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Introduction to Poetry

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Introduction to Poetry

Read the original poem, then use clues from its words and structure to solve the questions. For written answers, support your ideas with evidence from the poem.

The final whistle

At the end of a close netball tournament, Finn and Hana help pack up the court. Read this poem. After the Whistle The last ball thumps; the crowd lets go, The afternoon turns soft and slow. Shoes squeak once across the floor, Then echo gently by the door. Our team is a small, bright flame, Still glowing though we lost the game. We lift our bags beneath the grey, And carry cheers along the way.

1.Which statement best explains why this poem is arranged in short lines and stanzas?

The line breaks and stanzas shape the poem’s pace and group related ideas.
Each line must contain exactly the same number of words.
Stanzas are used only when a poem tells a funny story.
The poem is written as a set of instructions.

2.What is the rhyme scheme of the first stanza? Write the letters beside the four line endings: go, slow, floor, door.

3.Find one example of alliteration in the poem. Copy the words and explain which sound is repeated.

4.“Our team is a small, bright flame” is an example of which poetic device? What might the flame suggest about the team?

5.Which sense is most strongly used in “The last ball thumps” and “Shoes squeak once”? Name the sense and quote one clue.

6.In the first stanza, the sounds become quieter. Quote two details that show this change.

7.True or false: The poem suggests that the team’s day has no value because they lost. Give one line as evidence for your answer.

TrueFalse

8.Match each poetry term to the best example or meaning.

Rhyme
Metaphor
Imagery
Stanza

Describing the team as “a small, bright flame”
A grouped set of lines in a poem
Words that help the reader picture or sense a moment
Words with matching end sounds, such as “go” and “slow”

9.The poem says the afternoon “turns soft and slow.” Explain how these words affect the mood or pace.

10.Write a new two-line ending for the poem. Include one sound or image that helps the reader picture the team leaving, and make the two line endings rhyme.