Acrostic Poem School Journal

Level 3, August 2018

Go to www.schooljournal.tki.org.nz
for PDFs of all the texts in this issue of the School Journal as
well as teacher support material (TSM) for the following:

l Journal
TSM

by Tim Upperton Year 6 SchAouogust 2018

The Young Ecoleaders Award 

SCHOOL JOURNAL
AUGUST 2018
Acrostic Poem 
Finding George 

Overview
This TSM contains information and suggestions for teachers to pick and choose from, depending on the needs of their students and
their purpose for using the text. The materials provide many opportunities for revisiting the text.

While many students enjoy poetry, others find its form and figurative language This poem:
difficult and unappealing. The acrostic poem is often seen by teachers as a good ▪▪ uses an extended metaphor to introduce and challenge a traditional
way into poetry writing. However, while its simple formula makes an acrostic poetic form
poem easy enough to write, the product is often mundane. In this poem about
writing poetry, Tim Upperton subverts the form of the acrostic to show what ▪▪ opens up a whole new way of thinking about, reading, and creating
can happen when the words and ideas are let free. This is a poem that speaks to acrostic poetry
students’ experiences as readers and writers of poetry and makes it fun. ▪▪ may make converts of students who have not enjoyed their previous
experiences with poetry.
ACR O S TIC P O E M
A PDF of the text is available at www.schooljournal.tki.org.nz
An acrostic poem is a fence around a wildlife park –
ACR O S TIC P O E M
Texts related by theme  “No
can you hearRhyme” SJ L3
it as you write, the Aug 2015
confined | “Not Your Normal Tent” SJ L3 Nov 2016 | “Close Up” SJ L2 Nov 2016
animals,
restless, pacing? They are looking for a way under,

Text characteristics
ACR O S TIC strong
POEM
from the year 6 reading standard
over, through. Each line is a wire,
and tight. But any gaps in the fence –
An acrostic poem is a fence around a wildlife park –

We have retained the links to the National Standards while a new assessment and reportingACR canOyou
system ishear
S TIC P OitEdeveloped.
being as
M you write, the confined animals,
thearound
An acrostic poem is a fence animals
a wildlifewill
park find
– them. They won’t be kept
For more information on assessing and reporting in the post-National Standards era, see: http://assessment.tki.org.nz/Assessment-and-reporting-guide
can you hear it as you write, the confined animals,
in. Through the gaps, the wild creatures An restless,
acrostic poem is apacing?
fence around aThey are
wildlife park – looking for a way under,
restless, pacing? They are looking for a way under, can you hear it as you write, the confined animals,
come.
over, through. Each line is a wire, They are escaping from your over, through. Each line is a wire,
restless, pacing? They are looking for a way under,
strong and tight. But any gaps in the fence – over, through. Each line is a wire,
the animals will find them. They won’t be kept strong and tight. But any gaps in the fence –
strong and tight. But any gaps in the fence –
in. Through the gaps, thepoem. Listen!
wild creatures The lions have broken the animals will find them. They won’t be kept
come. They are escaping from your the animals will find them. They won’t be kept
in. Through the gaps, the wild creatures
out.
come. They are escaping from your
poem. Listen! The lions have broken
They are in. Through the gaps, the wild creatures
out. poem. Listen! The lions have broken
They are so hungry. What will they come. They are escaping from your
out.
so hungry. What will they
eat? They are
eat? so hungry. What will they
They have been dying to They have been dying to eat?
meet poem. Listen!
They have The lions have broken
been dying to
you.
meet
meet

you. out. you.

Tim Upperton
They are
Tim Upperton

Tim Upperton
so hungry. What will they
abstract ideas, in greater numbers than in texts at earlier levels, some ideas and information that are conveyed indirectly and
eat?
accompanied by concrete examples in the text that help support require students to infer by drawing on several related pieces of
the students’ understanding information They
in thehave
text been15 dying to
ACR O S TIC P O E M ACR O S TIC P O E M
meet
you.
An O
ACR acrostic
S TIC Ppoem
OEM is a fence around a wildlife park –
AnOacrostic
ACR S TIC P Opoem
EM is a fence around a wildlife park –
can you hear it as you write, the confined animals,
An acrostic poem is a fence around a wildlife park –
can you hear it as you write, the confined animals,
An acrostic poem is a fence around a wildlife park – can you hear it as you write, the confined animals,
Tim Upperton
can you hear it as you write, the confined animals, restless, pacing? They are looking for a way under,
restless, pacing? They are looking for a way under,
restless, pacing? They are looking for a way under,
restless, pacing? They are looking for a way under, over, through. Each line is a wire,

