I Am poem

The form does the hard part. You just have to be honest.

An I Am poem gives you the first two or three words of every line and asks you to finish them. That’s why it works with a class that swears it can’t write poetry - nobody faces a blank page, and the repetition of the opening line pulls the whole thing into shape. This template lays out all three stanzas with a prompt on every line, ready to write in.

What’s in the I Am poem template

Three stanzas of six lines, each line prompted, plus the pieces teachers usually have to add themselves.

• Stanza One - Who you are: I am, I wonder, I hear, I see, I want, and the anchor line that closes it.

• Stanza Two - What you feel: I pretend, I feel, I touch, I worry, I cry, and the anchor line again.

• Stanza Three - What you hope: I understand, I say, I dream, I try, I hope, and the final I am.

• The Anchor Line: The repeating I am line that ends every stanza - written once, and the reason the poem holds together.

• Line Prompts: A question under every opening, for the students who freeze at “I wonder.”

• A Full Example: One complete poem to read before writing, so the shape is obvious.

• The I Am From Variation: The place-and-memory version of the form, for older students and personal essays.

• Print and Export: Clean .pdf or .docx for a display board, a portfolio or a folder.

Why write your I Am poem in Skrib?

A worksheet is one poem. A Board is a whole class.

• A Board Per Class: Every student’s poem as a card on one canvas, so a set of thirty is readable at a glance.

• Drafts Are Kept: The first attempt stays in the Library beside the final one - which is the actual evidence of progress.

• Reuse It Every Year: Duplicate the template, change the prompts, keep the structure. Last year’s version stays intact.

• Write Anywhere: Nothing to install, nothing to print unless you want to.

• Export for Display: .pdf or .docx when it’s time to put them on a wall or into a portfolio.

Who is this I Am poem template for?

• Teachers running identity, poetry and back-to-school writing units.

• Students in upper primary and middle school writing their first structured poem.

• Homeschool Educators looking for a poetry form that works with one child.

• ESL and EAL Learners using repeated sentence frames to write with confidence.

• Workshop Facilitators using the form for reflective and personal writing with adults.

• Anyone who wants to write something true and doesn’t know where to start.

Start with two words and finish the line

Drop the template on your Board, begin at “I am,” and let the form carry the rest.