One thing I love about teaching is every day I learn something new about my students.  I think it is important that students write and learn about themselves.  The Bio Poem and Opposite Poem allow me to learn more about my students, and it also allows them to learn about each other.  My students really, really enjoy writing about themselves using the poetry format.  These are great poems to model with your students, because they are not too personal.  Students want to know more about us too!  Both poems can be completed during a poetry unit or the first week of school to display during Open House for parents.

• Copy a class set, write the format on the board, or project on white screen using projector.
• Have students copy it on their own paper or type on computer.
• Take pictures of students with a digital camera and add them to poems.

Bio-Poem

First Name ___________

Is ____, ______________,_____________  (3 traits that describe you)

Love_____, ____________, _____________ (3 people/things that you love)

Is Good at ______., ______, __________ (3 things that you do well)

Feels  ___,_______,_______(3 things that you feel)

Needs ____, _______, ______(3 things that you need)

Wants ______,_________,________(3 things that you want)

Fears _______, _________, ________ (3 things that you fear)

Likes to eat _________ , _________, ________ (3 foods you like)

Watches ________, ________, __________ (3 TV shows/movies you like)

Is a resident ______, _________, _______ (City, State where you live)

Last Name __________

Opposite Poem

I love ________________________________

I dislike _______________________________

I have ___________________________________

I want ___________________________________

My friends say I am _________________________________________________

My family says I am _________________________________________________

One day I will __________________________________________________________

I will never ____________________________________________________________

My favorite foods are _____________________________________________________

I’ll never eat ____________________________________________________________

I feel sad when ___________________________________________________________

I feel happy when _________________________________________________________

I feel safe when ________________________________________________________

I feel scared when _______________________________________________________

*Teaching Poetry (The Ultimate Guide) by Brooke Cohen is a great resource when teaching poetry.