Name:
Skill : Reading Poetry
A Good Play
by Robert Louis Stevenson
Directions: Read the poem aloud, then answer the related questions.
We built a ship upon the stairs
All made of the back-bedroom chairs,
And filled it full of sofa pillows
To go a-sailing on the billows.
We took a saw and several nails,
And water in the nursery pails;
And Tom said, "Let us also take
An apple and a slice of cake;"—
Which was enough for Tom and me
To go a-sailing on, till tea.
We sailed along for days and days,
And had the very best of plays;
But Tom fell out and hurt his knee,
So there was no one left but me.
1. What is the rhyme scheme of the poem?
a. AABB CCDDEE FFEE
b. ABCD EFGH IJKH
c. ABBA CCDDAA EEFF
2. Where did the narrator and his friend build the ship?
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3. How old do you think the characters of this poem might be? How do you know?
a. 7 yrs. b. 17 yrs. c. 70 yrs.
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4. What are the children doing in the poem?
a. falling
b. sailing
c. imaginative playing
5. Is the narrator a character in the poem? How do you know?
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© Copyright 2014: http://www.biglearners.com. All rights reserved. CCSS RF.5.4.B- Reading : Foundational Skills
Answer Key
Skill : Reading Poetry
Descriptive answers may vary.
A Good Play
by Robert Louis Stevenson
1. What is the rhyme scheme of the poem?
a. AABB CCDDEE FFEE
2. Where did the narrator and his friend build the ship?
Upon the stairs.
3. How old do you think the characters of this poem might be? How do you know?
a. 7 yrs.
It is very unlikely that a 17 or 70 year-old will be playing imaginary games.
4. What are the children doing in the poem?
c. imaginative playing
5. Is the narrator a character in the poem? How do you know?
Yes, the narrator is one of the characters in the poem because the poem is told from the
first-person point of view.
© Copyright 2014: http://www.biglearners.com. All rights reserved. CCSS RF.5.4.B- Reading : Foundational Skills