SMASHING WATERMELONS IN THE SUMMER: WHERE I’M
FROM POEM VIDEO PROJECT IN A JAPANESE UNIVERSITYCONTEXTJohn Alexander
Kanda University of International Studies
ABSTRACT“Where I’m From” is a poem that is a useful pedagogical tool which is widely used in
US classrooms. The poem provides an opportunity for the writer to share theiridentity, history, and cultural background. It can be adapted digitally and turned intoa video project. This paper serves as a practical guide for using a “Where I’m From''
poem video project in an EFL context. It describes the step-by-step process of using
the “Where I’m From” video project in a Japanese university with first year English
majors at low to mid-level language ability. Through the process of creating
individual projects, students are able to learn more about themselves, theirclassmates, and improve their language skills, specifically their vocabulary, writing,and speaking skills. Additionally, this paper describes issues that should beconsidered for teachers who want to implement this project in their classes and thepositive outcomes of using this project with students from similar backgrounds.
INTRODUCTION“Where I’m From” (WIF) is a poem written by George Ella Lyon (Appendix A). In Lyon’s poem,
she answers the question “Where I’m From” through themes of identity and personal history.
The poem itself almost reads like a list of her own personal memories, experiences, and objects
from her life. Most importantly, the poem illustrates that “where one is from” is not simply aphysical place, but it’s all the things in one’s past that make an individual unique and contributeto their identity. Because a classroom consists of a group of individuals, this poem is a great
pedagogical tool to explore, learn about, and appreciate the diverse backgrounds of eachindividual in the class.
In language learning classes, creating WIF poems provides students the opportunity to improvewriting and grammar skills while enriching their vocabulary knowledge by describing
themselves and aspects of their lives in a variety of ways. Because the students are required toanswer “Where I’m From” with nontraditional responses, the poem provides an opportunity tofoster creative thinking and writing. Adding in a video component allows for students to practiceand analyze their speaking skills and practice meaning making in a digital medium through a
combination of text, images/videos, and sound. In addition, it provides students with the chance
to further their digital literacy.

3

In this paper, the use of poetry and the WIF poems as well as the potential for adapting students’
written work digitally are first introduced. Then, the process of writing a WIF poem and adapting
the poem into a multimodal video project is described in a lesson-by-lesson unit overview alongwith details about the assessment, project alternatives, and issues for teachers to consider.
Finally, the project's success in a language learning class is discussed.
LITERATURE REVIEW
Using and selecting poetry in the ESL/EFL context
The use of poetry in the ESL or EFL context as a language learning tool can be beneficial tostudents linguistically, creatively, and culturally. First, when incorporating literature into alanguage classroom, poems are an advantageous choice for language learners due to the length(Collie & Slater, 1987). In regard to the educational benefits for language learners, poems can beused for teaching or understanding specific grammar points (Hussein, 2004; Kırkgöz, 2008).
Using poems can also help students enhance communication skills through discussions about
poems, improve speaking and pronunciation through the recitation of poems, and improvewriting skills (Mittal, 2016). In regard to creativity, Bao (2017) notes that using poetry helps
promote creative thinking in the classroom. Of course, it can also impact creative writing skills
as Collie and Slater (1987) claim that “using poetry can lead naturally on to freer, creative written
expression” (p. 226). Lastly, exposing students to poetry may enhance students’ culturalawareness. McKay (1982) states that “an examination of a foreign culture through literature may
increase their understanding of that culture” (p. 531).
Although poems may be useful tools for language learning, several considerations must be
made when selecting appropriate poems for language learners. Collie and Slater (1987) suggest
teachers must consider students’ “interest, language, and maturity levels” (p. 226). McKay(1982) points out that both the students’ linguistic level and the students’ cultural level must be
considered when selecting literature to be used with language learners. In the next section, I will
provide examples of how WIF poems are used in the classroom, which highlights how the poem
is a good selection to use with language learners.
Using “Where I’m From” poem in the classroom
Countless examples of personalized adaptations from people around the world can be foundonline. According to the poet’s website (http://www.georgeellalyon.com/), in 2016, theKentucky Arts Council collected 731 poems from 83 countries (Lyon, 2021a). In 2017, the writercreated the “I Am From Project” to write and submit poems to highlight the diversity in the US(Lyon, 2021b). Many examples can be found from student poets because the poem has been so
widely used in classrooms as a pedagogical tool across countless age groups, nationalities, andlevels of English proficiency (Christensen, 2001; DeJaynes, 2015; Ivanova, 2019; Montgomery &Jetter, 2016). A simple Google search yields everything from easy-to-complete poem templates
to more complex plans for using WIF poems with numerous student-created examples.
In some universities in the US, WIF poems are used for various purposes including fostering
better relationships within classes and facilitating campus integration between the international4