over, through. Each line is a wire, over, through. Each line is a wire,
strong and tight. But any gaps in the fence –
over, through. Each line is a wire,
strong and tight. But any gaps in the fence – the animals will find them. They won’t be kept

the animals will find them. They won’t be kept strong and tight. But any gaps in the fence –
in. Through the gaps, the wild creatures
strong and tight. But any gaps in the fence –
in. Through the gaps, the wild creatures come. They are escaping from your

come. They are escaping from your the animals will find them. They won’t be kept
the animals will find them. They won’t be kept poem. Listen! The lions have broken

poem. Listen! The lions have broken in. Through the gaps, the wild creatures
out.

out.
in. Through the gaps, the wild creatures They are

They are come. They

so hungry. are escaping
What will they from your
come.soThey are escaping from your
hungry. What will they eat?

eat? They have been dying to

They have been dying to meet

sentences
meet that vary in length and in structure (for example, poem.and/or
figurative Listen!ambiguous
you. The lions have broken
language that the context helps
poem. Listen! The lions have broken
sentences you.
that begin in different ways and different kinds of students to understand
out. Tim Upperton
out. sentences
complex with a number of subordinate clauses)
Tim Upperton
They are
They are
so hungry. What will they
so hungry. What will they
eat?
eat? Reading standard: by the end of year 6
They have been15 dying to
They have been dying to TEACHER SUPPORT MATERIAL FOR “ACROSTIC POEM”, SCHOOL JOURNAL, LEVEL 3, AUGUST 2018 1
The above pages:
Text and images copyright © Crown, except the image of the wire fence, which is from Unsplash
meet ACCESSED FROM WWW.SCHOOLJOURNAL.TKI.ORG.NZ
meet
(unsplash.com/license) by Casey Horner from goo.gl/fRqRaL. COPYRIGHT © CROWN 2018
you.
you.
Text and language challenges (Some of the suggestions for possible supporting strategies may be more useful before reading,
but they can be used at any time in response to students’ needs.)

VOCABULARY Possible supporting strategies

▪▪ Possibly unfamiliar words and phrases, including ▪▪ Identify words or phrases that may be unfamiliar to your students and discuss these when
“acrostic”, “wildlife park”, “confined”, “restless”, introducing the poem before reading.
“pacing”, “creatures”, “broken out” ▪▪ Work with the students to come up with an action that represents each new word by
expressing something of the meaning of the word (for example, for “confined”, they
could make a circle with their hands). Then, when reading the word, the students use the
associated action. This makes word learning fun and helps to cement the meaning.
▪▪ The English Language Learning Progressions: Introduction, pages 39–46, has useful
information about learning vocabulary.
▪▪ See also ESOL Online, Vocabulary, for examples of other strategies to support students
with vocabulary.

SPECIFIC KNOWLEDGE REQUIRED Possible supporting strategies

▪▪ Familiarity with poetry, in particular, acrostic poetry ▪▪ Prompt the students to think, pair, and share their experiences of reading and
▪▪ Familiarity with wildlife parks writing poetry.
▪▪ Most students will know about zoos, but they may not know about wildlife parks.
Have students who have been to a wildlife park share their experiences or display
pictures from books or the internet. Discuss how a wild animal might feel about
being kept in confinement.

