Literature Circles for Poetry

Summarizer

Name _____________________________ Circle

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Title of the poem: ____________________Author

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Summarizer: Your job is to prepare a brief summary of the poem. Your group
presentation will start with your 1-2 minute statement that covers the key points,
.main highlights, and general idea of today’s poem

:Summary
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:Key Points

1. ________________________________________________________________

2. ________________________________________________________________

3. ________________________________________________________________

4. ________________________________________________________________

5. ________________________________________________________________
Connections: Did today’s reading remind you of anything? Explain.
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 Literature Circles for Poetry

Questioner/Discussion Director

Name _____________________________ Circle ___________________

Title of the poem: ________________ Author's name _______________

Questioner/Discussion Director: Your job is to develop a list of questions that your

group might want to discuss about the poem. Don’t worry about the small details;
your task is to help people talk over the big ideas in the poem and share their
responses. Usually the best discussion questions come from your own thoughts,
feelings, and concerns as you read. You can list them below during or after your
reading.

Possible discussion questions or topics for today:

1. ________________________________________________________________

2. ________________________________________________________________

3. ________________________________________________________________

4. ________________________________________________________________

5. ________________________________________________________________

Topics to be carried over to next discussion:

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 Literature Circles for Poetry

Connector

Name _____________________________ Circle __________________

Title of the poem: ________________ Author's name _______________

Your job is to find connections between the poem and yourself, and between the
poem and the wider world.

Consider the list below when you make your connections.

• Your own past experiences

• Happenings at school or in the community

• Stories in the news

• Similar events at other times and places

• Other people or problems that you are reminded of

• Between this poem and other writings on the same topic or by the same author

Some connections I made between this reading and my own experiences, the wider
world, and other texts or authors, are:
 Literature Circles for Poetry

Illustrator

Name _____________________________ Circle _____________________________

Title of the poem: ________________ Author's name _______________________

Illustrator: Good readers make pictures in their minds as they read. This is a chance
to share some of your own images and visions. Draw some kind of picture related to
the poem you have just read. It can be a sketch, cartoon, diagram, flowchart, or stick
figure scene. You can draw a picture of something that happened in the poem, or
something that you were reminded of while reading, or a picture that conveys any
idea or feeling you got from the poem. Any kind of drawing or graphic is okay – you
can even label things with words if that helps. Presentation Plan: Whenever it fits in
the conversation, show your drawing to your group. You don’t have to explain it
immediately. You can let people speculate what your picture means, so they can
connect your drawing to their own ideas about the poem. After everyone has had a
say, you can always have the last word: tell them what your picture means, refer to
the parts in the text that you used, and/or convey what it represents to you.
 Literature Circles for Poetry

Travel Tracer

Name _____________________________ Circle _____________________________

Title of the poem: ________________ Author's name ______________________

Travel Tracer: When you are reading the poem, it is important for everyone in your
group to know about the setting. That’s your job: carefully track the different places
in the poem. Describe each setting in detail, either in words or with an action map or
diagram. While you may use this sheet, you may find that you need to use an
additional sheet. If that is the case, be sure to staple any additional sheets to this
role sheet. Also, always give the line numbers where the scene is described.
 Literature Circles for Poetry

Vocabulary Enricher/Word Wizard

Name _____________________________ Circle _____________________________

Title of the poem: ________________ Author's name _______________________

Vocabulary Enricher/Word Wizard: The words a writer chooses are an important

ingredient of the author’s craft. Your job is to be on the lookout for a few words that
have special meaning in today’s poem.

• Jot down puzzling or unfamiliar words while you are reading. Later, look up the
definitions in either a dictionary or some other source.

• You may also run across words that stand out somehow in the reading – words
that are repeated a lot, used in an unusual way, or are crucial to the meaning of the
text. Mark these special words, too, and be ready to share your ideas on their usage
to the group. Note: When discussing vocabulary, you should always refer back to the
text in order to examine the word in context. Make sure you take notes of the line
number in which any special vocabulary occurs.
 Literature Circles for Poetry

Literary Luminary

Name _____________________________ Circle _____________________________

Title of the poem: ________________ Author's name _____________________

Literary Luminary: Your job is to locate a few special sections or quotations in the
poem for your group to talk over. The idea is to help people go back to some
especially interesting, powerful, funny, puzzling, or important sections of the poem
and think about them more carefully. As you decide which lines or stanzas are worth
going back to, make a note why you picked each one and consider some plans for
how they should be shared. You can read passages aloud yourself, ask someone else
to read them, or have people read them silently and then discuss. Remember, the
purpose is to suggest material for discussion.
 Literature Circles for Using Poetry

Researcher

Name _____________________________ Circle_______________________

Title of the poem: ________________ Author's name __________________

Researcher: Your job is to dig up some background information on any relevant

topic related to the poem. This might include

• The geography, weather, culture, or history of the poem's setting

• Pertinent information about the author and other related works

• Information about the time period portrayed in the poem

• Information on any topics or events represented in the poem

• Information on any topics or events that may have influenced the author

• Pictures, objects, or materials that illustrate elements of the book

• The history and derivation of words or names used in the book

• Information about any character that is based on a historical person

This is not a formal research report. The idea is to find some information or material
that helps your group understand the poem better. Investigate something that really
interests you – something that struck you as puzzling or curious while you were
reading.

Ways of gathering information:

• The introduction or preface of the book from which the poem is extracted.

• Library books and magazines

• On-line computer search or encyclopedia

• Interviews with people who know the topic

• Other poems, novels, nonfiction, or textbooks you’ve read