students and the domestic population. Montgomery and Jetter (2016) used the poem as a tool
within the class so that through increased interactions, the international and domestic students
could learn and appreciate the diversity of identities and experiences of the class members.
Ivanova (2019) found the WIF poems to be very successful in first-year English classes forinternational students. The students focused on their home cultures and cultural identity. Poster
presentations with poems were shared with the campus community. Through the process ofwriting the poems and sharing them on campus, students became more interested in sharing
and learning about each other's cultures and cultural differences and created connections within
the classes and schools. In the next section, I will describe the potential of implementing
technology and transforming the written work to a multimodal task.
Implementing technology and multiple modalities
From the field of TESOL, numerous studies have been published regarding the use of studentcreated video projects for students with various content and pedagogical purposes (Castañeda,2013; Frazier et al., 2018; Goulah, 2007; Hafner, 2015). Though the use of student-created videos
has different purposes, the studies suggest that this digital task is useful and suitable for
fostering language learning. The WIF poems provide a favorable opportunity to be adapted
digitally into student-created video projects. Through digital adaptation, these poems can be
expanded from a simple writing task to a multimodal video project. As Takayoshi and Selfe(2007) note, the texts that are commonly required to be produced in academic settings “do notresemble many of the documents we see now in the digital environment that use multiple
modalities to convey meaning” (p. 1). Therefore, as language teachers, it is important to explore
various ways to provide opportunities for students to create these multimodal texts or“multimodal compositions.” According to Hafner (2015), a “multimodal composition refers toactivities that engage learners in the use of digital tools to construct texts in multiple semiotic
modes, including writing, image, and sound (to name a few)” (p. 487). Taking the WIF poem off
the page and integrating images, videos, text, font, color, animation, emojis, music, soundeffects, and speaking into one composition allows students to consider the integration of modesin their projects and consider how they create and convey meaning.
METHODWIF Project Overview
This project was completed at Kanda University of International Studies (KUIS) in the Freshman
English class, a class focused primarily on listening and speaking. In the Freshman English classes
in which this project was implemented, the students were primarily a homogenous group.
Almost all of the students were Japanese with a few students of mixed race. All of the students
were around 18 or 19 years old. The level of speaking proficiency varied between the classes
from “low-tier” to “mid-tier” students. In each class, there were between 16-23 students.
The Freshman English class consists of four, 90-minute lessons per week over the course of two
fifteen-week semesters. During the semester, content units lasting around five weeks arecompleted. The WIF poem video project was adapted in different content units. For example,
the WIF video project was used as part of a “Japan and Culture” unit with more focus on including5

aspects of their own culture(s) into the WIF poems. It has also been completed as the last projectof the year in an “Identity” unit. It is important to mention that the WIF project could also bedone as a standalone project as well.
This project, from start to finish, took two weeks, or eight 90-minute lessons. This project could
be expanded or shortened depending on the students’ needs. Through these 8 lessons, theprocess of writing the poems and creating the movies is carefully scaffolded so that the students
can clearly understand WIF poems, pen their own poems, and create a video to accompany thepoem.
Table 1: Unit Overview
LessonStudent Tasks

1•

Students watch a WIF poem example (Appendix B) on YouTube to identify
different categories of content included in the poem and the basic structureof the poem.

2•

Students watch a different WIF poem example (Appendix C) on YouTube toidentify additional categories of content included in the poem and review
the poem’s structure.
Students start pre-writing their own poems by noting ideas from different
content categories.

