What is an Acrostic Poem?

Lesson based on the novel To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee Hannah Hollomon

Youve Done this Before

This is what it looks like:

Loveable Attentive Understanding Reader Energetic Nurturing

So, lets actually define it.

An acrostic poem uses the letters in a topic word to begin each line. All lines of the poem should relate to or describe the topic. Lets call the letters of the topic word the Big Letters.

Guess What?
Acrostics are common in medieval literature. Often, they were used to highlight the name of the poet or his patron. They were also used to make prayers to saints. During the Renaissance, people often used acrostics to send hidden messages in long prose. People often use acrostics for memory devices.

Lets start with a basic example:

This popular acrostic is used as a memory device: King Phillip Comes Over For Good Soup This one is used to remember the system for the scientific naming of species: Kingdom, Phylum, Class, Order, Family, Genus, Species

 Can you think of any more that you use as a memory device?
Winter Wonderland Ice is Slippery Nothing is hot The weather is cold Everything you touch is cold Really cold

Shining Ultraviolent Not seen at night

Acrostic in Literature
In Lewis Carrolls Through the Looking Glass, the last chapter entitled: A Boat, Beneath a Sunny Sky is an acrostic of the Alices name: Alice Pleasance Liddell.

A Boat Beneath a Sunny Sky (1872)

A boat beneath a sunny sky, Lingering onward dreamily In an evening of July Children three that nestle near, Eager eye and willing ear, Pleased a simple tale to hear Long had paled that sunny sky: Echoes fade and memories die. Autumn frosts have slain July. Still she haunts me, phantomwise, Alice moving under skies Never seen by waking eyes. Children yet, the tale to hear, Eager eye and willing ear, Lovingly shall nestle near. In a Wonderland they lie, Dreaming as the days go by, Dreaming as the summers die:

Ever drifting down the stream Lingering in the golden gleam Life, what is it but a dream?

Todays Activity:
Create an acrostic poem using your knowledge of the characters in To Kill a Mockingbird. Choose a character from the novel (other than Scout) and that characters name will be the topic word. Each letter of the name will be the Big Letters. Choose a scene or situation from the novel. Your poem should describe the scene from the point of view of the character youve chosen.

Cont.
In the poem you will describe what physically takes place but also the characters emotional reaction to the particular situation. Dont get so stuck on what is actually said in the book. Think about what the character was thinking and felt, even if the book doesnt describe it. You can take liberties with the characters, just make sure you stay true to who they are and their role in the novel. Make sure to include at least THREE vocabulary words from this week.

Some basic things to remember:

It DOES NOT have rhyme. This gives you a lot of options with the poem. Each Big Letter DOES NOT have to be the beginning of a sentence! Extra Help: Watch this video: www.youtube.com/watch?v=NSyZsSw8jYs

 Get to work! Ill come around to help you

Place in class basket when you are finished!