AusVELS Levels: 5&6 Year: 2014 Term: 3 Duration of Unit: Lessons 7 4 of 7: Learning about line breaks

I understand how authors often innovate on text structures to achieve particular purposes and effects.

Crayon Poem by James Carter ( rayon-poem) rayon-poem

Line Breaks

It is the line and where it is broken that helps make the music and rhythm of a poem

Line Breaks It is the line and where it is broken that helps make the music and rhythm of a poem You can break a line in the following ways

Line Breaks It is the line and where it is broken that helps make the music and rhythm of a poem You can break a line in the following ways According to your natural breath

Line Breaks It is the line and where it is broken that helps make the music and rhythm of a poem You can break a line in the following ways According to your natural breath To emphasise a particular word or words

Line Breaks It is the line and where it is broken that helps make the music and rhythm of a poem You can break a line in the following ways According to your natural breath To emphasise a particular word or words To counter your natural breath and create tension

Line Break Activity 1 Using the following line (She loved the sound of the wind in the trees.) – divide it with line breaks in 3 different ways Discuss how the meaning of the line changes depending on where the lines are broken

Line Break Activity 2 With a partner read the poem ‘Crickets’ by Valerie Worth (Crickets talks in the tall grass all late summer long when summer is gone. The dry grass whispers alone.) Where does your voice naturally pause? Make slash marks with your pen to indicate the line breaks. Try it 2 or 3 ways

Line Break Activity 2 Now look at the original line breaks again – why do you think the poet wrote the poem to look, and sound, like this?

No line breaksAuthor’s version Crickets talks in the tall grass all late summer long when summer is gone. The dry grass whispers alone. Crickets Talks In the tall Grass All Late summer Long When Summer Is gone. The dry Grass Whispers Alone.

No line breaksAuthor’s version Crickets talks in the tall grass all late summer long when summer is gone. The dry grass whispers alone.

Explain how can you use your knowledge of line breaks to create your own poetry?