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Verse, Rhythm and Stanza is a free printable Grade 4 English worksheet on using the right terms about a poem, aligned to Common Core standard RL.4.5. It prints 2 questions with an answer key on its own sheet of paper, in 25 versions, 24 of them with 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.

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24 of these 25 sets ask different questions — this skill does not have 25 questions to give. The rest reorder them, so no two pupils have the same paper in front of them.

Verse, Rhythm and Stanza

RL.4.5

NameDate

Read the text, then answer the questions.

1.Read the text, then answer the questions.

The Quarry, Filled

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. 1. Why does the poem save its last line for the conclusion?
  2. 2. How many stanzas are there, and what does each one cover?
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. 1. How does the line length change in the third stanza, and what does that do?
  2. 2. How does the third stanza reverse the first?

LessonPrint · RL.4.5 · Set 1 · free to copy for classroom use

Answer key — Verse, Rhythm and Stanza

Set 1. Prints on its own sheet.

  1. 1.1. The three stanzas give the history first, so "A thing becomes what people make of it" lands as the point. 2. Three — the quarry working and stopping, what is underwater now, and what the children call it.
  2. 2.1. The last stanza uses short sentences — "The bicycle goes under first." — which makes the tide's return feel quick. 2. The first has the sea walking out and boats settling; the third has it returning and the harbour lifting.

Questions about Verse, Rhythm and Stanza

What does the Verse, Rhythm and Stanza worksheet cover?

It practises using the right terms about a poem — 2 questions for Grade 4, all on Common Core RL.4.5: Explain how poems, plays and prose are built differently, using the right terms. 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 Verse, Rhythm and Stanza practise?

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.4.5 — RL.4.5, in the Reading: Literature domain for Grade 4. The published standard reads: “Explain major differences between poems, drama, and prose, and refer to the structural elements of poems (e.g., verse, rhythm, meter) and drama (e.g., casts of characters, settings, descriptions, dialogue, stage directions) when writing or speaking about a text.” The worksheet assesses that standard rather than a paraphrase of it.

What age or grade is this worksheet for?

Verse, Rhythm and Stanza is written for Grade 4, typically ages 9-10. It is one of the sheets on RL.4.5, so it suits any pupil working at that standard — including older pupils revisiting it and younger ones working ahead.

Does Verse, Rhythm and Stanza 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 Verse, Rhythm and Stanza can I print?

25 versions, of which 24 ask genuinely different questions — this skill does not have 25 distinct questions to give, so the rest reorder them and no two pupils still share a paper. Set 1 downloads all 25 as one PDF.

Is Verse, Rhythm and Stanza free to print and photocopy?

Yes. Verse, Rhythm and Stanza, 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 RL.4.5

Explain how poems, plays and prose are built differently, using the right terms.

All Grade 4 worksheets

Last reviewed 2026-09-05. Aligned to RL.4.5 of the Common Core State Standards for English language arts.