The Writing Lesson:
Tail Acrostic Poems

This writing and art project was authored by Northern Nevada teacher Sandra Young. This page contains the lesson plan for the writing portion of this lesson. Click here to view the accompanying art lesson plan.

Here is what the final student product might look like:

Second-grader Hannah shows off her finished project.

Sandra's Lesson Overview:

This writing activity allows your students to practice their acrostic skills within the structure of a kite tail using descriptive phrases and exciting verbs. The big challenge is the continual flow of descriptive ideas and words.

Lesson Materials:

• Mentor text #1: Spring: An Alphabet Acrostic by Steven Schnur
• Mentor text #2: Silver Seeds
  by Paul Paolilli
• Mentor text #3: Henry & The Kite Dragon by Bruce Edward Hall
• Teacher Model of finished poem
• Writing paper for rough draft
• Blank kite tail ribbons for final drafts
• Alpha box for word collection to use in acrostics

Writing Lesson Instructions:

1. Read acrostic poetry discussing and recognizing the pattern, flow of ideas, and word choice involved in the poems.

2. Use alpha-boxes or another word collection device to list exciting verbs and descriptive adjectives related to kites and kite flying that will assist children with their writing.

3. As a class develop an acrostic poem for a related “kite” word such as wind, breeze, March, or spring, etc. Demonstrate phrasing, word choice and idea flow as you work with the students.

4. Distribute rough draft paper and have students write the letters for kites vertically down the side of their papers. Children then begin writing about kites with the understanding that each line begins with the designated letter.

5. Be available to meet with the children to discuss their ideas.

6. When students have an acceptable acrostic have them fill in the kite tail blanks or you may choose to type the poem into the blank kite tail form.
   (One letter of K I T E S on each kite tail blank.)

7. Glue each blank from the acrostic to the kite tail. Be sure to space evenly and center each part.

8. Let the project dry and you have a finished writing and art project.

Some Teaching "Hints" from this Lesson's Author:

• For younger writers you may have to model acrostic poetry more than once. I have also found it helpful to have children write acrostic poetry throughout the year. They are then ready for a more thoughtful project like this one.

Revised and Edited Student Samples:

Kindly kissing air
Impressive inching high
Ten times taller than me
Extra exciting

--Natalie, first grade poet

Kissing the wind
Important to children
Touching all the trees
Exciting to fly a kite

--Sara, first grade poet

Kites dip and sail in the beautiful blue sky.
In a soft breeze is a good time to fly cool kites.
Tie-dye kites are very pretty and beautiful.
Everybody’s kites have colorful imagination.
Swooping, swirling, dip, and sail in the sky wonderful kites.

--Hannah, second grade poet

Kites fly high in the beautiful sky.
Ice cold kites freeze in the wind.
Twinkling kites swerve in the wind.
Ends of kites are pointy.
Swiveling kites surfing in the sky.

--Emily, second grade poet

Teachers: Do you have any revised and edited third, fourth, or fifth grade samples to share? Type one or two up into an e-mail and send it to us at publish@writingfix.com. Please write "Kite Acrostic" in your e-mail's subject line.