poetry practice

A sentence, phrase, or word arranged into a single row.

• line
• stanza
• rhythm
• anonymous

Night Noises by Alan Balter

It's louder than the sound of barking dogs at night

Or a fireworks explosion that lights the sky real bright.

The word louder means-

• most loud

• more loud

• loud

• not at all loud

The voice of a poem is the . . .

• speaker

• poet

• narrator

• author

A group of lines in a poem separated with a blank line space.

• metaphor
• simile
• line
• stanza

Poets use _______________, or language that appeals to the senses, to help readers visualize what they read.

• sensory language

• Figurative Language

• Similie

• Metaphor

*** Scroll down to read entire poem and question

Sick By Shel Silverstein

1“I cannot go to school today,”

Said little Peggy Ann McKay.

“I have the measles and the mumps,

A gash, a rash, and purple bumps.

5 My mouth is wet, my throat is dry,

I’m going blind in my right eye.

My tonsils are as big as rocks,

I’ve counted sixteen chicken pox

And there’s one more – that’s seventeen,

10 And don’t you think my face looks green?

My leg is cut, my eyes are blue -

It might be instamatic flu.

I cough and sneeze and gasp and choke,

I’m sure that my left leg is broke -

15 My hips hurt when I move my chin,

My belly button is caving in

My back is wrenched, my ankle’s sprained,

My ‘pendix pains each time it rains.

My nose is cold, my toes are numb,

20 have a sliver in my thumb.

My neck is stiff, my voice is weak,

I hardly whisper when I speak.

My tongue is filling up my mouth,

I think my hair is falling out.

25My elbow is bent, my spine isn’t straight,

My temperature is one-o-eight.

My brain is shrunk, I cannot hear,

There is a hole inside my ear.

I have a hangnail, and my heart is – what?

30 What’s that? What’s that you say?

You say today is…Saturday?

G’bye, I’m going out to play!”

How many stanzas are in this poem?

• 3

• 4

• 5

• 6

Sick By Shel Silverstein

25My elbow is bent, my spine isn’t straight,

My temperature is one-o-eight.

My brain is shrunk, I cannot hear,

There is a hole inside my ear.

I have a hangnail, and my heart is – what?

30 What’s that? What’s that you say?

You say today is…Saturday?

G’bye, I’m going out to play!”

After reading this last stanza, the reader can conclude

• The speaker does not feel well and needs medicine.

• The speaker was pretending to be sick in order to miss a day of school.

• The speaker is happy to miss a day of school.

• The speaker is starting to feel sick and has to miss school.

What do we call it when the same sound is repeated? Hint: this is usually found at the end of lines of poetry.

• Rhythm
• Rhyme
• Meter
• Figurative language

Which is an example of rhyme?

• We love school. School is cool.
• My hat is red. My hat is blue.
• Singing loud as a siren.

Sick By Shel Silverstein

25My elbow is bent, my spine isn’t straight,

My temperature is one-o-eight.

My brain is shrunk, I cannot hear,

There is a hole inside my ear.

I have a hangnail, and my heart is – what?

30 What’s that? What’s that you say?

You say today is…Saturday?

G’bye, I’m going out to play!”

Who is the poet of this poem?

• The speaker

• Peggy Ann McKay

• Shel Silverstein

• Mom and Dad