Year 5 English: Forms of poetry: haiku, limerick, free verse, narrative poems and sonnets
Part of the Year 5 English reading poetry and plays chapter. Chapter overview · whole chapter on one page
Forms of poetry: haiku, limerick, free verse, narrative poems and sonnets
A haiku and a limerick
Haiku: Quiet morning pond
one frog sits on a green leaf
the sun wakes slowly
Limerick: A cat who loved hats, bright and red,
wore a bowler and sat on the bed.
When the wind gave a shout,
it blew the bowler out,
and the cat chased it round the shed.
Key ideas
- A haiku has three lines, with about 5, 7 and 5 syllables.
- A limerick has five lines: lines 1, 2 and 5 rhyme, and lines 3 and 4 rhyme; it is often funny.
- Free verse has no regular rhyme or rhythm.
- A narrative poem tells a story; a sonnet has 14 lines and a set rhyme pattern.
Method. Look at the layout of a haiku.
- Count the lines. The haiku has three lines.three
- Write the number. Three.3
- Write the answer. 3
Check. Three. ✓
Method. Count the lines in the limerick.
- Count the lines. The limerick has five lines.five
- Write the number. Five.5
- Write the answer. 5
Check. Five. ✓
Method. Does the poem tell a story?
- Look at the content. The poem follows a girl on a bus and her walk home.a story
- Name the form. A poem that tells a story is a narrative poem.narrative poem
- Write the answer. narrative poem
Check. Narrative poem. ✓
Exercise 9C Practice: forms of poetry
Method. Count the lines.
- Count. Five lines.five
- Write. Five.5
- Write the answer. 5
Check. 5. ✓
Method. Count the lines.
- Count. Three lines.three
- Write. Three.3
- Write the answer. 3
Check. 3. ✓
Method. Count the beats in Quiet morning pond.
- Count. Qui-et morn-ing pond has five syllables.five
- Write. Five.5
- Write the answer. 5
Check. 5. ✓
Method. Look at the end of each line.
- Find the line ends. Red, bed and shed end the lines.red, bed, shed
- Write the lines. Lines 1, 2 and 5.lines 1, 2 and 5
- Write the answer. lines 1, 2 and 5
Check. Lines 1, 2 and 5. ✓
Method. Look at the end of each line.
- Find the line ends. Shout and out end lines 3 and 4.shout, out
- Write the lines. Lines 3 and 4.lines 3 and 4
- Write the answer. lines 3 and 4
Check. Lines 3 and 4. ✓
Method. Count the lines in the question.
- Count. A haiku has three lines; a sonnet has fourteen.three
- Choose. The three-line form is a haiku.haiku
- Write the answer. haiku
Check. Haiku. ✓
Method. Remember the fixed form of a sonnet.
- Recall. A sonnet has fourteen lines.fourteen
- Write. Fourteen.14
- Write the answer. 14
Check. 14. ✓
Method. Think about the rules of each form.
- Check each form. A limerick has a set rhyme pattern; free verse has no rules.no rules
- Choose. Free verse has no regular rhyme or rhythm.free verse
- Write the answer. free verse
Check. Free verse. ✓
Method. Look for a picture of the natural world.
- Look at the words. A pond, a frog and the sun in the morning suggest spring or summer.morning
- Decide. Yes, the haiku uses nature to show a season.Yes
- Write the answer. Yes
Check. Yes. ✓
Method. Think about what a narrative is.
- Think about the meaning. A narrative is a story.story
- Name the form. A narrative poem.narrative poem
- Write the answer. narrative poem
Check. Narrative poem. ✓
Method. Think about the effect of the rhyme and the events.
- Look at the poem. The rhyme and the cat chasing a hat make it silly.silly
- Choose. The silly rhyme is the reason.A
- Write the answer. A
Check. A. ✓
Method. Count the syllables in each line.
- Line 1. Soft rain on the roof has five syllables.five
- Line 2. A drum that keeps the time slow has seven.seven
- Write the answer. Soft rain on the roof / a drum that keeps the time slow / the puddles grow wide
Check. The haiku follows the pattern. ✓
Method. Compare the length and purpose.
- Look at a haiku. A haiku captures one moment in three lines.one moment
- Look at a narrative poem. A narrative poem tells a story.a story
- Write the answer. a haiku is short and shows one moment, while a narrative poem tells a story over several lines
Check. The difference is clear. ✓