•
3

4

•
•

Students watch a final WIF poem example (Appendix D) on YouTube toidentify additional categories of content and descriptions in the poem.
Students share ideas with/get feedback from class members from their prewriting and add additional information.

•••

Students identify grammatical structures used in the poem
Students work collaboratively to practice creating different descriptions.
Students start writing their own poems.

•

Optional lesson
Students are introduced to and practice using the different features ofiMovie.

56••Students provide peer feedback on the poems.
Students recite and record their poems and analyze the recordings
individually.

7•

Project workday•

Final Projects Due
Students watch classmates' videos and have group discussions about thevideos.

86Lesson 1
Lesson 1 introduces the assignment and the idea of WIF poems. To start the project off, I ask thestudents, “Where are you from?” and have them discuss possible answers to this question ingroups. Inevitably, the groups come up with three answers: city, prefecture, and country.
Occasionally, a group will also include a region as well.
Next, I explain that we are going to watch a short video called “Where I’m From.” For the firstviewing, each student in a group gets four or five different lines of the poem on separate stripsof paper. I play an example poem from YouTube and the students construct the poem together
as a group. As the poem video is played, students listen and add the line of the poem from thestrips that they were given. The students listen again to check to see if they correctly constructed
the poem and make any changes if necessary.
Using the same WIF poem example, students identify the type of content that is included in thepoem using a worksheet that includes the poem and possible content category options. Someof these categories include examples such as place, family, friends, food, personality,
appearance, culture/traditions, values/beliefs, habits, hobbies/activities the speaker enjoys
doing, memories/past experiences, advice, songs/stories, home, hometown, objects the
speaker uses, sensory descriptions, dreams/hopes, religion, work/chores, environment/nature,and feelings.
The students read each line in their groups and discuss which content category each line belongs
to. Some of the lines are very clear and easy to identify. Other lines may contain multiple
categories, or the line may be unclear and the meaning must be inferred. For example, a linewith several names could be family members or friends. However, the students can watch theexample video on YouTube with the visual clues to help their understanding. In addition, any
background cultural knowledge can be introduced as the groups identify the content of thepoem.
After the groups have identified the content categories, we discuss the answers as a class.
Sometimes, groups have different ideas about the categories and each group explains why they
selected a certain category. Once the categories have been established, I ask some leading
questions to elicit the poem’s basic structure.
Next, I introduce the assignment and explain that we are going to write a poem like the video
we watched called “Where I’m From”, and elicit how the example poem is similar to and different
from their answers to the question at the beginning of class. I try to make it clear that these
poems should include not only the physical place, but also the origin of the students themselves
and the origin of their own identity.
Lastly, the students have a discussion about the example poem. For example, they discuss whichlines also relate to them, which lines do not relate to them at all, and what they are thinking
about including in their own WIF poem.

7

Lesson 2
We watch another, more advanced, example as a class. For the second example, I use a video
that only includes the text of the poem accompanying photos and music. The poem is not readby the author. I use this because the students have to practice reciting the poem as the
text/photo are shown in the video. It’s a fun activity and challenges the students to recite thepoem naturally and fluently. Also, it reinforces the structure of the WIF poems and thedescriptive ways that each line introduces a different idea. After the students have practiced
reciting the poem with the video, groups identify the content categories as they did in the first
lesson and check as a class. The second example should be more advanced so that the poem
includes additional content categories and more complex descriptions.
At this point, the students have an understanding of the type of content that the WIF poems
include. For the remainder of class and homework, the students complete a worksheet
containing different content categories with ideas that they would like to include in their poems.
This is the first prewriting step for constructing their poems.
Lesson 3
In Lesson 3, I show the students one last example poem. I purposely select poems that increasein difficulty with content that is more varied and writing that is more creative and descriptive.
As the final example is the most difficult, I usually need to pre-teach selected vocabulary words
and cultural content. For example, in the YouTube example that I show, the poem mentions thewestern superstition of holding one's breath while passing a cemetery. So, I introduce
superstitions and the groups discuss different Japanese superstitions that they believe/d andstudents teach me about superstitions in Japan.
The groups complete the same activity of identifying the content categories and we check as aclass. As previously mentioned, the poems are more difficult, so this activity becomes
progressively harder and takes longer to complete. The students also identify and discussdifferent ways the author added descriptions to the poem.
Lastly, in groups, students share their content ideas (the homework from Lesson 2) about
different things that they may include in their poem. The final example poem and the sharing ofideas from the homework leads the students to consider new or different information to include
in their own poems, so I give the students some time after the discussion to add anything new
to their content category sheets. After this, they can start to organize their poems.
It is important to note that depending on the students’ level, Lesson 3 could be omitted. The
third example poem could be added into the second lesson, or one of three example poems
could be omitted entirely if you don’t have enough time or feel that it isn’t necessary. In the past,
I have found that providing three, progressively more advanced examples has helped mystudents grasp the project and understand the poem’s content, descriptions, and structure.

