LESSON PLAN 9.1

Title: Celebrate the Seasons with Acrostic Poems

Grade level: 3-6

Timeframe: Two 45-minute sessions

Standards:

IRA/NCTE Standards: 4, 6, 8

NETS for Students: 1, 3

Objectives:

  • Students will learn the structure of acrostic poetry by viewing examples in literature.
  • Students will utilize word processing or publishing software to create an acrostic poem about a season or seasonal event.

Materials:

  • Literature:
  • Schnur, Steven, Illus. by Leslie Evans (2002). Winter: An Alphabet Acrostic. Winnipeg, Manitoba: Clarion Books.
  • Schnur, Steven, Illus. by Leslie Evans (1999). Spring: An Alphabet Acrostic. Winnipeg, Manitoba: Clarion Books.
  • Schnur, Steven, Illus. by Leslie Evans (2001). Summer: An Alphabet Acrostic. Winnipeg, Manitoba: Clarion Books.
  • Schnur, Steven, Illus. by Leslie Evans (1997). Autumn: An Alphabet Acrostic. Winnipeg, Manitoba: Clarion Books.
  • Computers with word processing and/or publishing software.

Motivation:

  • Read one or more of Steven Schnur’s books aloud to your students.Invite students to comment on what they notice about the book’s illustrations and text. Point out that the author uses a style of poetry called acrostic poetry.

Procedures:

Day 1:

  • Explain that acrostic poems read downward, with the first letter of each line being part of a topic word. Each letter expands with a word or short phrase that describes the original word. Point out that the topic word is generally written in capital, colorful letters. Emphasize that the acrostic poem is not a rhyming poem, but rather focuses on meaning and content.
  • Invite students to compose their own seasonal acrostic poem. (Some students may choose to write about a particular holiday or event that occurs within a particular season.) Students should select a topic word and brainstorm lists of descriptive words or phrases to describe the topic word.

Day 2:

  • Allow students time to draft, revise, and edit their acrostic poems.
  • Demonstrate how to publish an acrostic poem using word processing or publishing software. Include instruction on using different fonts, changing font size and color, inserting illustrations (from file or clipart), and adding a page border. Encourage students to be creative while still maintaining the format of an acrostic poem.

Assessment:

  • Teacher-developed rubric or checklist to assess students’ understanding of acrostic poems and the use of relevant software applications.

Accommodation/Modification:

  • Vary the length of words/phrases used to describe the topic word in the acrostic poem to suit needs of individual students.

Students who will benefit from viewing other examples of acrostic poems may visit Acrostic Poems for Children, a site that also has excellent teacher resources: (