In today’s classrooms, storytelling can take many forms—written, spoken, and even recorded for the world to hear. At Southern Middle School, music students recently combined poetry and technology in a creative project inspired by the poem Where I’m From by George Ella Lyon. Through writing and podcasting, students explored their identities and learned how sharing personal stories can build connection and understanding.

Where I’m From is a well-known poem that encourages readers to reflect on their roots, memories, and experiences. The poem lists images and details from the author’s childhood—family traditions, familiar objects, and meaningful places. Because of its vivid structure and personal tone, the poem has become a popular writing model for students across the country. Music students in Mr. Cole’s Music Class at Southern Middle School used a template based on the poem’s format to create their own “Where I’m From” poems. The template guided them through prompts such as:

“I am from…”, “I am from the sounds of…”, “I am from the memories of…”. These prompts helped students think about the sounds, traditions, foods, places, and people that shape who they are. In a music classroom especially, students often reflected on the sounds that surround them—favorite songs, instruments they play, or music heard at home or church.

After completing their poems, students took the next step: turning their writing into a podcast conversation. Working with a partner, each student discussed their poem while the other student acted as a co-host and interviewer. Together they recorded short podcast episodes where they talked about: Why they chose certain memories or images, What their poem reveals about their background, and Similarities and differences between their experiences. Podcasting allowed students to move beyond simply writing a poem. Instead, they practiced speaking, listening, and storytelling skills. Recording their conversations helped them focus on clarity, expression, and confidence while sharing personal ideas. These conversations often led to discoveries about classmates’ lives that students had never heard before. The project helped build empathy and understanding as students realized how unique—and sometimes similar—their experiences can be.

Podcasting is an increasingly valuable classroom tool because it develops multiple skills at once. Students practice:

  • Communication – speaking clearly and expressing ideas
  • Collaboration – working with a partner as co-hosts
  • Creativity – turning writing into an engaging audio story
  • Technology skills – recording, editing, and producing digital media

Most importantly, podcasting gives students a voice. When students hear their ideas played back through a recording, they recognize that their stories matter.

For the music students at Southern Middle School, this project blended literature, creativity, and technology into one meaningful experience. By using Where I’m From as inspiration, students discovered how poetry can become a starting point for deeper conversation. Through their podcasts, each student created a small audio snapshot of identity—a story about family, culture, memories, and sound. Together, these recordings formed a collection of voices that celebrate where each student comes from and how those experiences shape who they are today. In the end, the project showed that poetry is not just something to read on a page. When students speak their words aloud and share them with others, poetry becomes a living story—and every voice adds something new to the conversation.

Jeremy Cole
Southern Middle School
Pulaski County Schools
6-8 Music