8Lesson 4
In this lesson, the students focus on the grammar structure of the lines and writing more creativedescriptions for their poems.
Using an example poem, I elicit what type of word follows the phrase “I’m from…” in the poems(noun). So, the line “I’m from tennis” could include...
• I’m from tennis. (noun)• I’m from playing tennis. (gerund phrase)• I’m from waking up at 6am every Saturday morning in junior high school to attend tennis
club practice. (different, but related, gerund phrase)• I am from a can of new tennis balls; the fresh smell makes me anxious to play the game.
(a different, but related, noun with additional description and information)
A common grammatical error that students make writing these poems is not changing the verb
to a gerund (“I’m from play tennis” instead of “I’m from playing tennis”), or omitting a gerund
when using an adjective (“I’m from nervous” instead of “I’m from being / feeling nervous”).
Additionally, depending on the grammar level of the students, a review of adjective clauses may
be helpful at this point as clauses can add additional descriptions.
Next, we look at a variety of ways to describe something. I enjoy painting as a hobby, so I present
different ways that I could say “I’m from painting” including:• I’m from tubes of brightly colored paints.
• I’m from the colorful, paint-stained shirt that I wear every time I paint.
• I’m from oil, acrylic, and watercolor.
• I’m from bold colors and aggressive brush strokes.
Students read and discuss the small differences between the lines, but how they are all related
to my hobby of painting.
Next, groups collaborate to write alternative, more descriptive lines for “I’m from the beach,”which works in our context because the university is located quite close to the beach. The groupmembers write all of their ideas on the board. First, groups check the other groups’ sentencesfor grammar or spelling errors. Then, we count how many unique lines the class has created,omitting duplicate lines. Last, groups discuss the other groups’ lines and descriptions. We voteon the most interesting descriptions in each group. At this point, I usually point out some places
where a few changes could make a line richer and more descriptive. The students work in groups
together to try to think of or find different descriptors. For example, some of these changes
include adding descriptions (“eating watermelon” becomes “eating a juicy and refreshing sliceof watermelon”), changing the intensity of the descriptions (“hot sun” becomes “swelteringsun”), and adding more details (“summer trips to the beach” becomes “summer trips to thebeach with my family every year”). Through this activity, the students are able to practicecreating a huge variety of lines and descriptions.

