Fifth-graders can often identify rhyme without being able to define it. Rhyme is the repetition of sounds at the end of words, normally after the last stressed syllable. Contrast an obvious rhyme, such as "well" and "bell," with a less obvious example such as "romances" and "chances." Explain that rhyme scheme refers to the pattern of end rhymes, indicated with a letter for each rhyme. Distribute examples of a poem with a strong rhyme scheme such as Charles Ghigna's "A Symphony of Trees." Read it aloud while students mark the rhyming words with letters. Show them the correct rhyme scheme before distributing more poems for them to mark with rhyme scheme.
Certain poetic forms feature a standard rhyme scheme. Quatrains rhyme, for example, but in differing patterns. Give students two or three different quatrain-driven poems such as "John Henry," a ballad style, or Robert Frost's "Stopping by the Woods on a Snowy Evening." Discuss how the differing rhyme schemes affect the mood of the poems. A high-interest poetic form is the limerick. Introduce fifth-graders to the limericks of Edward Lear, who popularized the form. Have them analyze the limericks for rhyme scheme – AABBA, exclusively – before discussing the sing-song effect the pattern creates.
Rhyme schemes depend on gradations of rhymes. Most feature hard, or masculine, rhymes such as "doubt" and "out." Feminine rhymes, those with rhyming sounds in unstressed syllables such as "stirring" and "whirring," are also true rhymes. Sometimes poets use slant or half-rhymes. These are the words such as "tell" and "mole," whose ending consonant sounds are the same while the vowel sounds are not. For purposes of rhyme scheme, slant rhymes count the same as true rhymes and receive the same letter mark. Monorhymes offer an interesting aside in rhyme scheme: they feature only one rhyme in each stanza. William Blake's "Silent, Silent Night" is an example of monorhyme.
The concept of rhyme scheme becomes cemented in fifth-graders' learning when they experiment with the technique. Limericks are a useful form for this lesson. Display a limerick in which the first rhyme is given but the other ending words are omitted. Brainstorm as a class words that fit. Following the limerick structure, create a limerick as a class before asking the students to attempt their own. Rhyming dictionaries can help, as can websites such as Rhyme Zone. Encourage students to experiment with rhyming poetry using quatrains or longer poems.