Article
Jarrett Lerner
Poetry,

A Circle of Sun

A poem that celebrates the joy of being alive

By Rebecca Kai Dotlich
From the May/June 2020 Issue

Learning Objective: Students will identify the exuberant mood of this descriptive, rhyming poem presented in a graphic format.

Featured Skill: Mood,
Common Core Standards
  • R.1, R.4, R.5, R.6, R.7, SL.1, SL.2, L.1
TEKS Standards
  • 1a, 1c, 4a, 6e, 6f, 6h, 6i, 7c, 7e, 7g, 9b, 9f, 10a, 10c, 10d, 12a

Presentation View
See Student View
Download and Print
Printable Poem

Want to hear this poem read aloud by a Storyworks Jr. writer? Find the audio read-aloud in your Resources tab. 

Want to hear this story read aloud by a Storyworks Jr. writer? Click here!

Read the Graphic Poem

I’m dancing.

I’m leaping.

I’m skipping about.

I gallop.

I grin.

I giggle.

I shout.

I’m Earth’s many colors.

I’m morning and night.

I’m honey on toast.

I’m funny.

I’m bright.

I’m swinging.

I’m singing

I wiggle.

I run.

I’m a piece of the sky in a circle of sun.

A mood is a feeling, like happiness or anger. What mood does this poem create?

Act out the poem with a family member or friend. One person reads the poem as the other acts it out (you can do this over video chat or in-person). Then switch places. Keep going. How many different movements or actions can you use to show what's happening in the poem?


From LEMONADE AND OTHER SUMMER POEMS by Rebecca Kai Dotlich. © Copyright 1998 by Rebecca Kai Dotlich. Reprinted by permission of Boyds Mills Press.

Audio ()
Activities (4)
Skills Activities
Answer Key (1)
Audio ()
Activities (4) Download All Quizzes and Activities
Skills Activities
Answer Key (1)
Can't Miss Teaching Extras
Watch This

Want more Rebecca Kai Dotlich? Share this 2-minute read-aloud of another of Rebecca’s pieces called “One Day, The End,” where she tells some of the shortest stories ever written. In fact, each of them is only two sentences! Ask your students to choose one of the stories and write the middle part, using the sentences as the beginning and end.                       

From Our Archives

You have access to another Rebecca Kai Dotlich poem, “Wild Home” from the September 2019 issue. Re-visit this poem to compare and contrast the two. 

Check This Out

Get to know more about Rebecca Kai Dotlich and her journey to become a poet here. 

Meet the Artist

At the website of Jarrett Lerner, you’ll not only meet the cartoonist who illustrated the poem, but you’ll also find more of his fun comics along with great kids’ activities.

More About the Article

Key Skills

Mood, text features, key details, interpreting text, rhyme, supporting an opinion

Step-by-Step Lesson Plan
Download the Lesson Plan

1. PREPARING TO READ

Set a Purpose for Reading (10 minutes)

  • Begin by reading the explanation of the skill focus—mood—with the class. As students read, they should look for words that create the special mood, or feeling, of this poem.
  • Point out the comic-strip-style panels of the poem. Ask: How does this poem look different from other poems you’ve seen?
  • As they read, students should think about what the pictures in each panel add to the experience of reading the poem
  • Some of the lines in this poem rhyme. Ask students to look for the rhyming words at the ends of the lines as they read.

2. READING AND DISCUSSING

  • Read the poem to the class, play the audio version, or use text-to-speech.
  • Next, ask students to take turns reading aloud each panel in the poem.
  • Discuss the Close-Reading and Critical-Thinking Questions.

Close-Reading and Critical-Thinking Questions (15 minutes)

  • Look at the first two panels. How does the art in these panels help you understand what is happening in this part of the poem? (text features) The pictures show two children performing the actions described by the poem.
  • Which words in the first two panels describe the children’s actions? (key details) dancing, leaping, skipping, gallop, grin, giggle, shout
  • How do the children probably feel as they perform these different actions? (mood) They probably feel very happy and playful.
  • Look at the third panel. Why does the speaker compare him- or herself to “Earth’s many colors” and to “morning and night” in these lines? (interpreting text) Answers will vary. Students may say that the speaker feels like a part of nature—like all the colors that exist in the world and like day and night.
  • Look at the fourth panel. What feeling do you get about the speaker from reading the words “I’m honey on toast”? (mood) Answers will vary but may include: You get a feeling of someone sweet and good.
  • Which words in the last three panels rhyme? (rhyme) swinging, singing; run, sun
  • What is the mood of the poem? Discuss the words and pictures of the poem in your answer. (mood) The mood is joyful and carefree. The actions described in the poem and shown in the pictures are fun, like skipping, grinning, and running. The speaker seems to be a happy, active person who is glad to be a part of nature.
  • How is the poem different from other poems you’ve read? Do you like the way this poem is set up? Explain your answer. (text features/supporting an opinion) The poem is set up as a comic strip. The pictures in the panels show what’s happening in the poem. Answers will vary for the rest of the question.

3. SKILL BUILDING

  • Distribute our Mood Skill Builder.
  • Look online for a template that students can use to create their own graphic poems!

Text-to-Speech