Lesson Planning Form for Accessible Instruction Calvin College Education Program

Teacher

Hannah Leong

Date November 18, 2015

Subject/ Topic/ Theme

Acrostic Poems

Grade 1st

I. Objectives
How does this lesson connect to the unit plan?
Students will learn about acrostic poetry and later on will be able to compare acrostics to the other types of poetry that we will study
in the unit (rhyming, sensory, shape)
Learners will be able to:
Explain what an acrostic poem is
Comprehend the meanings of and use new descriptive vocabulary when writing poetry
Write to create acrostic poems as a class and on their own
Describe themselves by writing an acrostic poem of their name

Use poetry to explain a topic or express their feelings about a topic

Draw self-portraits to go along with their acrostic name poems
Recognize that poetry is cross-lingual

cognitiveR U Ap An E C*

physical
development

socioemotional

U
An
C
C

X
X
X

R/K

Common Core standards (or GLCEs if not available in Common Core) addressed:
- Identify words and phrases in stories or poems that suggest feelings or appeal to the senses (CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.1.4).
-With prompting and support, read prose and poetry of appropriate complexity for grade 1 (CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.1.10).
-Demonstrate understanding of spoken words, syllables, and sounds (phonemes) (CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RF.1.2).
-Describe people, places, things, and events with relevant details, expressing ideas and feelings clearly (CCSS.ELALITERACY.SL.1.4).
(Note: Write as many as needed. Indicate taxonomy levels and connections to applicable national or state standards. If an objective applies to particular learners
write the name(s) of the learner(s) to whom it applies.)
*remember, understand, apply, analyze, evaluate, create

II. Before you start

Identify prerequisite
knowledge and skills.

Recall information from poetry introductory lesson What does a poem look like? What are poems
about?
Pre-assessment (for learning):

What do you think an acrostic poem is? Have you ever seen a poem that looks like this/
Outline assessment
activities
(applicable to this lesson)

Formative (for learning):

Informal assessment discussion questions What do you notice? What does this word mean?
Formative (as learning):

Rubric for writing their own acrostics

Summative (of learning):
Writing their own acrostic name poems
What barriers might this
lesson present?

Provide Multiple Means of

Representation
Provide options for perceptionmaking information perceptible

Provide Multiple Means of

Action and Expression
Provide options for physical actionincrease options for interaction

What will it take

neurodevelopmentally,
experientially,
emotionally, etc., for your
students to do this lesson?

-Audio recording of poem read in

Spanish
-Spanish and English text shown on
ELMO
-Acrostic poem poster as definition
with example

-voice recorder for Bairon to speak

his poem and for teachers to write
-handwriting their own acrostic
poems

Provide Multiple Means of

Engagement
Provide options for recruiting
interest- choice, relevance, value,
authenticity, minimize threats
-Write poems describing
themselves

31

Provide options for language,

mathematical expressions, and
symbols- clarify & connect
language
-vocabulary lists of adjectives to
use when writing their poems
-highlight/circle words that start
with the letters in their name
Provide options for comprehensionactivate, apply & highlight

-I do, we do, you do approach

(provide examples for
activation, write a poem
together, and have students
write poems of their own to
apply knowledge)

Materials-what materials
(books, handouts, etc) do
you need for this lesson
and are they ready to
use?

How will your classroom

be set up for this lesson?

Provide options for expression and

communication- increase medium
of expression

-write poems
-draw pictures to match poem
-read poems aloud

Provide options for executive

functions- coordinate short & long
term goals, monitor progress, and
modify strategies

Provide options for sustaining

effort and persistence- optimize
challenge, collaboration, masteryoriented feedback

-collaborate by writing poem

together as a class
-group brainstorm
-challenge students to write
their own acrostics
Provide options for self-regulationexpectations, personal skills and
strategies, self-assessment &
reflection

-short term goals of writing

-writing poems about
acrostics as a class and on their
themselves. Requires students
own
to reflect on how people usually
-long term goal of making a
describe them (adventurous,
poem and picture to put in
creative, silly? etc.)
poetry book for their family
-acrostic rubric
-projector and ELMO document camera
-audio recording of Primavera read in Spanish
-Primavera by Arjona Delia poem text in Spanish to show on ELMO
-Lemur poem by David Hummon
-Miss Leong poem
-acrostic poem definition poster
-Fall acrostic template
-acrostic templates/worksheets with each students name printed on them as title
-vocabulary list of adjectives to use
-pencils
-yellow crayon for highlighting
-tape recorder for Bairon to speak his poem
-blank paper for students to draw self-portraits
-acrostic rubric worksheets
-Large group discussion on rug
-desks in 3 long table groups

III. The Plan

Time

Components

Describe teacher activities

AND
student activities
for each component of the lesson. Include important higher order thinking questions and/or
prompts.
Gather students on rug
Read and show students Lemur acrostic poem on
the ELMO.