TEXT FEATURES AND STRUCTURE Possible supporting strategies

▪▪ An acrostic poem in two stanzas ▪▪ Focus on the concept of poetic form – the physical structure of a poem that is created
▪▪ Bold letters at the start of each line that together spell by the poet’s decisions about line length, rhythm, rhyme, and repetition. Invite the
the title of the poem students to share examples of poetic forms that they are familiar with. Some may have
experimented with writing acrostic poetry. How did you find it? What was it like, writing to
▪▪ The direct address to the reader and the conversational
a particular formula?
tone
▪▪ Have the students look at this poem before revealing the title. What do you notice about
▪▪ The important role of punctuation in showing how the
the form of this particular poem? Do you know what this sort of poem is called? Reveal the
poem should be read, including the use of the dash
title and check that the students understand that an acrostic poem is one in which sets
▪▪ The extended metaphor as the poet compares the form of letters – typically the first in each line – make another word or sentence linked to the
of an acrostic poem with a wildlife park, with its fences theme of the poem.
and regulations, and the poet’s creative spirit with a
▪▪ Explain that the poem includes an extended metaphor. Have the students think, pair, and
wild animal that cannot be held captive
share their understandings of what a metaphor is. What are some examples of metaphors
▪▪ The change in structure that matches the change in we have encountered in other poems or stories? If necessary, remind them that a metaphor
the action – the lions break out at the same time as the suggests a similarity between two things, but that it doesn’t use “like”, “as”, “than”,
poet moves to a freer verse form “similar to”, and “resembles”.
▪▪ The implicit threat and potential pun in the words ▪▪ It could be fun for students, and particularly helpful for English language learners, to start
“They are so hungry. What will they eat?” and “They collecting and recording metaphors in conversations, in the media, or in songs. At the
have been dying to meet you.” end of the term, they could make up categories and vote on their favourites (for example,
“best sporting metaphor”, “most romantic metaphor”, “silliest metaphor”).
▪▪ If the students need more practice in creating metaphors, give them a list of metaphors
and have them explain how the two things are alike. Model a few examples first (for
example, “The road snakes around the mountain” – roads and snakes both bend
and curve).

Sounds and Words

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Possible curriculum contexts
ENGLISH (Reading) Possible first reading purpose
Level 3 – Ideas: Show a developing understanding of ideas within, ▪▪ To identify the main message of the poem.
across, and beyond texts.
Possible subsequent reading purposes
– Language features: Show a developing understanding of how
▪▪ To identify and consider the writer’s purpose
language features are used for effect within and across texts.
▪▪ To explore the language features and devices
ENGLISH (Writing) ▪▪ To identify and discuss the connection between the format and the main ideas
Level 3 – Ideas: Select, form, and communicate ideas on a range ▪▪ To explore the way language is used to create an extended metaphor
of topics.
▪▪ To evaluate the writer’s choices.
– Language features: Use language features appropriately,
showing a developing understanding of their effects. Possible writing purposes
▪▪ To use the poem as a model to create their own acrostic poem
▪▪ To respond to the poem.

The New Zealand Curriculum

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Instructional focus – Reading
English Level 3 – Ideas: Show a developing understanding of ideas within, across, and beyond texts; Language features: Show a developing understanding of how
language features are used for effect within and across texts.

First reading

▪▪ Check that the students understand the form of an acrostic poem. Prompt If the students require more scaffolding
them to scan the poem, noticing how the bold letters spell out the words ▪▪ After reading each stanza, ask questions to help the students make
of the title. Why do you think these letters are in bold type? Why are there sense of the poem. How does Tim Upperton describe acrostic poems
two stanzas? in the first stanza? How is that reflected in the way he writes that first
▪▪ You could project the text onto a screen when you do this. stanza? What happens in the second stanza? How is that reflected
in the structure of the poem? What does Tim Upperton think about
▪▪ Share the purpose of the reading with the students.
acrostic poetry? How do you know?
▪▪ Direct the students to read the poem with a partner, pausing at the end
▪▪ If the students have difficulty making sense of the metaphor,
of each stanza to share their impressions. Listen in on their conversations,
explain that words and phrases can have two meanings – the
noting where they may require additional support.
literal meaning and the metaphorical meaning – and discuss some
examples.
▪▪ Point out that we often use metaphors in everyday speech and can
create “metaphorical sets” around a particular topic (for example,
around the body: “in the blink of an eye”, “in the heart of the
city”). Present some topics and invite the students to brainstorm
metaphors that are related to those topics. Discuss what they
mean, literally and figuratively. Having had this support, prompt
the students to identify the metaphorical sets in this poem.

Subsequent readings How you approach subsequent readings will depend on your reading purpose.
Where possible, have the students work in pairs to discuss the following questions and prompts.

