• Quick retrieval from earlier learning (Poetry forms: sonnet, haiku, limerick, ballad, free verse…). Students answer on mini whiteboards.
• Show answers together and note who needs support in the main task.

1. Which poetry term matches this description? A poem that praises or celebrates a person, object or idea. (limerick / ballad / ode / sonnet) → odePrompt: Think about the number of lines, the rhyme pattern, and the purpose (to praise, to mourn, to tell a story, to amuse).
2. Which poetic form is this? (/ shows a new line) A cyclist who lived in Dundee / Rode into the side of a tree. / She said with a frown, / "I was looking down!" / And went home for a nice cup of tea. (haiku / couplet / limerick / ballad) → limerickPrompt: Count the lines and check whether they rhyme.
3. Type the poetry term (in English) that matches this description. A funny five-line poem with the rhyme scheme AABBA. → limerickPrompt: Think about the number of lines, the rhyme pattern, and the purpose (to praise, to mourn, to tell a story, to amuse).

• Read the first lines of a short text aloud and ask what students predict will happen and why.
• Share the objective: Working out a rhyme scheme (ABAB, AABB, ABCB…). Read the success criteria together.

• Work through the example out loud, saying why you do each step, not just what you do.
• Example: What is the rhyme scheme of this stanza? A ship sailed out Into the night Its lantern swung A point of light
• Step 1: Look at the last word of each line and match the rhymes.
• Step 2: End words: out, night, swung, light
• Step 3: So the answer is: ABCB
• Answer: ABCB
• Pause after each step and ask a student to say what comes next.

• Do these together. Students try each step on whiteboards before you reveal it.
• Use the hints as prompts rather than giving the answer.

1. What is the rhyme scheme of this stanza? The city wakes at nine With traffic in a line The pigeons claim the square And sunlight warms the air (AABB / ABCB / ABAC / ABBA) → AABBPrompt: Label the first line's end sound A. Give a new letter to each new end sound.
2. Type the rhyme scheme of this stanza using capital letters (for example ABAB). I found a shell today And took it home to stay It whispers of the sea And all it used to be → AABBPrompt: Write down the last word of each line.

• Students work on the student sheet. Circulate and check the first two answers of every student early.
• Students who finish: write a question of their own for a partner, with the answer.

The 6 questions are on the student sheet below, with answers in the key.

• Two questions on their own. Sort answers into got it / nearly / not yet to plan the next lesson.

1. Type the rhyme scheme of this stanza using capital letters (for example ABAB). The city wakes at nine With traffic in a line The pigeons claim the square And sunlight warms the air → AABBPrompt: Write down the last word of each line.
2. What is the rhyme scheme of this stanza? The window glows with candlelight Outside, the snow is falling A voice is calling through the night And still the wind is calling (ABBA / AABB / ABAC / ABAB) → ABABPrompt: Label the first line's end sound A. Give a new letter to each new end sound.

Free online practice with hints and printable worksheets for this skill: eurekami.com/english/grade-10.