1. Annotating a Poem 2XC Poetry Out Loud

2. The Title Reflect on the poem’s title. Circle the title of the poem and make a quick list of associations with the title. What does the title suggest the poem will be about? Write “I think the poem will be about ___________________” in the margin beside the title.

3. Paraphrase Beside each stanza, put into your own words what is happening or what is being said. In essence, paraphrase or summarize the poem.

4. Structure Annotate how the poem is structured. Is it in question/ answer format? Birth to death format? Changing of seasons format? Idea and evidence format?

5. Favorite Line Find your favorite line from the poem and underline it. Beside that line, write a note about why you like it. Why is this line important to the poem? Answer in the margin beside it.

6. Confusing Lines Highlight any lines that are confusing to you. Beside each line, make an educated guess about what you think the line is saying. Write notes in the margins.

7. Speaker/ Setting Skim the poem and draw a BOX around any pronouns you see:  I  You  He  She  It  Me  Us  They  Them Who is speaking in the poem and where? Whose voice is it? At the bottom of the poem, write who is speaking and as much information as you have about where, when, and why.

8. Rhyme Scheme Go through the poem and label the rhyme scheme. If the poem does not have a rhyme scheme, why? Write a note at the bottom about the effect of the poem’s lack of rhyme scheme. If the poem rhymes, how does the rhyme scheme effect the meaning? Answer at the bottom.

9. Tone Go through the poem and CIRCLE any words or phrases that have tone (attitude)/ i.e. any words that carry any emotion or negativity/ positivity At the top of the poem, write the overall tone.

10. Literary Techniques Go through the poem and label techniques (such as alliteration, simile, metaphor, irony, etc.). Also note the effect of these techniques (emotions, themes, atmosphere, tone, etc.). You must go beyond simply identification and get to the reason why the author added in that technique… to emphasize what?

11. Patterns Look for patterns in the text and HIGHLIGHT them. (i.e. images of death, images of nature, repeated sounds, etc.) At the bottom of the poem, answer the question: What kind of patterns are emerging in the poem?

12. Interpretation Assert an interpretation of the poem- What’s it about? Write a paragraph at the bottom of the poem. Begin with theme and explain how that message is created in the poem using some of the items you have annotated. (8-10 sentences for full credit)