For teachers · explanatory slides
Acrostic
Project this deck before handing out the worksheet. Difficulty band: Accessible. Then try the form in the builder, or pick a follow-up move from the technique repertoire.
Acrostic · slide 1 of 5 · what
What is an acrostic?
An acrostic hides a word down its left edge. Read the first letter of every line, top to bottom, and the hidden word appears. Every line is about that word — the word is both the subject and the scaffolding.
Say: Read this slide, then ask: who has seen one before? Take two answers only.
Arrow keys work too. Printing lays out every slide, one per page.
Acrostic · what
What is an acrostic?
An acrostic hides a word down its left edge. Read the first letter of every line, top to bottom, and the hidden word appears. Every line is about that word — the word is both the subject and the scaffolding.
Say: Read this slide, then ask: who has seen one before? Take two answers only.
Acrostic · how
How it works
1. Choose a spine word of 4–6 letters and write its letters down the left margin, one per line.
2. Draft each line on its own: it must start with its letter and still make sense if you read it alone.
3. Read the lines in order. If one line only exists to use up a letter, rewrite it around a real detail.
Say: Walk the steps slowly. Students will follow them on their worksheet.
Acrostic · example
Worked example — spine word RAIN (original)
R — Rivulets stitch the footpath silver,
A — all the gutters learn to sing,
I — in the drainpipe, a drumming begins,
N — now the garden drinks, and lifts its green.
Check: first letters spell RAIN, and each line names something rain actually does. No line is filler.
Say: Read the example aloud twice. Ask what the writer chose — and what they left out.
Acrostic · traps
Common traps
• Picking a long spine word (9+ letters) so the last lines become desperate filler.
• Lines that only restate the letter ('R is for rain…') instead of showing the subject.
• Forgetting the poem must still read top-to-bottom as a poem, not a list.
Say: Name the traps now so students can laugh when they spot one in their own draft.
Acrostic · try
Before you start
As a class, choose the spine word RAIN and write the R line together before anyone works alone.
Scaffolding: The spine word fixes every line's first letter, so no one faces a blank page.
Say: Do the first move together, out loud, before handing out worksheets.