Acrostic poems are poems that spell out a word down the side of the poem. Each letter of the word can begin a new line of the poem. Alternatively, the word can also be spelled by the final letters of each line. Acrostic poetry can be a great way to get young children to write poems.

Acrostic poetry have been around for centuries. The Wikipedia entry for "Acrostic" notes that acrostics can be found in the Bible and in medieval literature.

Example

Here is a simple example of an acrostic poem:

Frog Poem
by Writers Write, Inc.

Fancy jumping,
Rapid swimming,
Outstanding hopping,
Googly eyes.

You can see the "Frog" poem spells frog down the side.

Acrostic Poem Resources

Here is a collection of several good acrostic poem resources:

• Acrostic Poem Generator - This generator will automatically create an acrostic poem for any name or word you enter. It also provides tips on creating acrostic poetry.
  
  
• KidZone: Acrostic Poems - The acrostic poems page on Kidzone includes an acrositc poem for pumpkin. They also have printable acrostic poem worksheets.
  
  
• 6 Acrostics You May Not Have Noticed - Mental Floss shares six acrostic poems including poems from Lewis Carroll and Edgar Allan Poe.
  
  
• Poem Hunter: Acrostic Poems - Poem Hunter has a collection of over fifty acrostic poems.
  
  
• 5 Tips for Writing Acrostic Poetry - Power Poetry provides five steps for creating an acrostic poem.