DIY Homeschooler

An abecedarian is a variation of acrostic poem where each stanza or line begins with consecutive letters of the alphabet. One of the most well-known abecedarian acrostics is Psalm 119 in the Bible, which follows the Hebrew letters of the alphabet. Here is how you can have your students write their own abecedarian.

First, copy the letters of the alphabet down the left side of a sheet of paper within the margin. If using the letters for the beginning of stanzas instead of each line (like Psalm 119), then you’ll want to leave enough lines between each letter to hold the entire stanza.

Second, decide on a theme to follow. (It is always nice if a poem actually means something, isn’t it?) In the example below, we’ll use a cat theme.

Next, choose strong words to lead the line or stanza. Active verbs and vivid nouns, for example, will catch the reader’s attention. Use words that the reader can see, smell, taste, feel, or hear.

Fourth, to make the poem more interesting, incorporate a few literary devices such as repetition, alliteration, rhyming, couplets, and/or rhythm.

Finally, have fun. Incorporate humor. Tell a joke.

If you get stuck (x can be difficult) do what the pros do and fudge (ex, for example). And make good use of a dictionary and/or thesaurus.

Here is our own attempt:

Alligator was the name of our cat,
Black as satin,
Crouched to attack.

Daring he was,
Eyeing his prey,
Fighting with claws,
Ground fine and gleaming
Honed for the climb up and away.

Inside the house, he would
Jump to the top of the
Kitchen table, victorious and
Lithe like a cat (no wait, where was I at)….

Mission accomplished, he sat down to
Nosh. The family dinner disappeared down
Open jaws.

Preening his paws,
Quiet in victory,
Restful…
Satiated…
Triumphant….

Under the table he pounced,
reinVigorated and
Waiting
eXamining opportunities,
Yearning and
Zealous for more.

If your student finds the exercise difficult, provide a template to get him started. Then he won’t feel the need to be quite so creative. You’ll find a host of poems to choose from in the additional resources below.

Suggestions

Choose one or more of these ideas to encourage your student’s engagement: (you’ll find these ideas get a bit more involved as you proceed down the list)

• Make a simple list of words in ABC order. Use a random word generator if you get stuck.
• Create an ABC chart with columns for nouns, verbs, adjectives, and adverbs. You can use our free Sensory Detail form to get started. List the words in each column in ABC order.
• Use an Acrostic Poem Interactive to make the activity more interesting.
• Rewrite a short poem using the abecedarian form.
• Retell a favorite short story using the abecedarian form.

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Additional Resources

Write Something Every Day: 366 Pencil Sharpeners for Students of Writing
Our book will get you started. This huge 554-pg. resource provides carefully crafted writing prompts and challenges for each day. We use nearly 20 different forms of writing to keep the student engaged. Also included are writing instruction, tips for modifying assignments for “younger writers,” and other resources. Learn more.

Poetry Index
Hundreds of poems to choose from to use as templates.