9Lastly, using their prewriting sheet, students choose several points they want to include in theirpoems and try writing lines. If time permits, the groups then share some of their lines and get
feedback from each other. The fourth class is the last class of the week, so students should workon their poems over the weekend and have them ready for Lesson 6.
Lesson 5
In this class, I focus on creating videos using iMovie. At KUIS, all of the students are required tohave iPads, so the access to iMovie is not an issue. I make an iMovie in class using pictures andvideos that I take in class in the lesson. By doing this, I can show the students the basic featuresof iMovie while projecting my screen so that students can see the editing process. After I havecreated a short video that includes pictures, videos, text, sound effects, music, transitions, andvoice overs, the students create their own practice iMovie videos in class. The level of proficiency
with iMovie always varies and the students who are more proficient can help the other students.
This class is an optional lesson that is not directly related to the project. The class is unnecessary
if the students have a general understanding or proficiency using a video creating application,and I skip this lesson if the students have previously made videos in class.
Lesson 6
The poems are due in this lesson. At the beginning of class, students exchange poems and checkfor grammatical errors, vocabulary errors, and spelling errors. In addition, students can offer
suggestions about the descriptions noting where the writer could add more detail or specificity
and even provide their own ideas to the writer. Students then fix or adjust their poems.
Once they feel that their poems are completed, the students practice reading aloud their poems.
They record themselves reading and listen back to analyze their performance, specificallyfluency and pronunciation. Lastly, the students can start creating their own WIF poem videos.
Lesson 7
This is a project workday. The students have the class to work on their final projects. Having thisworkday is useful for the students because they can get help or suggestions from the teacher orother students about their poems or iMovie.
Lesson 8
The WIF videos are due in this lesson. Together, as a class, we watch the final videos. After
viewing the videos, students have smaller group discussions where they can rewatch eachother’s videos and ask specific questions to their group members.
Depending on how proficient the students are with technology, I may add an additional classthat is unrelated to the WIF poem project between Lessons 7 and 8. That way, the students haveextra time to work on their videos outside of class.

