Simple Formula Poem:
Dueling Acrostic Poems

This interactive WritingFix page was designed by Northern Nevada teacher Jan Lambert at a Northern Nevada Writing Project inservice class.  Says Jan, "An acrostic is a great format for poetry that can be used from the most beginning of writers to the most advanced."  An acrostic poem is one where a word is chosen, and the poet uses each letter from that word to start a line of poetry about the original word.

Writer Instructions:

Below are two examples of two different types of acrostic poems for two opposite words: FATHER and MOTHER. 

Challenge yourself by devoting a page in your journal or your writer's notebook to dueling acrostic poems.

Choose a one-word subject--any noun (even your own name)--and write your word vertically down on the left side of your paper.  Use each letter from your word to think of a word or phrase that describes your subject better, like in the examples above.

Explore interesting characteristics of your noun as you write these acrostics.

Then, create an acrostic poem for a word that is the opposite of the first word you have chosen.

Need an idea for good subjects to write this type of poem to?  Click on the button below for some ideas.