The big idea

An acrostic poem is a way to show what you know about a character in a book you are reading. You might not think of it as poetry because it doesn't rhyme, but poetry doesn't always have to rhyme.

Before you begin

Make a list of all the things you know about the character: his or her likes, dislikes, abilities, fears, and so on. Then think of an important scene where the character appears.

How to do it

An acrostic poem is one where you choose a word or name (like the name of a character in a book) and use each letter in the name as the beginning of a word or line that tells something about that person or character.

. . . .

An example:

Here's one about Wilbur, from Charlotte's Web.

In my acrostic poem, I have tried to show that I actually read the book by saying something about Wilbur that comes from the story itself.

When he found himself

In Zuckerman's barn,

Lying on a

Big pile of manure, he felt

Utterly lonely. He

Rolled over and cried.