10

Assessment
There are three main areas of assessment: the poem, the final video and images, and speaking.
First, the poem is assessed based on the content, grammar, and descriptions. The activities in
Lessons 1-4 primarily focus on the variety of content and different types of descriptions that canbe included in the WIF poems. Therefore, the students are encouraged to include a variety ofcontent from different categories that express and introduce “who they are.” In addition, thedescriptions should be well-written, varied, and grammatically correct. This section is worth
40% of the final grade. Second, the final video is graded. Included in this grade are the images
and overall video quality and sound. The images included in the final project can be still images(photos) or recorded videos. How well the images and lines of the poem match or add to thestory is an important component in the assessment. The photos/videos should be part of themeaning making; if the images do not seem to be related to the student’s poem, the student willlose points. Also, the images that are included in the video should primarily be the student’s own
photos. The students are able to use other pictures that they find online. However, if they
overuse photos that they find online, they will lose points. In addition, the quality of the video isgraded, specifically the sound and editing. As this project is completed in a speaking class, it isimperative that their voices are clear and can easily be heard. The video/image grade counts as
30% of the final grade. Lastly, the speaking is assessed. This includes fluency, intonation, andpronunciation. The speaking grade counts as 30% of the final grade.
Alternatives to student-created videos
The WIF poems can be adapted in various ways. One alternative to iMovie is using Flipgrid. While
Flipgrid doesn’t have the functionality that iMovie has, it might be a good alternative if you wantto create videos, but students do not have access to iPads or Macs with the iMovie app. Anothervariation that could be implemented is a slideshow. Students could create their own slideshow
and recite their poems in class as they present slides with their lines and connected images. For
an alternative that does not require technology, students could also create posters of theirpoems. They could write their poems on a poster and draw or attach images related to theirpoems. The class could complete a gallery walk while reading the poems and discussing themwith the writers.
Issues to consider
Deciding whether or not to use the original poem by Lyon is an important consideration to betaken into account. The original poem, while providing fantastic imagery and snapshots of thepoet’s childhood, employs some very specific references and colloquialisms. These references
are both cultural and geographical. For example, some lines include culturally specific referencessuch as, “I’m from He restoreth my soul,” (a bible verse), another mentions Clorox (an American
brand of bleach), and another references Imogene and Alafair (female names). Artemus (smalltown) and Billie's Branch (river) are places in the poet’s home state of Kentucky. Some
colloquialisms include “know-it-alls,” “perk up,” and “pipe down.” The students in my classwould be overwhelmed by language and the number of cultural references and find it very
difficult to understand. If I decided to use the poem, the scaffolding that would be necessary for
my class level would take away from the imagery and “life” of the poem, and it would just seem
like a mechanical exercise with the strong possibility to diminish learner motivation and11confidence. Therefore, I decided to introduce the poem using student examples instead of theoriginal poem.
Careful selection of the example poems and/or videos that are shown to students is also very
important to take into account. Student videos that are found online are both plentiful andvaried and provide authentic examples of the final project. Additionally, the visual images in thevideo examples paired with the poem lines help to scaffold the poem for the students. Because
the online videos are created by other students, they are also more contemporary and relatable.
Nonetheless, it is still important to evaluate the online examples closely and consider whether
or not they should be introduced to the students. Even if the online examples are linguisticallyappropriate, due to the content of the assignment, the example poems may also contain many
cultural references like Lyon’s original poem that may be difficult to understand for students
who grew up outside of the culture. For example, many of the online examples, written primarily
by American students, reference religion (mainly Christianity), activities common in the US(American football games, summer camp, holidays, etc.), or specific places in the US.
Scaffolding the poems and explaining these cultural activities are essential so that students cangain a deeper understanding of the poem. My students have seemed to really enjoy learning
about aspects of another culture through the videos, especially when it is presented by students
from other countries who may share some similar interests or experiences with my students. Fora teacher who is teaching this for the first time, it is important to consider the cultural content
when selecting online examples and how much scaffolding will be necessary when presenting
them to a class who may be unfamiliar with the culture.
In addition to finding appropriate online examples, another important aspect that should betaken into account is the editing, specifically the sound. The WIF project is usually the firstproject I assign in which the students are required to create a video. Therefore, I include a lesson
introducing basic video editing into the unit plan because many of my students have never usedany video creating applications previously. As mentioned in the Assessment section above, thesound is very important because the student’s voice must be clear in the final video. If the soundis problematic (too loud / too soft) or their speaking is incomprehensible (such as backgroundmusic that is too loud), it can ruin the project. The first time I introduced this project, I didn’t
anticipate that the speaking volume would be problematic. However, for several students’projects, the sound was too low, distorted, or their speaking was unable to be heard due to loudbackground music, essentially ruining an otherwise well completed project. In the subsequentclasses in which this project was completed, I have specifically shown students how to edit thesound on iMovie by moving sounds to the foreground or background and raising and lowering
the volume of the different sound files. While some sound problems have persisted, significantly
fewer students have issues with sound now in their final projects.
REFLECTIVE DISCUSSION
The WIF project has been a successful and well-received project in my class. However, before
completing the project for the first time, I was somewhat unsure what the overall success andimpact would be due to the makeup of the students. Several of the previously mentioned studies
12which used WIF poems with language learners describe the success of the poems in aheterogeneous class with students from all over the world. The poem was used as a pedagogicaltool for international students to share and learn about different cultural aspects, the home lives,and identities of their classmates. The poem was successfully used to raise cultural awarenesswithin the classes and within the schools. On the other hand, the students at KUIS are largely
homogenous with the vast majority of students being Japanese. However, based on myexperiences using this project over several years, I believe that it is successful for homogenous
language students as well. WIF poems can still provide a great opportunity to foster connections
between the students and provide opportunities for bringing their lives and identities into theclassroom. After all, while the students are almost all Japanese, they are all unique individuals
who come from different cities or regions and have different life experiences.
In addition, I initially was hesitant to complete this “poem” project in my “speaking” class. While,on its face, the WIF poem may seem like a writing assignment, this poem project offers
numerous opportunities for discussion, interaction, and collaboration. In the first three lessons,the students engage with authentic examples discussing the content of each poem and giving
their opinions. In the fourth lesson, when students collaboratively create descriptions, they must
discuss and brainstorm ideas together to create a list of various expressions or phrases in groups.
In the sixth lesson, students read each other’s poems and provide oral feedback while asking
questions about certain words or lines or making vocabulary or grammar suggestions. In the fifth,
sixth, and seventh lessons, the students learn about video creating apps (primarily iMovie) andwork on their videos in class. While these WIF poem videos are completed individually, giving
students class time to work on their projects allows for collaboration and opportunities forauthentic language production as students ask each other for help or troubleshoot questions
during the video creation process. Lastly, the students watch the videos as a class and have
longer, more in-depth, discussions about the content in small groups. Though I was at firstreluctant to incorporate “poem writing” into my “speaking” class, this student-created video
project provides ample opportunities for students to engage in discussion and language learning
while fostering cultural awareness.
Once the project was completed, a surprising outcome was how much the students revealed intheir poems. When students are asked to share personal information in class discussions orpresentations, the content can sometimes gravitate towards superficial topics. For example,
information such as favorite movies, music, food, TV shows, or free time activities are often
presented or shared. While important, these are really only a small part (or “surface features,”borrowing from the cultural iceberg model) of an individual. The WIF poems offer students asafe chance to provide a more in-depth examination of their identity or culture. That’s not to saythat all the videos produced by my students have been deeply introspective about “Where
they're from,” nor should they be. Nonetheless, in my experience, some students are more open
and comfortable revealing aspects of themselves in these videos that they may not share in anormal class discussion. Putting information in a poem or video seems to make it easier for somestudents to be more open than they usually are, and the classmates respond very positively tothis project and each other’s videos. They seem genuinely interested in each person and learning
more about each other through these videos. I have completed this assignment at different
13times in the school year and, regardless of when I complete this activity in class, we always learn
new and interesting things about each other through these WIF poem videos.
CONCLUSION
The WIF poem video project is a multimodal and creative activity to use in the language learningclassroom. Through a careful scaffolded plan, this multimodal project allows students a chance
to share all different aspects of their lives and identities in a unique and engaging way that ismotivating and interesting for the students. The project integrates not only writing, but all of
the four skills. In addition, it gives the students the opportunity to become more digitally literate,increasing their confidence in using digital tools.
The students who have completed this project have responded positively to the project. They
have written unique and revealing poems and created high-quality multimodal videos that only
enhance their written words. Lifting students’ personally written poems off the page andcreating videos of these poems about the students’ lives and where they are from gives thepoems a more authentic or realistic feel to the students who were born in the 21st century andhave only known a digital world.