The teacher The students:

Reread the poem with the students and have them sketch the images that come ▪▪ visualise the images that the poem creates and identify the words
into their heads. Have them share their sketches with a partner and annotate and phrases that help create those images
them, using words and phrases from the poem. Talk about the words the groups ▪▪ make connections between the idea of animals in a wildlife park
selected for their sketches and what message they think the poet is trying to and the creative spirit embodied in the words of a poem
convey with the image of animals in a wildlife park. Discuss the effect of the ▪▪ identify the writer’s central metaphor and track its development
writer’s viewpoint. through changes in the words, imagery, and structure
▪▪ What is the effect of the direct address to the reader? How do you feel about ▪▪ use what they know about the form of an acrostic poem to make
the hungry lions who are “dying to meet you”? judgments about whether this poem is true to its form.
▪▪ Why does the writer say an acrostic poem is like a fence around a wildlife
park?

Then discuss the structure of the poem and how it reflects the content.
▪▪ How does the structure change from the first stanza to the second? Why do
you think it changes?
▪▪ Has the writer kept to the rules for an acrostic poem? Why do you say this?
The teacher The students:
Ask the students to think about the different lengths of pause (indicated by the ▪▪ explore how the punctuation marks in the poem provide clues for
punctuation marks and line breaks) and the tone (indicated by the question how it should be read – its tone, pace, and rhythm
mark and exclamation mark) and discuss these with a partner. Work towards an ▪▪ in pairs or small groups, discuss their interpretations of the
oral reading that reflects the intended pace and rhythm of the poem. writer’s intention
▪▪ What do you notice about the punctuation in this poem? How do you think it ▪▪ discuss the effectiveness of the writer’s choices of layout and
should be read? style
▪▪ What is the difference between the length of the pause indicated by a ▪▪ collaborate to prepare oral presentations that they believe reflect
comma, a dash, or the punctuation marks at the end of the sentences? How the writer’s intention.
might this sound if we clapped it out?
▪▪ What other punctuation marks give us clues about how the poem should be
read out loud?
Have the students work in small groups or pairs to prepare an oral presentation
of the poem. One student could be the reader with the others coaching. They
could record their presentations. Ensure that the person reading out loud is well
supported so that they enjoy success. Assist English Language Learners with the
pronunciation, intonation, pitch, speed, and run-ons of spoken English. Provide
explicit feedback and modelling.

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Instructional focus – Reading CONTINUED
Subsequent readings (cont.)

The teacher The students:

Discuss the idea of poetic forms and structures. ▪▪ make connections with other poems they have read and with
another poem by Tim Upperton
▪▪ An acrostic is one form of poem. What are some other examples of poetic
forms? ▪▪ discuss the concept and purpose of poetic form
▪▪ What is special about each form? Think about things like rhythm, rhyme, line ▪▪ identify other forms of poetry, such as haiku, limericks, and
length, and repetition. sonnets, and identify some of the elements that characterise
them
Explain that for many people, the form of a poem is its discipline. It creates a
▪▪ think critically about Tim Upperton’s poetry and his message
framework that can intensify the feelings and ideas the poet is trying to convey.
about poetic form
It can also make a poem more satisfying to read and easier to remember. But as
with most things, when we know the rules, we can use our judgment to break ▪▪ identify the writer’s message(s) and discuss whether they agree
them when the time is right. ▪▪ evaluate the effectiveness of this poem and its impact on them as
Have the students read Tim Upperton’s poem “No Rhyme” (School Journal, L3, readers and potential writers of poetry.
August 2015) and compare it with “Acrostic Poem”.
▪▪ What is similar about the messages and the way they are conveyed?
What does he do with the form of both poems?
▪▪ Do you agree with the point Tim Upperton is making in these poems?
Why or why not?
▪▪ What do you think of these poems? Thinking back to our earlier discussion
about previous experiences of reading or writing poetry, have your thoughts
changed? How do you feel about reading or writing poetry now?
 GIVE FEEDBACK 
▪▪ I’m really impressed by the connection you made between a game
of rugby and its rules and techniques and a poem. Did you notice
that you created a metaphor of your own when you talked about
how the magic happens when someone who knows the rules
well and has learned all the plays busts out and does something
different and exciting?

METACOGNITION
▪▪ How did your work in preparing the oral presentation affect your
understanding of the poem? Did it make more sense as you thought Reading standard: by the end of year 6
about how to read it out loud? What was the effect of working with The Literacy Learning Progressions
other people and hearing their ideas?
Assessment Resource Banks

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Instructional focus – Writing
English Level 3 – Language features: Use language features appropriately, showing a developing understanding of their effects; Ideas: Select, form, and
communicate ideas on a range of topics.

