1. Poetry Glossary
Grade 6 Poetry Unit

2. Poetry Order of Operations
Structure
Descriptive Language
Figurative Language
Sensory Detail
Imagery
Sound Devices
Mood
Tone
Author’s Purpose OR Theme

3. Structure The way that a poem is put together on a page. Look for…
-How many stanzas?
-How many lines within each stanza?
-Do the stanzas and lines follow a pattern, or are they randomized?
*The structure can tell the type of poem.

4. Stanza
A group of two or more lines that form a unit in a poem.

5. Line
A group of words that make up stanzas

6. Simile A comparison between two unlike objects using “like” or “as.”
“I was as thirsty as a camel.”
Similes are used to make a point of comparison, by showing, not telling.

7. Metaphor
A comparison between two unlike objects that states one thing is another.
His imagination was a galaxy.
The metaphor makes a comparison between an imagination and a galaxy, to make the point that his/her imagination goes on forever.

8. Personification
A figure of speech that gives human qualities to nonliving things.
The tree sobbed as its friend was being chopped down.
Personification helps to bring inanimate objects poetry to life.

9. Free Verse Poem
A type of poetry that does not follow traditional rules about lines, rhythm, or rhyme. Oftentimes free-verse poetry sounds more like everyday speech.