Acrostic Poems

What is an Acrostic Poem?

O A poem (or other form of writing) in which the first letter, syllable or word of each line, paragraph or other recurring feature in the text spells out a word or a message.

O As a form of constrained writing, an acrostic can be used as a mnemonic device to aid memory retrieval.

O An acrostic poem is a cryptographic form in which the initial letter of each line spells out a word, often the subject of the poem or the name of the person to whom the poem is dedicated.

O For our activity, we will focus on a Subject

History Of Acrostic Poems

O the first known acrostics date back to ancient times: the name “acrostic” was first used to describe ancient prophecies

O they were written on leaves arranged so that the first letter on each leaf formed a word.

CharacteristicsO involves brainstorming of ideas which is

key to the creative writing processO creates connections with oneself to the

writing processO employs the use of spoken, written,

and visual language (e.g., conventions, style, vocabulary) to communicate effectively with a variety of audiences and for different purposes.

O evokes knowledge of language structure, language conventions (e.g., spelling and punctuation), media techniques and figurative language.

O can employ the use of a variety of technological and information resources (e.g., libraries, databases, computer networks, video) to gather and synthesize information and to create and communicate knowledge.

O An acrostic poem uses the letters in a topic word to begin each line.

O All lines of the poem should relate to or describe the topic word.

EXAMPLE:O Shines brightlyO Up in the skyO Nice and warm on my skin

O Can be used to incorporate other subjects, including research, science/social studies and novel study, including identifying characters of a story and their character traits (within an acrostic poem).

O SubjectsO ClassroomsO HomeworkO OpportunityO OrganizationO Learning

What are the two ways to do an Acrostic

Poem?

O Write a sentence that begins with each letter of the subject.

O Working independently, develop an Acrostic Poem using our BIG IDEA as a guide :

“How can learning about other people around the world help us become more empathetic and grateful as Canadians?”

O Use the dictionary/thesaurus if you need help.

O Be creative! Use colour and/or images to make it more artistic.

Let’s Review!O What are the two different types of

Acrostic Poems?O Give one example of a characteristic

of an Acrostic Poem