“I” Poems: Invitations for Students to Deepen Literary Understanding

“I” poems are motivating invitations to write that can engage students in preparing for or responding to reading. In composing “I” poems, students assume the identity and voice of a person, place, or object and write from that perspective. The first‐person narrative point of view is the most important feature of an “I” poem. “I” poems can rhyme, but a rhyme scheme is not a necessary or critical feature. The article includes models of “I” poems as well as examples written by preservice teachers and fourth‐grade students. Specific suggestions for writing “I” poems before reading and after reading are described.