5
min.
Motivation
(opening/
introduction/
engagement)

Students sit on the rug

Ask: Have you ever seen a poem like this? What do

you see/notice about it?

Students respond: The letters on the side look

different, lots of space for picture and not many
words.

Ask: What does this poem tell you about lemurs?

Students respond: Lemurs have large eyes and

ringtails etc.

Why do you think it says Madagascar?

Students share guesses.

32

Madagascar is an island country in Africa where

lemurs live.
Say: Its great that you noticed all these things! A
poem like this is actually called an acrostic poem.
Say it with me Acrostic.

Show acrostic poster.

Explain that an acrostic poem is a poem where the
topic of the poem is written down the side. Then
the words or phrases in the poem start with the
letters written down the side to tell about the topic.
Read and explain Sun example, asking, What do
you think this poem is about? Why?

Acrostic!

Students respond: The sun because of the picture

and the letters on the side.

Good Job!
Read the poem.
Say: Now lets listen to an acrostic poem in
Spanish. Listen carefully for a part of the poem that
you like and be ready to share with me what the
poem is about when were done.
Play the recording.
Ask: What did you hear? What are some parts that
you liked?
Development
(the largest
component or
main body of
the lesson)

20
min.

Students listen.
Students respond: It was about spring. It talks about
the flowers, butterflies, and trees during springtime.

Say: Good job noticing those things. One more

thing I noticed is that if we read this poem in
English the letters on the side of the poem would
be different. See?
Write primavera and spring vertically on the
whiteboard.
We would need to use different words to describe
spring because the English word spring has
different letters. So poetry can be written in all
different languages. A poem can still be a poem
when the words are in Spanish, but the words may
be different and have different meanings.
Say: Lets listen to the poem one more time.
Play the recording.
Ask: Does the poem make it sound like the poet or
person who wrote it likes spring?

Yes!

Youre right. The poem says that spring is the

season that everyone waits for. After a cold winter
we love seeing plants come back to life and
animals come out when the warm spring comes.

33

Good job. Well this poem was about spring. Do

you think we could write an acrostic poem about
this seasonfall? Lets brainstorm some things we
think of when we think about fall.
Write words and ideas on the whiteboard.

Students respond: Falling leaves, thanksgiving,

yummy food, orange and red colors etc.

Good job. Do any of these words start with the

letters in the word fall?
Circle these words on the board.

Students point out these words.

Show fall acrostic template on the ELMO.

Say: Ok help me out here. Lets fill in our poem
with some of the words and ideas we came up with
about fall.

Students point out the words and phrases they like

that start with the letters in fall.

Write students suggestions into the template.

Read the poem aloud with students.
Say: Great job! We just wrote an acrostic poem!

Students read the poem aloud.

Now its your turn. Can you write a poem about

you with your name written down the side? Ill
show you mine.
Show and read Miss Leong acrostic on ELMO.
Say: Notice that sometimes I use one word for each
letter and sometimes I use a few words or a phrase.
You can do that too!
Ok, hop quietly like rabbits back to your desks and
take out your yellow crayon. Ill give you some
tools for writing your acrostic poems.

Students return to seats and get out yellow crayons.

Pass out acrostic vocabulary lists.

Say: Sometimes it may be hard for us to think of
words that begin with the letters in our names. You
can use this list to help you.
Close your eyes for a minute and think about what
you want people to know about you from your
poem.

Students close eyes and brainstorm.

Open your eyes. Now lets read these words

together and when we come to a word that sounds
like you, color it or circle it with your yellow
crayon.
10
min.

Read the words as a class and talk about what the

words mean. At each letter ask: Does your name
have an A in it? If so, color the A yellow so you
remember which words to choose from.

Half way through the alphabet, provide a brain

break.

Students read words aloud together. They color and

circle words that they like as we go.

Students stand up and stretch, do jumping jacks etc.

34

After reading through the list, allow students time

to write. Say: Now you are ready to write your
acrostic poems!
Pass out acrostic poem templates with each
students name typed on their page (see template)

10
min.

Say: You may use these words from the list or

some other words that you think of in English or
Spanish that describe you and start with the letters
in your name.

5-8
min.

Closure
(conclusion,
culmination,
wrap-up)

Students write!
*Bairon uses tape recorder to speak his poem and
then a teacher assists him in writing it out.

Say: Way to go poets! Good writers always check

their work. So when you are finished, read your
poem to yourself two times and fill out this rubric
worksheet. (Explain rubric: how to color in faces,
be honest, its okay if you do not have all happy
faces etc.)
Pass out rubric worksheets.

