How the shape of a poem adds to its meaning

Grade 8 Reading Worksheet - Building Confidence

Circle the best answer.

1. Read this first

   Three School Limericks (original poem)

   Stanza 1
   [1] A sleepy old pencil named Jim
   [2] wrote sentences slender and slim,
   [3] but his letters would sway
   [4] and then slide away,
   [5] so his homework looked ready to swim.

   Stanza 2
   [6] A backpack so crammed it could burst
   [7] met a staircase that did its worst:
   [8] books sailed off in pairs,
   [9] pens rolled down the stairs,
   [10] and the math quiz it hid landed first.

   Stanza 3
   [11] A sneaker went squeak, squeak, squeak
   [12] down the hall every day of the week,
   [13] till the principal said,
   [14] “Please tiptoe ahead,”
   [15] and it tiptoed, but added a creak.
   Annotations: each stanza is a five-line joke; look at the line endings and at the last line.

2. 1.

   Ari checks the line endings and line lengths in the whole poem. Which choice names the form and the clue that shows it?

   • Limerick: each stanza has four lines that rhyme with one another, ending with a quiet closing line.
   • Ballad: four-line stanzas where lines 2 and 4 rhyme, telling a story with a returning refrain.
   • Limerick: each five-line stanza rhymes AABBA, with a bouncing beat and a silly twist in line 5.
   • Limerick: the poem has three stanzas about school things, and each stanza makes the reader laugh.
3. 2.

   Bo circles sentences, slender and slim in line 2. Which choice names the device in those words and what it adds?

   • Alliteration: the s sounds repeat, which makes the pencil's writing seem thick and heavy.
   • Alliteration: the words start with the same sound, and three of them appear in line 2.
   • Alliteration: the s sounds repeat, which makes the pencil's writing seem thin and slippery.
   • Onomatopoeia: the words sound like what they name, which makes the pencil seem noisy and loud.
4. 3.

   Esme notices that the last line of each stanza is a surprise. What does that last-line twist add?

   • It makes the poem serious, so the reader feels sorry for the pencil, the backpack and the sneaker.
   • It ends each stanza on a calm, expected note, so the reader sees no surprise coming.
   • It ends each joke with a surprise, so the rhyme in the last line pays off the setup.
   • It is the last line of each stanza, and it rhymes with the first two lines of that stanza.
5. 4.

   Jun wants one clue that shows this poem is made of limericks. All four statements are true. Which clue proves the form best?

   • Each stanza has five lines, and lines 1, 2 and 5 rhyme while lines 3 and 4 rhyme with each other.
   • The poem uses sound devices such as alliteration in the first stanza and onomatopoeia in the third stanza.
   • Lines 3 and 4 of each stanza are shorter than lines 1, 2 and 5, which gives the stanza a quick middle.
   • The poem is funny and tells a quick joke in each of its three stanzas, about a pencil, a backpack and a sneaker.
6. 5.

   Kira circles squeak, squeak, squeak in line 11. Which choice names the devices in those words and what they add?

   • Onomatopoeia and repetition: squeak is a sound word, and it appears three times in line 11.
   • Onomatopoeia and repetition: the sound word repeats, which makes the hallway seem hushed and the sneaker silent.
   • Alliteration: the words start with the same sound, which makes the sneaker seem to slide quietly.
   • Onomatopoeia and repetition: the sound word repeats, which lets the reader hear a sneaker that keeps squeaking.
7. 6.

   Luz notices lines 3 and 4 of each stanza are shorter. What do the shorter lines add?

   • They have fewer words than lines 1, 2 and 5, and they rhyme with each other.
   • They slow the poem into a sad pause, so the reader feels sorry before the final joke.
   • They speed up the beat before the last line, so the final joke arrives with a bounce.
   • They stretch the beat out before the last line, so the final joke arrives slowly and quietly.

8. Class Photo (original poem)

   Stanza 1
   [1] We pour onto the risers in a clatter of sneakers and elbows and “Move over!”
   [2] and somebody's backpack knocks a water bottle rolling off the stage,
   [3] and the photographer calls, “Closer, closer,” and we squeeze into one shuffling, giggling shape.

   Stanza 2
   [4] “Ready?”
   [5] Hush.
   [6] Smile.
   [7] Hold.

   Stanza 3
   [8] The whole room waits inside one breath of thirty people holding still.

   Stanza 4
   [9] Click.

   Stanza 5
   [10] Then everything we were holding lets go at once, and the stage is a rattle of laughter again,
   [11] and the faces in the picture stay behind, perfectly quiet, perfectly smiling,
   [12] while the real ones run for the doors.
   Annotations: stanza 1 = the crowd; stanza 2 = the commands; stanza 3 = the wait; stanza 4 = the click; stanza 5 = the release.

9. 7.

   Milo looks at the line lengths and the lack of end rhymes. Which choice names the form and the clue that shows it?

   • Free verse: the poem is about a class photo and ends with students running for the doors.
   • Free verse: the poem repeats one rhyming word at the end of each stanza to hold it together.
   • Limerick: five-line stanzas that rhyme AABBA, with a silly twist at the end of each stanza.
   • Free verse: the lines have no rhyme pattern, and their lengths change to match what is happening.
10. 8.

    Noah circles the word Circle in line 9. Which choice names the device and what it adds?

    • Alliteration: the word repeats a starting sound, which makes the moment seem smooth and slow.
    • Onomatopoeia: Click sounds like the sound it names, and it stands alone in its own stanza.
    • Onomatopoeia: the word sounds like what it names, which makes the camera's shot feel sharp and sudden.
    • Onomatopoeia: the word sounds like what it names, which makes the moment feel long and drawn out.
11. 9.

    Pia compares stanza 1 with stanza 2. What do the one-word lines in stanza 2 add?

    • They slow and quiet the poem, so the reader feels the room go still.
    • They are single words, such as Ready, Hush, Smile and Hold, and each sits on its own line.
    • They make the poem louder, so the reader feels the crowd getting more excited.
    • They speed the poem up, so the reader feels the students hurry into place.
12. 10.

    Ren wants one clue that shows this poem is free verse. All four statements are true. Which clue proves the form best?

    • The poem uses sound words such as clatter, Click and rattle, along with repeated words.
    • The poem is about a class photo, so it tells a story with a clear start, a middle and an end.
    • The lines have no end rhymes and no regular pattern of length, from one word to a full sentence.
    • Line 9 is one word long and stands alone as its own stanza in the middle of the poem.