Literature Circle Worksheet for 14-Year-Olds — Travel Brochure Analysis & Grand Canal Project (ELA, Geography)

Instructions

Read the travel brochure about Peru below. Your task is to analyze this text from a specific point of view, based on the "Literature Circle" role you are assigned. After completing your individual role sheet, you will work with your group to combine your findings and apply what you've learned to a new creative task.

Travel Brochure: Experience Peru!

Amazon Rainforest Tour
A short flight from Cusco takes you from the Andes into the Amazon rainforest. From there, you'll spend one day travelling by boat to your accommodation in the middle of the forest. You can then spend three days exploring the rainforest with a local guide and enjoying the plants and animals unique to the rainforest.

Machu Picchu Tour
This four-day walking tour will take you on amazing paths through the Andes Mountains on the way to the city of Machu Picchu. After reaching your destination, you will have a day to explore and be amazed by this ancient city. Especially amazing is the Incas' dry stone method of building. Inca builders cut stones to exact sizes so that nothing was needed to hold walls together other than the perfect fit of the stones.

Cusco Tour
Spend four days enjoying the unique Spanish and local Indian culture high in the Andes at Cusco, the capital of the Inca Empire from the 13th until the 16th century. Stay in a local hotel, visit the museums, admire the architecture, enjoy the excellent local food and go shopping at the local markets.

Lake Titicaca Tour
Enjoy the beautiful countryside as you spend a day driving along the new highway connecting Cusco to Lake Titicaca. There, a boat will take you to stay with a local Uros family on an island for three days. Both the island and the Uros homes are made of water plants from the lake.

So come and experience what Peru has to offer: everything from the ancient Inca culture and centuries-old Spanish villages to deep rainforests, high mountains, and a beautiful coastline.
For more brochures about other package tours around Peru, please contact us on our official website.

Literature Circle Role Sheets

Complete the tasks for your assigned role below.

Role 1: Discussion Director

Your job is to understand the "big picture" of the text. You focus on the main ideas, structure, and overall purpose. You will lead the group discussion using your findings.

1. Main Purpose: What is the main goal of this brochure? Who is the intended audience?
2. Text Structure: How is the information organized? Describe the function of each part (e.g., the tour descriptions, the final paragraph).
3. Persuasive Strategy: How does the brochure convince people to visit Peru? What feeling or mood does it try to create?
4. Discussion Questions: Write three thought-provoking questions to ask your group about the brochure. For example, "Which tour sounds the most appealing and why?" or "What information is missing that you would want to know before booking a trip?"
   • Question 1:
   • Question 2:
   • Question 3:

Role 2: Language Master (Vocabulary & Phrases)

Your job is to pay close attention to the specific words and phrases used in the text. You look for powerful, interesting, or persuasive language.

1. Powerful Adjectives: Find at least five adjectives used to make the tours sound exciting or special. (e.g., "short")
2. Action Verbs: List five strong verbs that tell the reader what they will do or experience. (e.g., "exploring")
3. Evocative Phrases: An evocative phrase creates a strong picture or feeling in the reader's mind. Find two examples from the text. Explain the image or feeling each phrase creates.
   • Phrase 1:
   • Explanation:
   
   
   • Phrase 2:
   • Explanation:
4. Key Terms: Define the following terms in the context of the brochure:
   • Accommodation:
   • Architecture:
   • Ancient:

Role 3: Language Master (Sentences & Grammar)

Your job is to analyze how sentences are constructed to create a certain effect. You focus on sentence patterns, grammar, and tone.

1. Sentence Length: Does the author use mostly long or short sentences? Find one example of a short, simple sentence and one example of a longer, more complex sentence. What is the effect of using both?
2. Imperative Mood: The imperative mood is used for commands or invitations (e.g., "Come to Peru!"). Find three examples of imperative sentences in the brochure. Why is this a good grammatical choice for a travel brochure?
3. Sentence Openers: Look at how the descriptions for the four tours begin. What do you notice about the opening words or phrases? How does this pattern affect the reader?
4. Overall Tone: Based on the sentence structure and grammar, describe the overall tone of the brochure. Is it formal, casual, exciting, relaxing? Use evidence from the text to support your answer.

Role 4: Researcher

Your job is to dig deeper into the facts and concepts mentioned in the text. You will do some brief research to provide your group with background information.

