Portrait Poems

These are also known as Bio-poems.  There are a number of different structures that fall into the Portrait Poem category.  They are all useful for the beginning of the year/ term / unit because the only knowledge required is of oneself and the structures are simple.  When published they can form the basis of welcome/ meet the class displays.  If you want to know more about portrait poems and their different forms (including examples) see the following websites.
http://www.tnellen.com/cybereng/portrait.html
http://k6educators.about.com/od/languageart1/a/bio_poems.htm

The first Portrait structure that I am going to attempt has three stanzas (poetry paragraphs).  Each line has a "starter phrase" to create a pattern.  Rhyming may happen accidentally but is purely unnecessary.

I am M

I am a teacher who has a blog.

I wonder how children see their world.

I hear voices and humming when I am alone.

I see my toys playing after bedtime.

I want a good night's sleep.

I am a teacher who has a blog.

I pretend to have no pain.

I feel freed by the written word.

I touch minds, searching for the open door and the light switch.

I worry what people think of me and I worry about the happiness of others.

I cry when friends leave, when I remember, when I can't stop the tears.

I am a teacher who has a blog.

I understand that there is more than this.

I say that God loves me.

I dream of the past, the present and future.

I try to learn new things and ask questions.

I hope that tomorrow will be better.

I am a teacher who has a blog.

So there is my first Portrait Poem, I'm not sure if I will get to the others before the end of the month.  GGM there is so much to do!