Shel Silverstein Poems

Elements of Poetry

Today we will get even more practice with identifying the elements of poetry.

Where the Sidewalk Ends

by: Shel Silverstein

Poets

Poets are the people that write the poems. In this poem Shel Silverstein is our poet.

Multiple Choice

Who is the speaker or voice of this poem?

Pay attention to the pronouns.

• The poet

• A character

Speaker and Voice

Remember sometimes the poem won't always tell us who the speaker is. You have to look at clues to be able to tell.

Multiple Choice

What's one clue that could help us figure out who our speaker is?

• They tell us the name of the character

• The poem is written in the first person point of view

Multiple Choice

How many stanzas are in this poem?

• 1

• 2

• 3

• 4

Stanzas

Remember that stanzas are groups of verses in a poem.

Multiple Choice

Which is a verse in the poem?

• "flowers grow"

• "There is a place where the sidewalk ends"

• smoke

• measured

Multiple Choice

Which of these word pairs are rhyming words?

• bright/flight

• grow/bends

• black/begins

• chalk/white

Long-Leg Lou & Short-Leg Sue

Shel Silverstein

Open Ended

In "Long-Leg Lou & Short-Leg Sue" how do you think the author wanted you to feel at the end?

Poll

Do you think Long-Leg Lou got what he deserved?

• Yes

• No

Multiple Choice

What might the theme of this poem be?

Remember that theme is the lesson taught in the story and can be applied to many more situations.

• Don't be like Long-Leg Lou

• You never know what you have until its gone

• Don't be mean to short people

Multiple Choice

Jimmy is quite an interesting character. You never know what he is going to say or do. Which definition of character is used in these sentences?

• the type of person someone is

• a person in a play

• being a good person

• a personality portrayed by an actor