1. The Inca Empire: The brochure mentions the "Inca Empire" and "Cusco, the capital." Find and write down three interesting facts about the Inca Empire.
2. Dry Stone Method: Research the "Incas' dry stone method of building" mentioned in the Machu Picchu tour. In your own words, briefly explain what this is and why it is so "amazing."
3. Uros People: The Lake Titicaca tour mentions staying with a "local Uros family" on an island made of water plants. Research the Uros people. What is one unique aspect of their culture or way of life?
4. Application Research: For our group's next task, we will be creating a brochure for cities along the Grand Canal in China. Choose ONE of the following cities and find two interesting facts about it that could be used in a travel brochure: Beijing, Tianjin, Suzhou, or Hangzhou.

Group Application Task: The Grand Canal

Now, work together as a group. Your goal is to plan a new travel brochure for a tour of four cities along China's Grand Canal.

1. Share Your Findings: Each person should share the most important discoveries from their role sheet.
2. Brainstorm: Using the Researcher's findings about the Grand Canal cities, brainstorm key attractions for each city (Beijing, Tianjin, Suzhou, Hangzhou).
3. Plan Your Brochure: Use the Discussion Director's analysis of structure to outline your new brochure. Decide on a title, an introduction, four short descriptions (one for each city), and a concluding paragraph.
4. Draft One Section: As a group, use the Language Masters' findings on vocabulary and sentence structure to write a compelling description for ONE of the four cities. Focus on using powerful adjectives, action verbs, and an inviting tone.

Answer Key

Note: Many answers will vary. These are example responses.

Role 1: Discussion Director

1. Main Purpose: The main goal is to persuade people to book a tour in Peru. The intended audience is tourists or travelers interested in nature, history, and culture.
2. Text Structure: It starts with specific tour packages, each with a bolded title and a short descriptive paragraph. It ends with a concluding summary paragraph that highlights the variety Peru offers and a final "call to action" to contact them.
3. Persuasive Strategy: It uses positive, exciting language ("amazing paths," "unique culture") and focuses on experiences (exploring, enjoying, admiring). It creates a mood of adventure and discovery.
4. Discussion Questions (Examples):
   • Which tour uses the most persuasive language?
   • If you had to add a fifth tour to this brochure, what would it be and why?
   • Does the brochure provide enough detail for you to make a decision? What's missing?

Role 2: Language Master (Vocabulary & Phrases)

1. Powerful Adjectives: amazing, ancient, unique, excellent, beautiful, new, deep, high.
2. Action Verbs: exploring, enjoying, walking, admire, visit, stay, experience, spend.
3. Evocative Phrases (Examples):
   • Phrase 1: "in the middle of the forest" - Creates a feeling of being remote, surrounded by nature, and peaceful.
   • Phrase 2: "nothing was needed to hold walls together other than the perfect fit of the stones" - Creates an image of incredible skill, precision, and genius.
4. Key Terms:
   • Accommodation: A place to stay, like a hotel or lodge.
   • Architecture: The design and style of buildings.
   • Ancient: Belonging to the very distant past; very old.

Role 3: Language Master (Sentences & Grammar)

1. Sentence Length: The brochure uses a mix. A short sentence is "Stay in a local hotel." A longer sentence is "Especially amazing is the Incas' dry stone method of building, as Inca builders cut stones to exact sizes so that nothing was needed to hold walls together other than the perfect fit of the stones." The mix keeps the text from being boring and allows for both quick information and detailed descriptions.
2. Imperative Mood: "Spend four days...", "Stay in a local hotel...", "Enjoy the beautiful countryside...", "So come and experience...". This mood directly invites the reader to participate, making the text more personal and persuasive.
3. Sentence Openers: The tour descriptions often start with the experience itself ("A short flight...", "This four-day walking tour...", "Spend four days...", "Enjoy the beautiful countryside..."). This pattern immediately puts the reader into the action of the tour.
4. Overall Tone: The tone is inviting, exciting, and informative. It's casual enough to be welcoming but professional enough to be trustworthy. The use of imperatives ("Spend," "Enjoy") and positive adjectives ("amazing," "beautiful") contributes to an exciting and encouraging tone.

Role 4: Researcher

1. The Inca Empire (Examples): They were the largest empire in pre-Columbian America. They were masters of architecture and engineering, building extensive road systems. They had no written language, instead using a system of knotted cords called quipu.
2. Dry Stone Method: This is an architectural method where stones are cut to fit together perfectly without any mortar or cement. It is amazing because the precision required is incredible, and the resulting walls are extremely resistant to earthquakes, which are common in Peru.
3. Uros People (Example): A unique aspect is that their entire way of life revolves around the totora reeds that grow in Lake Titicaca. They use these reeds to build their floating islands, homes, boats, and even as a source of food.
4. Application Research (Example for Suzhou): 1. Suzhou is often called the "Venice of the East" because of its many canals, stone bridges, and classical gardens. 2. It is a major center for silk production in China, a tradition that is over 4,000 years old.