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Poetry Lines and Stanzas

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Poetry Lines and Stanzas

Read each poem carefully. A line is one row of words. A stanza is a group of lines, usually separated from other groups by an empty space. Answer each question.

Read the Poem

Paper Airplane Fold the paper, crease it tight, Point its nose and hold it right. Off it glides across the blue, Waving as it sails from view.

1.In “Paper Airplane,” how many lines are in the first stanza?

1 line
2 lines
4 lines

2.How many stanzas are in “Paper Airplane”? Count the groups of lines separated by an empty space.

3.Which feature shows where the first stanza ends in “Paper Airplane”?

An empty space between groups of lines
A comma
The poem's title

Try It Out

Read each small poem or prompt, then show what you know about lines and stanzas.

4.Read this poem: “Rain taps the window / While clouds drift by.” How many lines does it have?

5.Read this poem: “A red kite climbs / Up through the air / It dips and dances / Without a care.” How many lines are in the poem?

2 lines
3 lines
4 lines

6.Read the poem: “The puppy naps / Beside the chair. [stanza break] Then wakes and stretches / Without a care.” How many stanzas does it have?

7.A poet has six lines and wants to make two equal stanzas. How many lines should go in each stanza?

8.True or false: Every poem must have more than one stanza.

TrueFalse

9.Write a tiny poem about a sound you might hear at a vet clinic. Make it two lines long, then leave an empty space and write one more line as a second stanza.