Setting the Stage - Things To Consider
Expose the children to many
poems/chants right from the first week of school.
The neat thing about acrostic poems,
is that you don't have to be concerned with sentence writing or rhyming.
It's really helpful to have
experience (oral or written) with using describing words.
Name Poems
I like to do acrostics with the
students' names because its something they know lots about.
Model an acrostic for the class using your first name. Tell why you chose the words you
did, making connections to some experience in your life. For example, I have an
"A" in my name. I picked the word Amber because that's my cat's name. Here's my
poem:
Mom
Amber
Reading
Cats and children
Interested in learning more about quilts.
Then we have a big brainstorming session to make lists of words that begin with letters in
the first names of the children. I write the capital letters on the chalkboard. We
just think of words and I scribe to make the lists. I usually do this in the morning
before lunch. When we come back after recess, we start to write our sloppy copy.
Students write their name vertically on paper using capital letters. Then they find words
to tell about themselves. I tell them to skip a letter if they can't find a word and go
back to it later.
I try not to suggest words but I do give prompts such as, "Tell about the things you
do best." That usually helps them get started. I conference with each child for a
little bit during this writing session. We share as soon as one or two have written
enough. Once the sharing begins (we do this at our seats because most are still writing),
the others want to reach that part too, so they become better focused and write more.
Depending on the time limitations for the class, I often end here for this day. I copy
words from the chalkboard to paper during student recess time so we can use them the next
day.
During the session, some students are having a conference with me (to revise, find words,
edit for spelling) and some are working on another writing assignment. When all the poems
are completed in a first draft, I copy them on lined paper with a thin black marker. I
have tried to let them do a final copy from their draft page, but there were too many
mistakes. Taking the time to hand copy each is worth it. You might be able to get an aide
or parent to help.
Final session has all the students copying their poems on good paper, having their work
checked by me for accuracy and neatness. Students trace over first letters with crayons or
skinny markers.
After sharing, the poems are displayed in hallway. Later in the week, students view their
work on our website and read their poems to class again.
PS. One of the skills I
emphasize during this writing is to reread for revision: "reread to make it
better." |