Year 5 English: Rhythm, rhyme and stanzas
Part of the Year 5 English reading poetry and plays chapter. Chapter overview · whole chapter on one page
Rhythm, rhyme and stanzas
The Last Bus Home
The last bus rolls down Hollow Lane,
its headlights brushing wet grey stone.
A girl in red sits by the pane
and counts the streetlamps on her own.
The driver hums a song of rain.
The engine sighs. The doors click shut.
The town slides past, a sleepy train
of windows where the lights are cut.
At last the bus stops by the gate.
She steps out, slow, into the night,
and waves, though nobody can wait,
and climbs the path by lamplight.
Key ideas
- Rhythm is the beat of a poem, the pattern of stressed and unstressed syllables.
- Rhyme is when the end sounds of lines match, such as lane and pane.
- A stanza is a group of lines in a poem, often separated by a space.
- Look at the last word of each line to find the rhyme scheme.
Method. Count the groups of lines separated by a space.
- Look at the layout. The poem has three groups of four lines.three groups
- Count. There are three stanzas.3
- Write the answer. 3
Check. Three stanzas. ✓
Method. Check the end of lines 1 and 3.
- Find the line ends. Line 1 ends with lane; line 3 ends with pane.lane, pane
- Check the sound. Both end with the sound -ane.rhyme
- Write the answer. lane and pane
Check. Lane and pane rhyme. ✓
Method. Count the lines in one stanza.
- Count the lines. The first stanza has four lines.four lines
- Check another. The second stanza also has four lines.4
- Write the answer. 4
Check. Four lines each time. ✓
Exercise 9A Practice: rhythm, rhyme and stanzas
Method. Find the line end that matches the sound of stone.
- Look at line 2. Line 2 ends with stone.stone
- Look at line 4. Line 4 ends with own, which has the sound -one.own
- Write the answer. own
Check. Stone and own rhyme. ✓
Method. Count the groups.
- Count the groups. The poem has three groups of lines.three
- Write the number. Three stanzas.3
- Write the answer. 3
Check. 3. ✓
Method. Read line 2.
- Find line 2. Line 2 is its headlights brushing wet grey stone.stone
- Write the word. Stone.stone
- Write the answer. stone
Check. Stone. ✓
Method. Look at the end of each line.
- Line 1 and line 3. Line 1 ends with rain and line 3 ends with train.rain, train
- Decide. Lines 1 and 3 rhyme.lines 1 and 3
- Write the answer. lines 1 and 3
Check. Lines 1 and 3. ✓
Method. Read the first stanza.
- Find the colour. A girl in red sits by the pane.red
- Write the answer. Red.red
- Write the answer. red
Check. Red. ✓
Method. Find the line ends in stanza 3.
- Find lines 2 and 4. Line 2 ends with night and line 4 ends with lamplight.night, lamplight
- Check the rhyme. Night and lamplight end with the same sound.rhyme
- Write the answer. night and lamplight
Check. Night and lamplight rhyme. ✓
Method. Read line 3.
- Find line 3. Line 3 is and waves, though nobody can wait,wait
- Write the word. Wait.wait
- Write the answer. wait
Check. Wait. ✓
Method. Listen for the beat in the words.
- Find the beat. The words fall in a steady pattern.steady
- Decide. Yes, the line has a steady beat.Yes
- Write the answer. Yes
Check. Yes. ✓
Method. Find the word wave.
- Find the word. The girl waves in the third stanza.waves
- Write the answer. The third stanza.third
- Write the answer. the third
Check. The third stanza. ✓
Method. Label each rhyme with a new letter.
- Label lines 1 and 3. Lane and pane rhyme, so both are A.A
- Label lines 2 and 4. Stone and own rhyme, so both are B.B
- Write the answer. ABAB
Check. The rhyme scheme is ABAB. ✓
Method. Read the stanza aloud in your head and listen to the beat.
- Listen. The words move at a steady pace.steady
- Explain. The steady rhythm matches the bus rolling along.matches the bus
- Write the answer. steady and gentle, because the lines flow along like the bus
Check. The rhythm matches the bus. ✓
Method. Think of a word that ends with the same sound.
- Find a rhyme. Down rhymes with town.down
- Use it in a line. The bus rolls through the sleepy town and down.down
- Write the answer. Accept any rhyming word, such as down: The bus rolls on through the sleepy town and down the hill.
Check. Down rhymes with town. ✓