DIY Homeschooler

Spring fever taking a toll on motivation? Try a new way to keep them writing with this free acrostic poem interactive at ReadWriteThink! An acrostic poem uses the first letter of the subject as the beginning of each line, with each line describing the subject (see the example in the image above). A common use is a Mother’s Day or Father’s Day acrostic.

Using the tool is easy. The hardest part is deciding what your poem will be about. Once you have decided on an subject, enter the subject and your name and “Get Started.”

You’ll then be presented with a Brainstorming Page. List the features that describe your subject. If the words or phrases start with one of the letters of your subject, so much the better!

Finally, you write your poem. Your brainstorming words and phrases will show up on the right to help you along. When finished, print your creation!

If you have your children writing every day and they get stumped for something to write, have them tackle an acrostic poem!

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Suggestions

There are many different ways this acrostic poem interactive can be used. Here are just a handful of ideas:

• Create a Mother’s Day or Father’s Day poem, as mentioned above.
• Create a poem for a favorite person using his or her name.
• Create a poem that describes yourself using your own name.
• Practice using vivid verbs, substituting them instead of phrases in your acrostic poem.
• Use your acrostic poem as a unique way to wrap up a history theme you have been studying.
• Create a character analysis for a literary figure or a real individual from the past.
• Explain a science concept in a very unique way.
• Begin a poetry notebook starting with your acrostic poem.
• Use the acrostic poem interactive as a substitute for narration on occasion.

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Additional Resources

14 Forms of Writing for the Older Student: Poetry
Many resources!