Transcript Who Am I? - Onondaga Central School District

“If you don’t know where you’re from, you’ll
have a hard time saying where you’re going.”
Poet Wendell Berry
Who and What Defines
Us?
Essential Question:
How do people become who they are
today?
“Though I write in many forms, I am first of all a
poet, which means my job is to see and sing the
connection between things. The spider’s web is
a delicious image for this and for the wonder of
something newly made from old patterns, like
the sentences writers spin each day.”
~ George Ella Lyon
Vocabulary
Carbon-tetrachloride : a
chemical used in cleaning
products and aerosol cans
Imogene: Imogene Coca was an
actress in the 1960s
Alafair: Alafair Burke writes
mystery crime novels
Vocabulary (cont.)
More VocabularySift- an object that separates parts of a mixture

Auger- a hole-making tool that is used for wood working
Simile- A comparison of two things using the words “like” or “as”
(ex. You eat like a pig!)
Metaphor- A comparison of two things that does not use the words
“like” or “as”
(ex. You are a pig!)
WHERE I’M FROM
By George Ella 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 bush,
the Dutch elm
whose long-gone limbs I remember
as if they were my own.
I am 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 soul
with a cottonball lamb
and ten verses I can say myself.
I'm from Artemus and Billie's Branch,
fried corn and strong coffee.
From the finger my grandfather lost
to 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 momentssnapped before I buddedleaf-fall from the family tree.
The WHERE I'M FROM Template
I am from _______ (specific ordinary item), from _______ (product name) and _______.
I am from the _______ (home description... adjective, adjective, sensory detail).
I am from the _______ (plant, flower, natural item), the _______ (plant, flower, natural detail)
I am from _______ (family tradition) and _______ (family trait), from _______ (name of family member)
and _______ (another family name) and _______ (family name).
I am from the _______ (description of family tendency) and _______ (another one).
From _______ (something you were told as a child) and _______ (another).
I am from (representation of religion, or lack of it). Further description.
I'm from _______ (place of birth and family ancestry), _______ (two food items representing your family).
From the _______ (specific family story about a specific person and detail), the _______ (another detail, and
the _______ (another detail about another family member).
I am from _______ (location of family pictures, mementos, archives and several more lines indicating their
worth).
http://www.swva.net/fred1st/wif.htm
Student Sample
I am from hairspray
From braces and rubberbands.
I am from lightning bugs
Fluttering in the summer night sky.
I am from Belle
The cute little puppy
We rescued from the pound
And Smoky the cat
Whose death still touches my heart.
I am from Papaw’s goulash
And Momma’s pumpkin pie
From Dad’s overbearing
Protectiveness of his little girl.
I am from outrageous
Eleven foot Christmas trees
And joyous Thanksgiving feasts.
I am from French immigrants
From 1692 and New Paltz, New York
I am from Louis Bevier and Marie Le Blanc.
I am from the American dream
From broken despair and gained hope
I am the present, past, and future,
History in the making.
http://www.ci.maryville.tn.us/mhs/family_history/family_history_004.htm
It’s your turn!
Let’s check out your Five Senses
graphic organizer
Peer Review
1. Exchange poems & read your partner’s poem
carefully.
2. Fill out the peer review form.
3. Discuss the completed form with your partner.
Crystal Ball
If you could foresee any one day of your life in a
crystal ball, which day would you choose and
why? Be prepared to share.
Crystal Ball Part I
Please fill your crystal ball with at least five
adjectives describing what you hope your
weekend will be like.
(ex. long, exciting, fun, busy, lazy)
Crystal Ball Part II
Please fill your crystal ball with adjectives
describing who you are now and who you want
to become. You may add –er to adjectives that
already describe you. (ex. smarter, taller, exciting)