Directions: Read these poems and answer the questions that follow.
Rain Sizes Rain in Ohio
By John Ciardi By Mary Oliver
Rain comes in various sizes. The robin cries: rain!
Some rain is small as a mist. The crow calles: plunder!
It tickles your face with surprises,
And tingles as if you’d been kissed. The black snake climbing
in the vines halts
5 Some rain is the size of a sprinkle 5 his long ladder of muscle
And doesn’t put out all the sun.
You can see the drops sparkle and twinkle. while the thunderheads whirl up
And a rainbow comes out when it’s done. out of the white west,
Some rain is as big as a nickel their dark hooves nicking
10 And comes with a crash and a hiss. the tall trees as they come.
It comes down too heavy to tickle.
It’s more like a splash than a kiss. 10 Rain, rain, rain! sings the robin
frantically, then flies for cover.
When it rains the right size and you’re wrapped in
Your rain clothes, it’s fun out of doors. The crow hunches.
15 But run home before you get trapped in The black snake
The big rain that rattles and roars.
pours himself swift and heavy
15 into the ground.
Use “Rain Sizes” to answer questions 1 - 6.
1. Which statement describes the pattern of rhyme in this poem?
a. The first and third and second and fourth lines in each stanza rhyme.
b. The first and second lines in each stanza rhyme.
c. All four lines in each stanza have the same rhyme.
d. The first and second and third and fourth lines in each stanza rhyme.
2. Which description of rain is a simile?
a. Rain comes in various sizes (line 1)
b. Some rain is the size of a sprinkle (line 5)
c. And a rainbow comes out when it’s done (line 8)
d. Some rain is as big as a nickel (line 9)
3. In line 4, the speaker uses a simile to compare the misty rain to --
a. someone’s face
b. a kiss
c. a surprise
d. rainbows
4. Which phrase from the poem is an examples of onomatopoeia?
a. Tickles your face (line 3)
b. Put out all the sun (line 6)
c. Run home before (line 15)
d. Rattles and roars (line 16)
5. Which image appeals to your sense of hearing?
a. Some rain is as small as a mist.
b. You can see the drops sparkle and twinkle.
c. And comes with a crash and a hiss.
d. It comes down too heavy to tickle.
6. You can infer that the speaker in “Rain Sizes” --
a. does not notice the rain
b. enjoys all types of rain
c. stays indoors when it rains
d. wishes the sun would come out
Use “Rain in Ohio” to answer questions 7 - 11.
7. In line 5, the speaker uses the metaphor “his long ladder of muscle” to emphasize the snake’s --
a. length and power
b. speed and cunning
c. size and dangerousness
d. scaling skin and strong back
8. Read lines 6 - 9.
“while the thunderheads whirl up
out of the white west,
their dark hooves nicking
the tall trees as they come.”
What are the thunderheads being compared to?
a. Tumbleweeds rolling
b. Wagons rumbling
c. Horses galloping
d. Trees swaying
9. Read lines 10 - 11.
“Rain, rain, rain! sings the robin
frantically, then flies for cover.”
You can infer that when the robin sings “rain, rain, rain!” it is --
a. expressing joy c. signaling its location
b. sounding a warning d. looking for a friend
10. The metaphor in lines 13 - 15 compares the black snake’s movement to --
a. flowing liquid
b. distant thunder
c. heavy rains
d. the still air
11. What can you infer about how the birds and the snake feel about the approaching storm?
a. Curious
b. Confused
c. Fearful
d. Happy
Use both selections to answer questions 12 - 15.
12. In both poems, the descriptions of rain --
a. are scientific
b. include vivid imagery
c. use the same metaphors
d. have rhyming words
13. The Latin word quiritare means “to shriek or scream.” What word in the poems comes from the word
quiritare?
a. Calls
b. Cries
c. Rattles
d. Roars
14. The prefix co- means “with,” and the Latin word operire means “to close completely.” What word in the
poems comes from the Latin word cooperire.
a. Cover
b. Crow
c. Ground
d. Home
After you have answered the questions, make sure you put your answers into the Google Form in
Google Classroom!!
