Acrostic poem writing for elementary students

What is an acrostic poem and how does it work?

Acrostic poems are a simple yet powerful type of poetry where the first letter of each line spells out a word or phrase when read vertically. Each line of the poem describes or relates to the larger spelled out word. 

Acrostic poems can help students connect or link ideas to vocabulary across content areas, support overall comprehension of a cross-curricular concept, or simply explore creative expression. 

Start by showing your students this acrostic poem that spells out SPRING. 

Sunlight creeps in through the window

Petals bloom in the meadow

Rain refreshes the thirsty ground

Insects buzz all around

Nature wakes from its winter’s sleep

Green grass grows in pastures deep.

Acrostic poems are a great way to invite young writers to express their ideas using a predictable and simple structure. 

Start the conversation with your students by showing What Are Acrostic Poems? A great explanation of acrostic poetry in under one minute! 

Simple steps to introduce acrostic poetry in the classroom

Introducing acrostic poems does not have to be time-consuming! These types of poems are fun, low-pressure, and will immediately engage young learners! 

Here is a step-by-step approach to using and teaching acrostic poetry to your students. 

1) Model with familiar words

Start simple! Think about words that students might recognize. 

A great place to start is their own name! Model how each letter can begin a new line that relates to the main idea. 

2) Brainstorm as a class

Use a whiteboard, digital whiteboard, or anchor chart to brainstorm ideas and words together. 

Think about the word ‘FRIEND.’ 

Ask students to come up with related words, topics, or ideas that relate to this word. 

You may get some ideas such as: fun, loyal, nice, inclusive, dependable. 

3) Create as a class

Create a class poem together. 

Build the confidence of your writers by writing an acrostic poem together. Call on different students to help contribute lines of poetry. 

4) Provide graphic organizers

Use templates to scaffold writing for your students. Consider sentence starters, graphic charts, or color-coded lettering to help students identify where to continue their acrostic poems. 

5) Share

Make sure to celebrate your writers! Give students time to read their poems or post them around the room for others to look at. 

Sharing writing will build motivation among writers.  

Fun and age-appropriate topic ideas for acrostic poems

Acrostic poems can be used with a variety of subjects and for any level of learner! Consider the following topics when engaging your students in the practice of creating acrostic poetry. 

Identity 

• NAME
• FRIEND
• FAMILY
• CULTURE
• IDENTITY
• TEAMWORK
• UNIQUE

Seasonal Acrostic Poems

• FALL
• WINTER
• AUTUMN
• SPRING
• SUMMER

• SNOW
• RAIN
• SUNSHINE
• RAINBOW
• CLOUDY

Content Specific

• SCIENCE
• MATH
• HISTORY
• READING
• WRITING

(Consider adding words that are specific to your lessons in these areas!)

SEL Themes

• BRAVERY
• HOPE
• PERSEVERANCE 
• TEAMWORK
• RESPECT
• COOPERATION
• CALM
• STRONG
• LOVE
• KINDNESS
• EMPATHY

Nature and animals 

• TREE
• OCEAN
• RAIN
• EARTH
• MOUNTAIN
• TIGER
• PANDA
• DOG

When choosing the best topic for an acrostic poem, encourage your students to think about something that matters to them. Students will have an easier time brainstorming ideas for each line of their poem if they care and/or have background knowledge about the topic!

Using visuals and classroom displays to celebrate student poems

Display acrostic poems in the classroom in a variety of ways so that students’ work and writing can be shared. Because of the visual structure, acrostic poems lend themselves to be displayed in a creative way.

Here are a few ideas of how you might display acrostic poems in your classroom:

Acrostic Mobile: 

• Hang poems from string using clothespins across the ceiling of your classroom. 

Acrostic Poems and Portraits: 

• Have students draw self-portraits and write an acrostic poem with their name going down the side of it. 
• This is a perfect back-to-school or getting to know you activity!

Digital Publishing: 

• Use a platform to create a digital version of student work. 
• Consider adding an element of multimedia and have students record themselves reading their poetry and attach it to their digital poem. 

Wall of Fame: 

• Create a bulletin board of bright colors and stars. 
• Add glowing student work to this board, change it often so you students can see their work on display!

Poetry Slam: 

• Host a poetry reading gathering at your school. 
• You can also invite community members to listen and engage in the student work. 

Encouraging self-expression and language exploration through poetry

Poetry is a tool for students to express their own identities and reflections on the world. Acrostic poems allow a space for students to do just that. 

Acrostic poems offer a supportive and scaffolded structure to benefit all students in accessing this form of poetry. Think about your multilingual learners and how they could write acrostic poems using multiple languages. 

Acrostic poems are excellent for exploring emotions and SEL lessons. Think about having your students write a poem about “calm” or “fear” and use each letter to label something that they think of that makes them calm or fearful. This would be a perfect entry point into helping your students understand their emotions.

Link poetry with other subjects to really drive the message home! Acrostic poems can be about animals, historical figures, math concepts or rules, or science vocabulary! Make learning more fun with the development of acrostic poems across content areas!

Acrostic poems are accessible, expressive, and flexible. Include acrostic poems into your poetry unit to offer your students a great way to play with words and share their stories!