“I Am” and “I Am From” Poem Examples and Activities

What are “I Am” and “I Am From” poem examples and activities?

“I Am” and “I Am From” poems celebrate identity, culture, and history.

Whether you’re meeting your students at the start of the year, honoring their resilience after a challenging school year, or want to integrate social-emotional wellbeing and reflection, writing an “I Am” or “I Am From” poem is a wonderful solution!

Remember, “I Am” and “I Am From” poems can be a powerful tool for introducing students to one another, learning about their needs, understanding their backgrounds, and gaining a sense of their feelings and emotions.

Examples

“I Am” and “I Am” from poems are a great way to integrate repetition, rhyme, or free verse poetry into your classroom. Writers can use a variety of strategies to give their poems a specific effect for those who read it.

Here’s a sample “I Am” Poem:

“I am brave.
I am kind.
I am smart.
I am silly.
I have heart!”

Here’s a sample “I Am From” poems:

“I am from a place that has jungles and big trees.
I am from a land that buzzes with bees.
I am from a place where there’s lots of color.
I am from a city that gets better and better!”

Here’s an excerpt from George Ella Lyon’s “Where I’m From:”

“I am from the forsythia bush,
the Dutch elm
whose long gone limbs I remember
as if they were my own.”

This poem is more abstract and a great way to push young poets to use their critical and creative thinking skills.

Ready to get your students started?

Use any of our printable templates or use one of our activities below to provide students with an example of an “I Am” or “I Am From” poem.

Instructional Uses and Strategies

Start Small: Since “I Am” and “I Am From” poems can be personal, it’s important to create a safe space for brainstorming. Learners should be encouraged to share details about themselves that will help people understand who they are. By reminding poets to be flexible and thoughtful, they can generate poems that can lead to meaningful takeaways for their peers and build their confidence.

Integrate Interviews: Sometimes students find it challenging to write about themselves, so interviewing a classmate and writing an “I Am” poem for them can be a great way to facilitate collaboration. Imagine these poetry buddies getting to know one another and then creating a work of poetry?! Amazing! Strategies such as these can also build classroom community and forge connections between students.

Social Emotional Learning: In addition to being heavily tied to identity, “I Am” poems can also be used to help students express their emotions. When students have rich, diverse vocabulary to communicate their feelings, this can enable them to have better relationship skills and can benefit them in many other ways.

Check out our “I Am” poem examples and activities below!