Getting to know your students is a significant element of every new school year. Instead of filling out a survey or information sheet, I prefer to include some creative writing opportunities! My favorite activities include writing poetry and using an I Am Poem Sample for students!
While not every student relishes the chance to write poetry, most will at least fill in the blank. I can handle that, especially at the beginning of the year!
Keep reading for an I Am Poem Sample and 3 Dynamic Activities!
Need help with Test Prep? Check out this FREE Pack of 3 Test Prep Activities to help students achieve success on standardized tests!
First Things First: I Am Poem Sample (NOT)
I love this twist on a typical I Am Poem Sample! Instead, we have an I AM NOT Poem by Kristin Menke that your upper middle and high school students will easily understand and relate to! In the three activities below, you can use this poem as a guide!
I Am Not by Kristin Menke
I am not someone you think of
when you think of someone cool
I don’t have that appeal some have
when they go back to school
I am not the smart kid in the room
I hide beneath my hood
I sure don’t want to sit and read
even if I should
I am not the peppy kid
I don’t have that much fun
I am not the athlete
Who will run and run and run
I am not the scientist
Who peers beneath the glass
To log every minute speck
Nah, I’ll take a pass
I am not the guy who takes
the stage in some spotlight
and sings a pretty Broadway tune
I’d die of sudden fright
I am not the girl who dresses
like those in my scroll
I am not the one who leers
and becomes a keyboard troll
I am not the one who has
all the feels on the first day
Or listens to the chatter
which repels me I must say
I am not the one who sticks out
to anyone at all
And I promise it’s okay
I’m satisfied to stay small
If you want the poem in PDF format, see it here!
3 Dynamic Activities & the I Am Poem Sample
1. Quickwrite
I love to start off teaching poetry with some pre-reading and pre-writing prompts. I use them to encourage students to think critically about whatever we are about to explore.
To assist students in the writing and reading process, you could begin with these questions:
- What 5-10 words describe you?
- How might others describe you in 20 words or less?
- What do you enjoy doing?
- What activities do you dislike?
- What motivates you in life?
- How do you see your future?
- How might you characterize your past?
- How have you changed over the last 5 years? Or within the last year?
- What 7 adjectives best convey your personality?
- What 8 verbs best relay how you move about in your life?
When students reflect on their own lives, they almost instantly become more invested in the lesson! Beginning this way will make preparing for the I Am Poem Sample a tad simpler!
Check out other poetry ideas for the New Year!
2. Poetry Analysis
There are so many options for analyzing poetry, and the go-to approach does NOT have to be locating poetry devices. I mean, identifying poetic devices like metaphor, simile, personification, alliteration, assonance, oxymoron, onomatopoeia, hyperbole, end rhyme, etc., can be quite fun; however, the purpose behind a device’s use and its meaning is WAY MORE important in the long run!
For example, if a poem uses a simile, that is fine and all, but if a student cannot comment on its meaning and purpose, what’s the point?
Because teaching poetry like the I Am Poem Sample above can be arduous, you may want to scaffold:
- Summarizing: I enjoy having students write 1-sentence summary statements based on textual evidence for each stanza. You can assign a specific stanza to a group of students or have students examine all 8 stanzas from the I Am Poem Sample!
- Visualizing: Offer students the opportunity to visualize a stanza or the whole poem in a direct way or as a response to the poem. Ensure that they focus on the evidence and compare their visuals to those of other students.
- Devices: Identify poetry devices. Ex. “I hide beneath my hood” >>> Alliteration- This device highlights how the speaker feels; he/she is quiet and reserved, content to be invisible to others. Remember, we want students to delve into meaning!
See here for I Am Poem Sample Resources!
3. Poetry Writing
Some students love writing poetry. I was “that” girl who enjoyed writing poetry in her journal, and I still might be her today 🙂
Other students, however, despise writing poetry, but usually it is because starting and writing a poem is incredibly hard! That is why I am a fan of templates! When students can see a template with lines to write in, they will be more amenable to writing poetry!
Additionally, even some of my most reluctant students enjoy sharing their writing with other students. There is no need to have an entire day devoted to reading their poems; students can share in pairs or in small groups!
See here for teaching with a template and the I Am Poem Sample!
I Am Poem Sample Resource
Want to help your upper middle and high school students personally connect to poetry with a not-so-typical I AM POEM template? Check out this poetry activities pack to guide your students in poetry analysis of 2 I Am Poems, assist students with self-reflection in an engaging getting to know you worksheet, and aid in producing poetry writing with EASE!
Use for BACK TO SCHOOL or within a FULL POETRY UNIT!
Poetry Test Prep Resource
Do your students need help with poetry analysis? This POETRY TEST PREP ULTIMATE BUNDLE contains 22 EASY-TO-TEACH Lessons, ENGAGING Reading Comprehension Activities, STEP-BY-STEP Writing Responses, and TEST PREP QUIZZES with 235 QUESTIONS and ANSWERS (for 22 poems including “A Poison Tree,” “Annabel Lee,” “I Hear America Singing,” “The Raven,” “I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud,” “The Weary Blues,” etc.)!
Integrate poetry comprehension, test prep, and analysis easily and effectively!
Need an I am Poem Sample and other poetry activities? Check out my store, Kristin Menke-Integrated ELA Test Prep!