REFERENCES
Bao, D. (2017). Poetry for education: Classroom ideas that inspire creative thinking. Xlibris.
Castañeda, M. E. (2012). “I am proud that I did it and it's a piece of me”: Digital storytelling in
the foreign language classroom. CALICO Journal, 30(1), 44-62.
https://doi.org/10.11139/cj.30.1.44-62
Christensen, L. (2001). Where I’m from: Inviting students’ lives into the classroom. Rethinking
Schools. https://rethinkingschools.org/2021/08/06/where-im-from/
Collie, J., & Slater, S. (1987). Literature in the language classroom: A resource book of ideas andactivities. Cambridge University Press.
DeJaynes, T. (2015). “Where I’m From” and belonging: A multimodal, cosmopolitan
perspective on arts and inquiry. E-Learning and Digital Media, 12(2), 183-198.
https://doi.org/10.1177/2042753014567236
Frazier, E., Worden, D., & Asquith, S. (2018). Developing English fluency and a global view
through music. Selected Papers from SUTLF 2017, 1, 6-20.
Goulah, J. (2007). Village voices, global visions: Digital video as a transformative foreign
language learning tool. Foreign Language Annals, 40(1), 62-78. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.19449720.2007.tb02854.x
14

Hafner, C. A. (2015). Remix culture and English language teaching: The expression of learner
voice in digital multimodal compositions. TESOL Quarterly, 49(3), 486-509.
https://doi.org/10.1002/tesq.238
Hussein, H. (2004). Using simple poems to teach grammar. The Internet TESL Journal, 10(5).
http://iteslj.org/Techniques/Hussein-Poems.html
Ivanova, R. (2019). Using “where I'm from” poems to welcome international ESL students into
US academic culture. TESOL Journal, 10(2), 1-15. https://doi.org/10.1002/tesj.399
Kırkgöz, Y. (2008). Using poetry as a model for creating English poems. Journal of Language
and Linguistic Studies, 4(2), 94-106.
Lyon, G. E. (2021a). Where I'm from. http://www.georgeellalyon.com/where.html
Lyon, G. E. (2021b). About us. https://iamfromproject.com/about/
McKay, S. (1982). Literature in the ESL classroom. TESOL Quarterly, 16(4), 529-536.
https://doi.org/10.2307/3586470
Mittal, R. (2016). “Poetry is language at its most distilled and powerful”: Bringing poetry inlanguage classes can make language understanding and communication skills better.
Linguistics and Literature Studies, 4(1), 52-56. https://doi.org/10.13189/lls.2016.040108
Montgomery, M. L., & Jetter, M. (2016). “I am from” activity guide: A tool to foster student
interaction in the classroom. Global Programs and Strategy Alliance.
Takayoshi, P., & Selfe, C. (2007). Thinking about multimodality. In C. L. Selfe (Ed.), Multimodal
composition: Resources for teachers (pp. 1-12). Hampton Press.

