________________________________ a

____________________________________________ b

____________________________________________ b ___________________________________________________________________ a

Acrostic Poem

An acrostic is a poem in which the first letter of each line spells out a word or phrase vertically that acts as the theme or message of the poem

Student Samples of Acrostic Poems

Boy, that dinosaur is annoying Sand slipping through my fingers

Always singing in that whiny voice Umbrella shading me at the pool

Really, why do little kids like him? Multi-colored sunsets

Never have I seen a purple dinosaur Many days of sunshine

Everywhere I go someone’s singing his songs Everyone having fun

Yikes! He’s on TV right now! Running on the beach

Lazy

Impossibly difficult

Too tough to handle Brothers, who needs them?

Torture their sisters Rude and disgusting

Loud and obnoxious Oh, how I wish they would disappear

Every sister’s nightmare Their bratty little voices Hard to bear

Easily, however, made to suffer

Remember -

Sisters are their worst nightmare!

Complete the following acrostic poem. You may use a phrase or just one word:

S________________________________________________________

C________________________________________________________

H________________________________________________________

O________________________________________________________

O________________________________________________________

L________________________________________________________

Cinquain

A cinquain is a structured, five line poem that follows this pattern:

Line one – A one word title (noun) Line two – Two words that describe the title (adjectives) Line three – Three words that show the action of the title (verbs) Line four – Four words that express a feeling about the title (phrase) Line five – One word that is another word for the title (synonym)

Nana Spider Round, soft Furry, black Humming, baking, loving Climbing, spinning, weaving Her lap’s for me Makes an intricate web

Grandma Tarantula Clouds

Fluffy, soft Floating, gliding, raining I see cool shapes

Rainmakers Plan your cinquain:

What is your topic? (noun) ________________________ What does it look like? Smell like? Taste like? Sound like? Feel like? (adjectives) ________________________________________________________________

What can it do? (action verbs)

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How do you feel about it?

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What are some synonyms of your topic?

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Now, write your cinquain:

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Haiku

Haiku is a form of Japanese poetry, usually about nature. The first line has five

syllables, the second line has seven syllables, and the third line has five. Count the

syllables in the haiku lines below:

Japanese haiku - 5

Captures a moment in time -7

Snapshot memory – 5

Haiku has no rhyme – 5 Haiku has three lines - 5

But has a special structure – 7 With seventeen syllables - 7

To create within – 5 In five, seven, five - 5

When you write haiku – 5

Remember, freeze a moment – 7

Let it live in words – 5

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Ocean waves roll in Wind, gently blowing

Foam against the sandy shore Up, around, and through the trees

Then slide back to sea Plays tag with my kite

Complete the following haiku about summer: About winter:

The bright sun shines on ~ 5 The cold wind blows hard ~ 5

______________________________ ~ 7 _____________________________ ~ 7

_________________________ ~ 5 _________________________ ~ 5

Now, write your own haiku about one of the following topics:

beaches forests raindrops autumn spring snowflakes seasons

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Couplets

A couple of apples is how many? Two apples! A couplet in poetry is two lines that end with a rhyme. Many complete poems are written in couplet form.

Here are some rhyming pairs. Write couplets using the rhymes. The first two have been done for you: (peas, sneeze) (fancy, antsy)

I don’t like broccoli, squash, or peas, Ruffles, bow, and anything fancy, And this is why, they make me sneeze! Are clothes that always make me antsy! (bunny, funny) ______________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________ (flat, splat) ______________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________ (jump, clump) ______________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________ (worm, squirm) ______________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________ (rhyme, slime) ______________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________

School

When I awake in the morning, It is always to my alarm clock’s warning.

My mother yells it’s time to go. But I just move really slow.

My lunch is packed; my shoes are tied. “I think I have a fever,” I tried.

My mother turns to glare at me. So it is into the car I flee.

Now you write a poem with a title and four sets of couplets:

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Free Verse

Free verse Is poetry without rhyme

And no form to hold you in. You are set free to soar

And create snapshots And beautiful pictures to share.

Let your feelings flow, Freely, poetically, and meaningfully.

Perfect, Just the way it is.

While you don’t need to worry about rhyme or meter with free verse, it is important to think about poetic expression. How do the words sound? Is there a flow? Use the senses, alliteration, simile, metaphor, etc. to make your free verse poem special. Try to find ways to convey feelings in as few, carefully chosen words as possible.

Write a free verse poem about a member of your family.

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Write a free verse poem about your favorite hobby or sport.

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Write a free verse poem about a favorite place.

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Shape Poem

A shape poem describes an object and is shaped as the object it is describing.

I LOVE

MY HOME

IT IS SO

SUPER

BEAUTIFUL. I LOVE MY

HOME BECAUSE IT KEEPS

ME WARM WHEN IT IS COLD

OUTSIDE. I LOVE MY HOME WHEN

IT IS A HOT SUMMER DAY.

I SIT ON MY BIG DECK

AND DRINK YUMMY,

COLD, FRUITY DRINKS. I

LOVE MY HOUSE

BECAUSE IT KEEPS

ME SAFE AND IT’S

WHERE MY FAM

AND I LIVE HAPPILY TOGETHER.

Now you try one!

Color Poem

A color poem focuses on one color and uses the five senses to describe it.

What is Blue? Blue is raindrops falling hard like hail. Blue is the wonder of my mind. Blue tastes like sweet and sour blueberries. Blue smells like the salty ocean water. Blue sounds like a soft blow of the wind on a warm day. Blue feels like the warmth from a newly patched blanket. Blue looks like the sky when the clouds float away. Blue is the color that gives me joy! Write a poem about your favorite color. Remember to express how it looks, feels, smells, tastes, and sounds. You may also use similes, metaphors, or other types of figurative language in your poem.

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