Where I’m From Poem

Learning intention
 To write a poem about what makes you the person you are.

Success criteria
 My poem is at least 16 lines long.

 My poem includes specific details and creative word choices.

 My poem conveys who I am.

Content
Today we are going to begin writing a poem about identity and where you are

from. Not just literally where you are from, but what makes you the person you

are.

Tasks
1. Plan your poem

Choose 5 topics from the following list. Copy the pre-writing organiser into

your writing log. Write the 5 topics in the table. Then, you are then to expand,

and dot point 3 things about that particular thing. These may be examples,

feelings and emotions, or adjectives.

Favourite memory Favourite song/type Favourite food at Favourite family

from when you were of music parties or tradition
little celebrations
Favourite story, Best adjective to Specific story about Favourite family
novel, or poem that describe your family a specific family game or activity
you will never forget member that
influenced you
Words or phrases Words or phrases The best thing The worst thing
that you say often that people often you’ve ever been you’ve ever been
say to you told told
Item you’ve had for Important religious Greatest joy Biggest loss
years and cannot symbols or
live without experiences
 2. Draft your poem

Select from your prewriting organizer the information you would like to include

in your poem. You do not have to include everything from your notes, and you

can always add more information to your poem as you go along. Use the

example poems as models for your writing if you get stuck.

You can use the template provided to you to help get your poem started.

However, feel free to make it your own. You do not need to strictly follow the

template

Pre-writing Organiser
Topic Expand
Template
You can use the template provided to you to help get your poem started. However, feel
free to make it your own. You do not need to strictly follow the template. Use
information from your prewriting interview when possible.

Your final poem should be at least 16 lines long.

First stanza

I am from (specific ordinary item) _______________________________________________________

From (product name) __________________ and (another product name) ___________________
I’m from the (home description) ________________________________________________________
(Adjectives that describe the above home description) _______________, ________________
It (tasted, sounded, looked, felt – choose one) ___________________________________________
I’m from the (plant, flower, or natural item) _____________________________________________
the (plant, flower, or natural item) _______________________________________________________
(description of natural item) _____________________________________________________________
I’m from the (family tradition) ____________________ and (family trait) ___________________
From (name of family member) _________ and (name of family member) _____________
and (another name) _____________________
I’m from the (description of family tendency) ______________________________
and (another family tendency) _____________________________________

Second stanza
From (something you were told as a child) _________________________________________ and
(another thing you were told as a child) ________________________________________________
I’m from (representation of religious or spiritual beliefs or lack of it) __________________,
(further description of spiritual beliefs) _________________________________________________
I’m from (place of birth and family ancestry) ____________________________________________
(two food items that represent your ancestry) _______________ and ____________________
From the (specific family story with a detail about a specific person) ____________
_________________________________________________________________________________________
the (another detail of another family member) _________________________________________
(location of family pictures) ____________________________________________________________
I am from (general statement with a metaphor or simile about who you are or where
you are from)
_________________________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________________________
Examples
Where I’m From
By George Ella Lyon

I am from clothespins
from Clorox and carbon-tetrachloride.
I am from the dirt under the back porch.
(Black, glistening,
it tasted like beets.)
I am from the forsythia bush
the Dutch elm
whose long-gone limbs I remember
as if they were my own.
I’m from fudge and eyeglasses,
from Imogene and Alafair.
I’m from the know-it-alls
and the pass-it-ons,
from Perk up! And Pipe down!
I’m from He restoreth my soul
with a cottonball lamb
and ten verses I can say myself.
I’m from Artemus and Billi’s Branch,
fried corn and strong coffee.
From the finger my grandfather lost
to the auger,
the eye my father shut to keep his sight.
Under my bed was a dress box
spilling old pictures,
a sift of lost faces
to drift beneath my dreams.
I am from those moments –
Snapped before I budded –
Leaf-fall from the family tree.
Where I’m From
By Mr Wood

I am from spoons.
From the Hawthorn Hawks
and double-edged safety razors.
I’m from the 1950s brick house:
simple, unassuming, and
full of the scent of Vienna loaf and apple sponge.
I’m from the stockyards and the mud of the dam,
the frogs and yabbies and ants
that tolerated a child’s hands and fascination.
I’m from Christmas roasts and dry humour,
From Ken and Julia
and the other grandparents I never knew.
I’m from common sense and frugality,
and keeping things until they wear out.

“From here to bloody breakfast”

and “you don’t leave the table till your plate is empty”.
I’m from portraits of Jesus and Mary,
and not coveting my neighbour’s house.
I’m from a land of plenty and a land of poverty,
Dead ’orse and channa bhatura.
From a man helping a woman down the stairs,
the box of letters they wrote,
and two shelves full of photo albums,
one for each year.
I am from all of these,
grown like a tree—
Mr Wood.