Acrostic Poems

Writing, Grade 2, ~75 minutes, in four parts

Wholeness
Acrostic poems are poems about one topic, with words that start with the same letter as every word in the
topic. They can be simple poems with one or two words, or longer poems with phrases. Through writing
acrostic poems, children will also learn about the writing and rewriting processes.

SCI Wholeness: The editing process may be hard. We might get rid of some old things and bring in some
new things. This purification of our poems will lead to better poems, just as how purifying stresses in
everyday life leads to progress.

Common Core Standards
With guidance and support from adults and peers, focus on a topic and strengthen writing as needed by
revising and editing. (W.2.5.)

By the end of the year, read and comprehend literature, including stories and poetry, in the grades 2-3
text complexity and proficiently, with scaffolding as needed at the high end of the range. (RL.2.10)

Main Points
1. To pick words for our acrostic poem, they must describe our theme and begin with one of the letters in
the theme.
2. Acrostic poems can be simple with one or two words or with a whole phrase.
3. Acrostic poems can be individual ideas or they can make up a sentence.
4. The first things we think of doesnt have to be what we end up with. New ideas should always be
welcome in order to make a better poem.

Objectives
1. Students should be able to understand and create an acrostic poem
2. Students should be able to recognize what needs revision and how to revise

Materials
Easter Worksheets for days 1 & 2
Blank paper for first draft of name poems (small groups)
Cardstock for our final name poems (day 2)
Poems to read for day 2s mini lesson

Differentiation
Students will be able to pick their own difficulty level in terms of their poem. If they are high performing,
they can make more phrases or complete sentences in their poem while lower performing students can
stick with one or two words. All students will have teacher-directed time in small groups.

Procedure:
Part I: AM Mini-Lesson (15 minutes)
REVIEW: Briefly review what an acrostic poem is. Give an example on the board.

HOOK: Work together on Easter Poem, first brainstorming for each letter

Everyone writes their own poem on their paper

Part II: Work With Teacher (20 minutes)
Brainstorm words for our Name Acrostics (things they like or adjectives that describe them)

Choose words for our poems

Draw or have them help others when finished

Part 3: Second Mini-Lesson (15 minutes)
REVIEW & HOOK: Read together a couple acrostic poems with different styles, starting out simple and
getting more complex. Ask about the differences between poems.

Workshop one of the poems (spring) then work on our Easter Poems from monday to make it better.

Part 4: Writers Workshop (25 minutes)
Students will get into groups and share what they have so far. They will ask for advice from peers, or try a
more advanced version of their poem, adding more phrases.
If they finish early, they may draw.
Closure: Everyone is welcome to share their final name poem! (and first draft if they want to)
Assessment: How does their final poem compare to their first draft?




Poems to read for day 2s mini lesson
guiding question: what is different about poem 3 from 1 & 2? whats different about 4?
Shining
Twinkling
At night
Red or Yellow
So bright

Sun
Pretty
Rainbow
I see flowers
No snow
Growing

Wild winds blowing in winter
Each season is awesome
All summer long we have fun in the sun
Tornados are bad weather
Hateful weather is icy rain
Excellent weather is in spring
Rain happens more in spring

APRIL
After days of
Pouring
Rain, the last
Ice and snow finally
Leave the earth.