15

APPENDIX A
Where I'm From by George Elle Lyon
I am from clothespins,from Clorox and carbon-tetrachloride.
I am from the dirt under the back porch.
(Black, glistening,it tasted like beets.)
I am from the forsythia bushthe Dutch elm
whose long-gone limbs I remember
as if they were my own.
I'm from fudge and eyeglasses,
from Imogene and Alafair.
I'm from the know-it-alls
and the pass-it-ons,from Perk up! and Pipe down!
I'm from He restoreth my soulwith a cottonball lamband ten verses I can say myself.
I'm from Artemus and Billie's Branch,fried corn and strong coffee.
From the finger my grandfather lostto the auger,
the eye my father shut to keep his sight.
Under my bed was a dress box
spilling old pictures,a sift of lost faces
to drift beneath my dreams.
I am from those moments-snapped before I budded -leaf-fall from the family tree.

16

APPENDIX B
I am from hairbrushes and hair ties
From sketch books and sharpened pencils
I’m from the big back yard where my friends played
The savory smell of home cooked meals
I am from the Sunday palms we made into shapes
The potted ivy plant whose long gone limbs I remember as if they were my own.
I’m from saying grace before meals and dark hair and brown eyes
I’m from Mom, Dad, Joana, Me, and Ysa.
I’m from karaoke nights and Pacquiao fights, I’m from everything in between
I’m from “Stranger Danger!” and “Eat your vegetables!” and Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star
I’m from pancit at parties
I’m from the Philippines and Spain and the United States of America
And beef stew and pandesal
From having a stuffed unicorn named Pony to being with the “Fab Four” and apple picking withall my family friends.
These are all in my heart.
Avila, X. (2014, April 21). I am from…Poem [Video]. YouTube. https://youtu.be/dzoBwoYWsY417

APPENDIX C
I am from the sandFrom Coppertone and beach chairs
I am from the backyard greenhouse (hot, damp, it smelled like soil)
I’m from the river birch out front
From the palm trees of California, the lines of them running down the street
I’m from the cabins in Maine and early grey hair
From Strubel and Kappler, from Murray and MacWatt
I’m from get-togethers and traveling
I’m from “Look both ways” and “Drop the anchor”
I’m from not knowing enough about Him to be called religious
I am from Manhasset and Germany, England, Scotland, and Ireland
From fresh corn and smoothies
I’m from the sun roof my dad fell fromthe first drive in the BMW
I’m from the hall closet and attic, these pictures may be faded but they will always bring backthe vivid memories
From the chest upstairs in my grandma’s house, where I continue to learn about my family’s
past
Strubel, K. (2013, June 13). "Where I'm From" by Kyle Strubel [Video]. YouTube.
https://youtu.be/zBni7oavjxA

18

APPENDIX D
I am from thoughtfully decorated binders
From Post-its and Sharpies
I’m from my homemade bookshelf, overflowing with colors. It smells new but won’t for long.
I am from autumn leaves, the budding hydrangeas, which the deer will eat anyway
I’m from the late-night Civilization games and weekly Target runs
I’m from naturally running ability and sarcasm
From holding my breath near graveyards and leaving veggies for Santa Claus
I’m from putting myself third and belting out Hillsong lyrics at camp
I’m from almost Princeton, homemade Mac ‘n Cheese, and chocolate cake
From the fantasy novels my dad read to me in preschool, the waves my cousins jump throughon the beachAs I scroll through my camera roll, I see countless clips featuring friends and family, I am fromthe laughter and the adventures we shared
Danielle, C. (2016, September 25). Where I’m from-a poem [Video]. YouTube.
https://youtu.be/X4XN2v8Maow

19