Students read poems and check their work using

rubric.

Say: Well be writing different kinds of poems for

the next few days and when we are done well put
them together in a book so you can show your
family what good poets you are!

35

Lesson Reflection
Todays lesson went more smoothly than yesterdays. The students seemed much more engaged because we did several
activities and because they had a chance to write acrostic poems themselves. Students seemed to like the acrostic poem
examples I shared in English and the pictures that went along with them. They seemed to enjoy listening to Primavera
in Spanish. A critical learning moment occurred when I wrote primavera and spring vertically on the board. I asked
probing questions about the differences between Spanish and English words. I explained that different words must be
used to write an acrostic poem about spring in English than in Spanish because the lines will start with different letters.
Writing an acrostic poem together as a class was a meaningful activity. Students brainstormed with me about words they
can use to describe the fall season. I wrote the words on a poster page and students seemed enthusiastic about having
their ideas written on the poster. Although I hadnt planned it ahead of time, I began calling students up to circle the
words on our brainstorm poster that began with the letters in the word fall. I think this was a good switch because it
helped me keep all the students engaged. Although I couldnt call everyone up to the poster to circle words, this
opportunity motivated all the students to be looking for those specific words and to raise their hands high in the air. They
were also very excited that there was a picture of Snoopy on the fall acrostic template we filled out together. I saw
evidence of learning as they were able to point out which words started with the letters f, a, and l. The students were also
able to tell me which parts of the poem were full sentences and which were not, so this was good evidence of
background knowledge.
I think it was helpful to show students an example acrostic of my name because it allowed them to see what they were
working towards in writing their own name acrostics. It also helped me to be more relatable to my students because they
learned some new information about me (e.g. loves to read). One struggle we had as we went over the vocabulary lists
was that the vocabulary lists just have so many words on them! Mrs. Anderson has used these lists in past years, so I
knew the first graders were capable of using them well in their poetry writing. I felt that it was a necessary exercise to go
over these words, but at such a rapid pace, Im not sure how many of the new adjectives the students really understand.
At first, I was reading the words aloud to the students, but I quickly realized it would be more helpful for me to point out
each word as I read it and showed it on the ELMO. For each letter, I instructed students to raise their hands if they have
that particular letter in their name. This ensured that students paid attention when it was their turn to choose adjectives
that describe themselves from the list. I made sure to answer students questions about the meanings of specific words as
we went along. I think the students did remarkably well with such an information overload! It helped that I had students
stand up and take a brain break when we got half way through the alphabet. Also, if none of the students in the class had
a p in their name, for example, I would explain that although those are good descriptive words to know, no one has that
letter in their name so we will skip over those words for today.
There were two areas where students showed misunderstanding. When we began the vocabulary lists, I asked students to
highlight the letters in their name with their yellow crayon. I showed Isaacs page on the ELMO as an example and
highlighted the letters I, S, and A (and I think Isaiah appreciated being used as the example too!) When I walked around
the room to check students progress after this demonstration, I found that many of the students had also highlighted I, S,
and A on their pages although they dont have those letters in their own names. They seemed to get the hang of it after
we went through a few more letters though. The other area of misunderstanding was that some of the lower level readers
like Michael, Gavin, and Abby, kept writing the entire word on their acrostic template and missing the fact that the first
letter of the word was already written for them (e.g. Abby is Aamazing). A couple times during the students writing
time, I reminded the entire class not to write the entire word out and found that the majority of the students were able to
follow this instruction. Students often needed help sounding out all the new adjectives on the vocabulary list, but I think
they developed a good basic knowledge of acrostic poems. We ran out of time to have students fill out the acrostic
rubrics and revise their poems. However, I think the extra time we spent on writing was necessary, and the students were
still well engaged as they worked on writing their poems. I will have students fill out the acrostic rubrics and revise their
work on the poetry work day I have planned. The acrostic rubrics may be even more meaningful for students learning at
that time because it will require students to review and draw from their past knowledge of acrostic poems more.

36

Resources:
Delia, A. (2010, July 9). Acrstico de primavera. In Acrsticos y poemas da de la primavera.
Retrieved November 4, 2015, from
http://www.taringa.net/post/arte/6898800/Acrosticos-y-Poemas-Dia-de-la-Primavera.html
Hummon, D. (1999). Lemur. In Animal Acrostics (p. 11). Nevada City, NV: Dawn Publications.
Warner, . (n.d.). Learning about poetry. In Mrs. Warner's fourth grade classroom. Retrieved November 4, 2015, from
http://mrswarnerarlington.weebly.com/poetry.html

37