Text excerpts from Examples of text Teacher

“Acrostic Poem” characteristics (possible deliberate acts of teaching)

Through the gaps, the wild METAPHOR If you haven’t already done so, introduce the term “metaphorical set” (see the
A metaphor is a comparison First Reading section). Have the students work in groups to create metaphorical
creatures
between two things that we sets based around familiar topics, such as the weather (“sunny days are here
come. again”), colours (“I see red”), plants (“the root of the problem”), or sports (“hit
don’t usually think of as being
connected to each other. We use it out of the park”). Give them time for research and to design their charts (for
metaphors in everyday life, often example, they might sketch a garden and annotate the different parts with
without thinking (for example, relevant metaphors).
“it was a race against time”). In DIGITAL
TOOLS They could use Google Drawings to work collaboratively to
poetry and songs, metaphors combine images and text. (This also makes it easier to share the charts
can create powerful images that in the next activity.)
reinforce our message.

Each line is a wire, POETIC FORM Have the students share their charts and use the metaphors as inspiration for
strong and tight. Many traditional poems have a writing their own acrostic poems.
regular structure, so we know DIGITAL
TOOLS They could add their charts to a shared Google Slides presentation.
what to expect. Others are written
Tell the students that they can stick to the form, break out into free verse, or
in free verse, where the poet is
stretch the form but not quite break it in the way that Tim Upperton does.
free to make their own choices
about the use of rhyme, the ▪▪ These are your poems, and you can do what you like, so long as you have
numbers of syllables or lines, the thought about it and made a deliberate choice.
punctuation, or the way the lines Support the students to identify the structure or language features they will use
are formed. This doesn’t mean as they write their poems.
that their poem is random – good
▪▪ What is the idea or the feeling you’re trying to convey in your poem?
poets still carefully choose the
What makes this metaphor suitable for conveying your ideas? What is the
words and form that they think
connection you are making?
will convey a feeling or idea as
effectively as possible. ▪▪ What structure will best help you achieve your purpose?
▪▪ Do you think you will stick with the same structure throughout? Or is there a
part where you might want to include some free verse?
▪▪ What are some other poetic devices you could try that might help convey your
message? How about using rhyme to emphasise an idea or including some
onomatopoeia – words that sound like the thing they are naming?
▪▪ Is there a way you could get the rhythm to help hint at the idea you are
conveying?

Prompt the students to keep the sounds in mind.

▪▪ How does your poem sound when you read it aloud? What happens when a
partner reads it aloud?
▪▪ Do you need to use punctuation to add further clues to how to read the poem?

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Instructional focus – Writing CONTINUED
Text excerpts from Examples of text characteristics Teacher
“Acrostic Poem” (possible deliberate acts of teaching)

An acrostic poem is a fence PERSUASIVE WRITING Having discussed their response to the poem and its message, have the students
Persuasive writing is used to put their thoughts into writing. They might want to respond to the poem itself,
around a wildlife park –
convince someone to take a explaining why they did or did not like it, or they may want to focus on the poem’s
can you hear, as you write, the message, explaining how they feel about the rules of an acrostic poem and
position on a particular issue or to
confined animals, take a certain action. It requires whether they should be broken. You could support the students by providing them
a clear sense of purpose and an with a writing frame with prompts that include:
restless, pacing?
awareness of the audience and ▪▪ Topic
what drives them. ▪▪ Opinion
▪▪ Lead sentence:
▪▪ Reason 1 ...
− Evidence
▪▪ Reason 2 ...
− Evidence (and so on)
▪▪ Opinion – restated

Prompt the students to quote from the poem to explain their reasoning. Remind
them what they learned from listening to each other during the discussion. You
already know a lot about what your audience thinks and believes about this poem.
What are some strong points you could make that might persuade your readers to
your point of view? What are some counter-arguments that you need to address?

 GIVE FEEDBACK 
▪▪ I love the way you’ve shared your love of the beach in your poem.
Your use of metaphor to describe the sounds of the waves washing
in on the shore is very visual, and “swish” is a good choice of word –
I can hear it! Is there a way you could emphasise that sound in the
rhythm of your poem?

METACOGNITION
▪▪ Tell me why you decided on this particular structure.
What is the relationship between the structure of your
poem and the idea you were trying to convey?
Writing standard: by the end of year 6
The Literacy Learning Progressions

ISBN 978-1-77669-354-2 (online)

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