"I Am" Character Poems

For my literacy project my students created digital stories. Since we were in our first unit for reading, we were working on character development. For guided reading, some students were working on creating “I Am” poems, allowing the students to put themselves in the shoes of their main character.

Students used a character web to chart different character traits, and to think about how the characters think, feel, acts, etc. After completing the character web, students were given an “I Am” template and completed it based on the main characters for their books. Students drew an illustration to represent the main character based on descriptions in the book.

Once all illustrations and poems were completed, students spent a lot of time practicing reading their poems out loud, allowing them to strengthen their fluency skills. When students were ready, we recorded them reading the poems aloud, and we worked using Microsoft MovieMaker to create a simple digital story.

Overall, students really enjoyed completing this project. They were very excited to see their final products and were proud of their hard work. As a result of this project, students became more aware of the importance of fluency and expression while reading, and also learned how to analyze character traits.