I’m From

Where I’m From Poem Prep Worksheet

Step 1: Answering the following questions will help you prepare your poem.

1. Describe where you live(d). What does it look like, smell like, feel like? Are you describing a house, a culture, or a city?

2. What objects or belongings can be found in your home or room? List 3

3. What are the name of the people in your “family”?

4. List 2-3 family traditions.

5. What phrases, sayings, words are part of your family legend? What communicated values?

6. What are some beliefs that represent where you’re from?

7. List 2-3 important childhood memories.

8. Describe the weather where you’re from.

9. What do people do where you come from?

10. What are your favorite things to do?

11. What messages did you receive about difference? (Weight, race, social status, gender, religion, ability, sexual orientation, age)

Step 2: Incorporate your answers to the questions above into your poem. Simply add “I’m from” or ___________, that’s where I’m from” to the beginnings or ends of key sentences. You don’t have to use all the words, categories, or ideas in your poem, and inevitably, more will come to you. Use what honors you best.

Here’s mine:

I’M FROM

white noses and sun burns, big wheels on the sidewalk, and matching outfits.

Little House on the Prairie and wanting Pa to be mine, Captain Kangaroo and Mr. Green Jeans.

Bob Ross and his puffy clouds that somehow made me feel loved.

tripping on the stairs, crowning Mother Mary, and losing my class ring in an apron.

grape snow cones on Ag Day, counting cattle in the field, and Cracker Jack prizes.

Mrs. Sanger and Charlotte’s Web, the sound of the Swan Man coming, and sisters fighting: ftttt, ftttt

you gotta keep movin’, you should have known better, and don’t dish it out if you can’t take it.

fire ants in the alley, Ken and Barbie kissing in the brown velvet bed, and roller skating in the neighbor’s driveway.

a yard stick and a red faced dad, calling me toots and punkin, buying me a two-tone green pontiac.

pitting cherries with a bobby pin, riding the Orient Express at Worlds of Fun, and seeing the Rockies in the horizon on our way to the North Pole.

sisters washing dishes, midnight mass, and hot sunny days.

tournaments, sprained ankles, shin splints, prom dates, and Homecoming Halls: Born in the USA.

Care Bears and farmers, killing it nine times, and people who say “smelly.”

Fluffy and the lost journal.

That’s where I’m from.