Meghan BrtnikBeing that it’s poetry month, my Kindergarten-first grade class started reading more poetry over the past two weeks and we have started writing our own poems! The kids are so creative and motivated, it’s a treat to see. We started with acrostic poems. Acrostic poems are very concrete and accessible for students writing at all levels.
We began with writing a class poem about winter so that the students had an example to learn from. We brainstormed about what kinds of activities, food and feelings we have in the winter. After our ideas started flowing, we decided that with there being 6 students in our class and 6 letters in the word “winter”, each student would come up with one line of the poem. Everyone was patient, giving their peers a chance to think of a word that matched the starting sound. If someone was stumped, another student would help them come up with just the beginning word to get started. In no time, we had a beautiful poem written and the kids drew pictures to match.
Here is the class poem they wrote about winter:
When the cold hits
I start to skate
Nose is cold
Testing the cold
Experiencing back pain
Really thirsty, eating snow
When it was time for the students to apply what they learned to their own acrostic poems about “spring”, they jumped up and got started! My students were so excited with their final poems, that they wanted to present them to their peers. I also hung them up in the hallway to be on display. They now identify as poets, and are looking forward to writing more poems coming up.
Meghan Brtnik
is a classroom teacher on the K-2 team. Originally from Toronto, Canada, Meghan was a substitute teacher at an international baccalaureate school in Toronto and at the Latin School of Chicago. She graduated from York University, Toronto, with a M.Ed. at the primary/junior level and completed an additional qualification course in special education. Meghan earned a B.A. from the University of Western Ontario in honors psychology, focusing on the psychological and social foundations in human behavior. In addition, Meghan has worked in a Montessori school, tutored students individually, and lived and worked at an all-girls boarding school.
For fun, Meghan loves traveling, trying out new restaurants, exploring new neighborhoods, swimming, reading, and walking.