Name
Date
Critical Thinking Worksheet
We Real Cool
The Pool Players.
Seven at the Golden Shovel
We real cool. We
Left school. We
First, read for understanding and meaning. In two or three
sentences, summarize the poem.
• What is it about?
• What happens?
• Don’t interject opinion!
Lurk late. We
Strike straight. We
Sing sin. We
Thin gin. We
Jazz June. We
Die soon.
Next, dissect the argument.
• Why did Brooks write this poem? What is her
purpose?
• What conclusion(s) does the poem draw? What did
she want her audience to understand?
Finally, consider how your experience shapes your
understanding of the poem.
• Would your family want you to be the speakers of
this poem? Why or why not?
• Would you want to meet the speakers in this poem?
Why or why not?
• Whose life would you like to have, the speakers’ or
your own? Why?
Are the speakers on an adventure, or have they refused
the call? How do you know?