Pete
There once was a puppy named Pete
Who snatched every sock off your feet.
He'd tiptoe and creep
While you were asleep,
Then nap on the pile, looking sweet.
7th grade · English Language Arts · Unit 7 of 13
Poetry Lab
Rhyme, stanzas and speakers
What your child practices
Reading short original poems to find rhyme schemes, count stanzas, identify the speaker, recognize forms like haiku, limerick and free verse, and interpret figurative language and theme.
Alaska content standards learning standard: RL.7.5 · poetic forms, stanzas and speakers
How we explain it
Children can open this short lesson before they practice.
- Label lines that rhyme with the same letter to find the rhyme scheme: AABB, ABAB.
- A stanza is a group of lines. The speaker is the voice in the poem.
- Haiku has 3 lines (5, 7, 5 syllables). A limerick is a funny 5-line poem (AABBA). Free verse has no set rhyme or rhythm.
Example: Lines 1 and 2 rhyme, and lines 3 and 4 rhyme. What is the rhyme scheme? Lines 1 and 2 get A. Lines 3 and 4 get B. Answer: AABB
Poetry Lab in Alaska
In the Alaska content standards, this is unit 7 of 13 in 7th grade English Language Arts, after Word Mix-Ups and before Punctuation Power.
Gradelings describes a child's practice on this unit as Beginning, Approaching, Meeting or Exceeding (Four practice steps). That reflects practice, not a report-card mark: the teacher decides the mark.
- 7th grade guide for Alaska parents
- Printable 7th grade English Language Arts sheet
- Alaska report cards explained
Source: Alaska Department of Education and Early Development
Sample questions
A taste of this unit. In the app, questions change every time and get easier or harder to match your child.
Question 1
What form of poem is this?
- Limerick
- Free verse
- Haiku
- Sonnet
Limerick
Hint: This is a funny five-line poem where lines 1, 2 and 5 rhyme, and the short lines 3 and 4 rhyme.
Question 2
Which word best describes the tone of this poem?
Pete
There once was a puppy named Pete
Who snatched every sock off your feet.
He'd tiptoe and creep
While you were asleep,
Then nap on the pile, looking sweet.
- Humorous
- Gloomy
- Furious
- Serious
Humorous
Hint: A sneaky sock-stealing puppy napping on its loot... Is that meant to be funny or serious?
Question 3
Which two lines rhyme with each other?
Pete
There once was a puppy named Pete
Who snatched every sock off your feet.
He'd tiptoe and creep
While you were asleep,
Then nap on the pile, looking sweet.
- Lines 2 and 4
- Lines 3 and 4
- Lines 1 and 4
- Lines 1 and 3
Lines 3 and 4
Hint: Read the last word of each line in the pair out loud. Do they sound alike?
Question 4
What is the rhyme scheme of this poem?
The Library Is an Ocean
The library is an ocean,
And every shelf a wave;
I dive in every afternoon
And surface feeling brave.
- ABCB
- ABBA
- AABB
- ABAB
ABCB
Hint: Look at the last word of each line. Give the first end sound the letter A, the next new sound B, and so on. Lines that rhyme share a letter.
Question 5
What does the speaker mean by “surface feeling brave”?
The Library Is an Ocean
The library is an ocean,
And every shelf a wave;
I dive in every afternoon
And surface feeling brave.
- The speaker is learning to swim.
- Reading leaves the speaker feeling stronger and more confident.
- The speaker gets wet after lunch.
- The speaker is scared of the library.
Reading leaves the speaker feeling stronger and more confident.
Hint: Diving and surfacing are part of the ocean comparison. What is the speaker really doing in the library?
Question 6
What type of comparison is “The library is an ocean”?
The Library Is an Ocean
The library is an ocean,
And every shelf a wave;
I dive in every afternoon
And surface feeling brave.
- Simile
- Onomatopoeia
- Metaphor
- Alliteration
Metaphor
Hint: It says the library IS an ocean, without using “like” or “as.”