Reading a Poem Aloud is a free printable Grade 4 English worksheet on reading poetry well enough to record it, aligned to Common Core standard SL.4.5. It prints 2 questions with an answer key on its own sheet of paper, in 25 versions that each ask different questions, so no two pupils in the class work from the same page. Print it from the browser or download it as a PDF — no account, no email.
Set 1 of 25 · the same problems every time you open this link.
Stanza one:
They took the hill away in carts
for ninety years, and then they stopped.
The hole they left filled up with rain
until the rain had reached the top.
Stanza two:
Now people swim where men once cut.
The water hides the ledge, the crane,
the drill-marks in the standing rock,
the tracks, the shed, the loading lane.
Stanza three:
The children diving off the edge
have never heard the word for it.
They call it "the lake". They are not wrong.
A thing becomes what people make of it.
1. How does the rhyme work across each stanza of this poem?
2. Quote the list of what is under the water.
3. Which line states the poem's conclusion?
2.Read the text, then answer the questions.
Low Water
Stanza one:
Twice a day the sea walks out
and leaves the harbour standing,
the boats set down on their own keels
like birds that have stopped landing.
Stanza two:
The mud shines. Old anchors show,
a bicycle, a broken chain,
the whole forgotten underneath
made briefly plain.
Stanza three:
Then, without a sound at all,
it turns and starts to come.
The bicycle goes under first.
The harbour lifts. The boats go dumb.
1. Why is each stanza labelled in this poem?
2. How does the line length change in the third stanza, and what does that do?
3. Quote the words that describe how the boats sit at low tide.
LessonPrint · SL.4.5 · Set 1 · free to copy for classroom use
Answer key — Reading a Poem Aloud
Set 1. Prints on its own sheet.
1.1. The second and fourth lines rhyme — "stopped" with "top", "crane" with "lane". 2. "the ledge, the crane, the drill-marks in the standing rock, the tracks, the shed, the loading lane". 3. "A thing becomes what people make of it."
2.1. The labels mark the three stages: the sea walking out, the mud showing, and the harbour lifting. 2. The last stanza uses short sentences — "The bicycle goes under first." — which makes the tide's return feel quick. 3. "the boats set down on their own keels".
Questions about Reading a Poem Aloud
What does the Reading a Poem Aloud worksheet cover?
It practises reading poetry well enough to record it — 2 questions for Grade 4, all on Common Core SL.4.5: Add audio and visuals to a talk where they strengthen the idea. The instruction to pupils is “Read the text, then answer the questions”, and the answer key follows on the next sheet.
Which Common Core standard does Reading a Poem Aloud practise?
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.SL.4.5 — SL.4.5, in the Speaking & Listening domain for Grade 4. The published standard reads: “Add audio recordings and visual displays to presentations when appropriate to enhance the development of main ideas or themes.” The worksheet assesses that standard rather than a paraphrase of it.
What age or grade is this worksheet for?
Reading a Poem Aloud is written for Grade 4, typically ages 9-10. It is one of the sheets on SL.4.5, so it suits any pupil working at that standard — including older pupils revisiting it and younger ones working ahead.
Does Reading a Poem Aloud come with an answer key?
Yes. All 2 answers are generated from the same problems as the questions, so the key cannot drift out of step with the sheet. It starts on a fresh sheet of paper, after the questions, so it is not handed out with the class by accident.
How many different versions of Reading a Poem Aloud can I print?
25 — one per pupil, and all 25 ask different questions. Set 1 downloads the whole class as a single PDF. Every version is fixed to its own address, so a sheet printed today holds the same problems when you reopen it next week.
Is Reading a Poem Aloud free to print and photocopy?
Yes. Reading a Poem Aloud, its answer key and its 25 versions are free to print and photocopy for your own class, with no account, no email capture and no subscription at the download step. Please do not resell them or republish them as your own.
More practice for SL.4.5
Add audio and visuals to a talk where they strengthen the idea.